Aberdeen, Washington is located south of the Olympic Peninsula and at the mouth of Grays Harbor. Although most are not familiar with the town, those who are know it is a long time logging community with four seasons of fog, mist, downpour, and flooding. Aberdeen is a truly rough and tumble place to grow up, but the community holds together strong when dealing with high water. This work highlights the quirks of the unique lives that inhabit the Harbor.
1. You get clams from your freezer instead of the store.
2. Someone in your family went to school with Kurt Cobain.
3. You consider wet suits, windbreakers, and rain boots to be proper beach attire.
4. Hearing the name "Hoquiam" makes your blood boil.
5. You know that shore birds are worthy enough of having their own festival.
Because Aberdeen is located at the mouth of a harbor leading to the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of thousands of shorebirds of all kinds come through the estuary in the Spring as they migrate north.
6. The infamous excuse of "the bridge was up" always saved your butt when running late.
7. Rain isn't just a type of weather, but a way of life.
8. You have to clarify that you're from the coast, not the sound.
Literally Any Person: "Where are you from?"
Aberdonian: "Aberdeen, Washington"
That Same Person: "Oh. Where is that located?"
Aberdonian "On the Coast of Washington, south of the peninsula"
That Same Person: "Oh! Seattle area!"
Aberdonian: "Nope. That would be the Sound. I am from the Coast."
9. You have to explain that a clam gun doesn't require ammunition.
A clam gun is a hollow tube with handles designed for pulling clams out of the sand more efficiently than an ordinary shovel. No ammunition required, nothing too lethal.
10. A choker isn't just as violent as it sounds.
A choker cable is secured around timber so that trees may be to hauled and moved wherever they may need to be. Also makes for quite and interesting mascot. Grays Harbor College, home of the chokers!
11. You can't do anything mischievous because everyone in the county knows your parents.
12. You have to take vitamin D supplements because it's impossible to receive it naturally.
13. Carhartt is practically Gucci.
14. Rain gear, and possibly a boat, are staples. You never know when you might experience 10 inches of rain in 24 hours.
Both of these images are from a flooding we had at the very beginning of 2015, where it rained just under 10 inches within 24 hours which led to extreme water damage, and hill slides.
15. You're a professional at maneuvering around log trucks in traffic.
16. The sound of a train is every reason to flee the Walmart parking lot as fast as possible.
17. You know a geoduck is not a type of bird. These guys are most commonly found in the Hood Canal area.
They serve as yet another very unique mascot for a college located in Olympia, Washington, the Evergreen State College Geoducks!
18. Mall? Movie theater? Perfect drifting grounds? You know it's all the same.
19. It takes Tom Cruise to gather a crowd in said mall. Let us all remember May of 2006 fondly.
20. No, not Scotland.
If you decide to Google "Aberdeen" at some point, images such as this, are not the place to which I am referring. Although I am pretty sure half of the Aberdeen Facebook users have Aberdeen, Scotland set as their "hometown" by accident, they are two very different areas with unfortunately similar climates.
