The Pleasures and Problems of Maple Beach

First of all, it's a lovely beach; and second of all, it's tides are so far out and back that it is always a surprise to see it.  On the other hand, given that I don't live in that area of the Point, I seldom go there.  And that is not because I'm a masochist.  It's because there is no place to park there except in someone else's yard.

We used to have good friends who lived right down on the beachfront, and I usually felt okay about asking them to let us park in their driveway.  But they have gone elsewhere and so, in the summer when our grandchildren are around, one of us, Ed or me, agrees not to go to the beach with the crew but instead to drive everyone down there and in a specified time drive back and pick them all up.

When the summer is gone and all the tourists with it, it's a little easier.  There still isn't any real public parking but every cottager is not having to host some unknown person's automobile full time, so it feels a little less of an infringement to park on the edge of the street/lawn/easement for an hour or so in midday.  We were there both last week and the week before with visitors and it was lovely both times.  We spent the second trip down at what we call Shady Beach, which is to the south, just before the corner where Point Roberts shore turns more or less west.  There are trees that are growing out of the hillside and whose branches come down and shade that section of beach.  It's rocky and odd, with bouncy branches that you can ride.

Last week, the big red jelly fish (lion jelly fish?) were plunked about the beach in great abundance, separated by big wrapped/twisted quantities of eel grass.  The jelly fish with their beautiful red gelatinous shapes are not to be touched, I'm told.  And then, the rest of the U.S., right there before your eyes.

But why isn't there any parking?  That beach area is our fourth County Park.  Over at Lily Point Reserve, they are hell-bent on getting in parking, even though the number of people who go there is remarkably small and for all I can tell well within what the shoulder parking on APA can handle.  At Maple Beach, the number of visitors is very large, and the County doesn't seem to care at all.

I'm told that the County is thinking about something that would involve some one-way streets in that area that would free up room on Roosevelt for parking on one side.  They ought to be thinking a little harder, I would say.  They ought to be getting a little more encouragement to think harder.  For my part, I'd like to say, "HEY, COUNTY PEOPLE!  THINK HARDER ABOUT GETTING SOME PUBLIC PARKING ON MAPLE BEACH BEFORE NEXT SUMMER COMES ROUND!  AND THEN DO SOMETHING, FOR AN ENCORE PERFORMANCE."  You're welcome.