By Jason Dorsey
I officially started my vacation with a dip at Mabana Beach. My son Jacob and I had spent the morning and early afternoon working on some landscaping projects at the Studio, including putting in another bulkhead and planting hydrangea bushes Mom had given me.
We were hot and tired and decided to go for a swim.
Mabana is the closest public beach to Sunnyshore Studio and it’s the beach my mom had played at since 1947 when she was growing up on her family’s farm half-a-mile north of Mabana.
I have lots of memories of swimming at Mabana when I was a kid too.
Jacob and I parked Dad’s old Ford truck at the top of the hill because I wasn’t confident in its brakes working on the steep and narrow drive down to Mabana. Earlier in the day it had been sunny and warm. But by the time Jacob and I got there it was overcast and windy. No one else was there.
That didn’t dampen our spirits. We waded into the white-top waves. Jacob dove in first. I have to give him credit for that. The water wasn’t bad, in fact it was warm because the tide was high and the water had come up over the sand heated by the sun.
As we sat drying off, I told Jacob a little of the story of how my Uncle Robert and Aunt Sandy had fought to keep Mabana accessible to the public. I tell that story, and more of the history of Mabana here:
The Beaches of Camano: The Battle for Mabana
You can learn more about Mabana Beach here: Beaches of Camano: Mabana Beach