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ramblinsam t1_ixv7op5 wrote

Sometimes there’s sun, it’s true! Nothing like rolling down the hospital hill and watching the sun set over this down-but-not-out timber town. Lots of people pass through for the beach or the Olympic Peninsula, and all they see from their car window is run down, often vacant store fronts, and junkies a-junkin’. But friend, I’m here to tell you this town has heart.

Two solid breweries, Steam Donkey and Mount Olympus Brewing, along with Hoquiam Brewing the next town over. They all host community events including cribbage, trivia, and legit talented live musicians.

Breakwater Seafood has good crab melts, Billy’s and Boxcar for burgers. Salvadorena for papusas, great sushi and yakisoba at Samurai. Go Get the Pho, despite breaking most of Ali Wong’s rules for naming Vietnamese restaurants, delivers banh mi and noodle soup that’s right on par with the food I ate in Hanoi and HCMC.

The good folks working at these places are super friendly with zero pretentiousness.

Lots of local lore is this Town of Missing Men, like the early 20th century serial killer Billy “Ghoul” Gohl who used to drop his victims (140, it’s said) into the Wishkah River through a trap door in what’s now Breakwater. The eponymous restaurant Billy’s keeps his strange story alive with old photos and documents. Spooky shit. Bring on the true crime podcasters.

The whole Nirvana thing is… muddled. It’s strange to see this city embracing their native son when 1. Kurt Cobain loathed this area and the angst of his lyrics reflect that and 2. He wasn’t actually born here. He was born and largely raised elsewhere around Grays Harbor County. He attended high school here briefly, dropped out, and started a band. But it was here that he met Kris Novoselic and King Buzzo of Melvins fame. And there is something about being here and feeling the primordial pulse of the music scene that grew up between here and Olympia in the last 30 years. Drop by Eargasm Records, the owner of that place will tell you some stories.

There are nicer, probably safer places to spend a night, and good luck finding a decent coffee shop open past 3, and yeah the meth, and also we can’t seem to elect anyone who knows how to fix any of this, but there are lots of folks here who work daily to make this a nicer place to live and you should pop in for a beer sometime.

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KBAR1942 t1_ixve7ys wrote

You are making me want to stop by and try these breweries. Also, I have listened to a podcast about Billy Gohl. I didn't realize this area of Washington had a criminal history like that.

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Hopsblues t1_ixvmqnc wrote

There's also some Nirvana based historic spots. I found one when I made a wrong turn passing through town. I'm talking marked, accepted designated sites.

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ramblinsam t1_ixwgtb1 wrote

Yep. There’s the Kurt Cobain park which you learn pretty quick on your first visit, does not have any municipal funding. Far as I can tell, it’s just a few volunteers that keep it up. It’s a bridge over the Wishkah, a burned up lawn chair, some graffiti and dog turds. I feel like Kurt would’ve wanted it this way. Doesn’t need an interpretive center - the site itself does all the talking.

I’m told there’s also a mural of the band somewhere, but I fear it’s been painted over because I sure haven’t found it.

What was the spot you stumbled on @Hopsblues?

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Hopsblues t1_ixxujvf wrote

It was a residence? There was a sign or two mentioning go this way and/or what I was seeing? I wasn't there for the nirvana tour, I like nirvana, but I noticed some signage and such while turning around and getting back on the path. I've been through Aberdeen and (whatever the next town that is just an extension) like ten times now, but couldn't describe where I was, other than fairly close to the main route to go to either Pacific beach or Kalaloch.

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ramblinsam t1_ixzlvam wrote

That might’ve been the park. There’s a house next door with signage the residents erected, explaining it was never Kurt Cobain’s house, but helpfully explains where one can find it.

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ramblinsam t1_ixwh1hb wrote

Hey thanks for the award! I’m convinced any town can be a nice town so long as there’s a halfway decent brewery.

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Bamcfp t1_ixuf32b wrote

Sunny in Aberdeen? Must be photoshop

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Candid-Mine5119 t1_ixuo075 wrote

Come as you are

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Zer0sober t1_ixv2q3b wrote

Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) are from Aberdeen and they made "Come as you are" their town motto in honor of them.

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MacNeal t1_ixv62vl wrote

Didn't both those guys want to get out of that town as soon as possible? My recollection is they didn't really enjoy growing up in their hometown.

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Zer0sober t1_ixv8hau wrote

Kurt was vocal about his distain for Aberdeen, Krist however never said much about his opinion on the town, he has been active in politics in WA state and was a proponent of the new motto and was a part of the unveiling, so it seems like, if he had hated it in his youth, he no longer feels the same.

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lostprevention t1_ixvgj9w wrote

I think Krist had more of a decent and stable upbringing, as his mom owned a business.

Some of those Melvins and Nirvana guys talked mad shit about rural Washington, but Dale Crover and Krist seem to like it ok.

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alleycat699999 t1_ixud1jl wrote

I put eleven years in Aberdeen Wa. Enough is enough

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somemycologist223 t1_ixuhzt0 wrote

I live in aberdeen!

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yeahbarry t1_ixuqer8 wrote

What's it like out there, I've never been. How does it differ from other places in WA?

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DaintyAmber t1_ixusb06 wrote

Constant drizzle rain. Gray skies and junkies everywhere. Empty buildings upon empty buildings. Sad forgotten town.

Once all the mills closed, there were no jobs. There was already a drug problem 30 years ago, and it’s only gotten worse. Aberdeen is a pass through to the beach, otherwise it’s worthless.

I’d call it the Detroit of Washington.

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thesmallestwaffle t1_ixv1wsk wrote

This is all very accurate. It gets even more depressing when you drive through Hoquiam.

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SockeyeSTI t1_ixwnk2y wrote

And now it’s full of homeless. They piss and shit against our building. The underside of the bridge is full of garbage. They stole copper off the train bridge making it in operable and now they’re burning anything and everything they can get.

It’s a shit show

Also, house prices are up, which is happening everywhere else, but at the end of the day you paid a lot…..and now you live in Aberdeen.

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yeahbarry t1_ixvaeel wrote

This is good to know, I would like to move to WA in the next 2-3 years and have a few counties marked to explore. Sounds like I can probably cross this one off the list, Skagit & King are the two I'm hoping for

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DaintyAmber t1_ixvjfkl wrote

King County is not where you should aim either my friend.

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_Glutton_ t1_ixvtreg wrote

Well there’s Seattle and Bellevue in King so idk probably want to check those out considering it’s where most of Washington lives, entertains, and conducts business.

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yeahbarry t1_ixwrb3k wrote

My though was Snoqualmie, Twin Falls areas

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TrailerPosh2018 t1_ixw184j wrote

Only if you like stepping on needles & human shit wherever you walk.

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_Glutton_ t1_ixw1xki wrote

Put the Tucker Carlson down lol. All major cities have homeless people, most neighborhoods are fine in Seattle and it’s beautiful

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SteveMidnight t1_ixwuffy wrote

As someone who moved to Washington recently after living in two different large east coast cities, I’ve never felt as unsafe at night in a downtown as I have in Seattle and Portland. I’m a fairly large man and I’m constantly looking over my shoulder, especially in Pioneer Square. I like the area for the most part, though.

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_Glutton_ t1_ixwzfd1 wrote

For sure, I’m not saying it’s not sketchy in some areas after dark. I’m saying if you’re visiting Washington State, King County is definitely a destination worth visiting because of all of the great restaurants, art, landscape, and attractions. The reason so many of us are piled into this area of Washington is not a coincidence.

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TrailerPosh2018 t1_ixwfl70 wrote

Sure, my city has problems too. But Seattle is really screwed in many parts & doesn't seem to be doing anything about it.

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_Glutton_ t1_ixwizk9 wrote

The new mayor has done quite a bit recently tho, what do you mean? It sounds like you aren’t very up to date. He’s much tougher on homelessness and has massively increased funding for sweeps and cleaning.

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studentjones t1_ixvsucx wrote

Island County. Rural, beautiful, close enough to the cities.

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Jo3yD t1_ixvzhs4 wrote

Jefferson and Clallam counties are pretty spectacular. Amazing trees and forests covered in moss, hurricane ridge, Ruby Beach. That’s my 2 cents

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somemycologist223 t1_ixwdasz wrote

We are in grays harbor county. It boast a population of about 70.000 . I was born and raised in atlanta and I prefer the small town quiet life. I'd say do you research and don't let some miserable 🐕‍🦺 talk ya pit of visiting this beautiful place.

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somemycologist223 t1_ixwbxsu wrote

Well..... I'm originally from Atlanta Georgia and to be honest the washington coast is like no where else I've ever been .. from the lush temperate rainforest to the jagged grey coast in which the county is named for this is definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever had the pleasure of being. The town I live in is 15 miles from the olympic national forest which is rich in wild life , elk , deer, cougars, black bear, I'd definitely put this amazing place on my bucket list if I as you

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Crackertron t1_ixxgj81 wrote

Do you want to see the remnants of timber barons exploitations?

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yeahbarry t1_ixxoqsq wrote

The idea that there would be timber barons never crossed my mind, not a lot of big-timber in Utah. But I have seen exploitation, that I can understand

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Crackertron t1_ixy48c8 wrote

The cruel irony is that Aberdeen is unavoidable if you want to see some of the best scenery in the country. Heaven forbid they capitalize on it.

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lostprevention t1_ixus45i wrote

I find it ironic you can’t even buy a guitar string in Aberdeen.

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Ballbearian t1_ixvd0j6 wrote

The ACE hardware in Ocean Shores used to sell them, a lifesaver when Rosevears pretty much shut down.

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Winter-eyed t1_ixui00h wrote

My Grandma lived there and both her and my Grandpa are buried there. Mom grew up there. Didn’t find out till after my Mom had died but my brother in law had gone to Weatherwax High with her.

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Skeetronic t1_ixv1v9q wrote

“My name is Aberdeen Washington and I’m a proud American!”

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NotAHippieCrashPad t1_ixunnx1 wrote

That looks like a new sign, it used to say “Lumber Capital of the World” (if I recall) I like this new one with the homage to Kurt Cobain in his hometown!

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Strange_Dig_1664 t1_ixur4i0 wrote

There's another sign just before this one that says lumber capital of the world. Which is kinda funny because Aberdeen only has one lumber mill now

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numba1mrdata t1_ixv2awf wrote

Yeah somewhere in bc is probably the lumber capital now lol

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saltysleepyhead t1_ixuweaz wrote

I was there in 2008 and that sign was up, so it’s not new new.

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NotAHippieCrashPad t1_ixuyzpu wrote

Cool! I’ve never seen it, only the Lumber Capitol Sign. I’ll keep my eye out next time I’m through.

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Legitimate-Ad6106 t1_ixvc6vv wrote

Should have used a different Nirvana lyric like “Rape Me”

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zaken351 t1_ixvfw4b wrote

A sad wet little town

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jacle2210 t1_ixxz659 wrote

> little town

Guess you never heard of Raymond or South Bend, lol. They are way smaller than Aberdeen.

It was a treat to take a day trip to Aberdeen from Pacific County to see the "big" city and check out the big new mall, lol.

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ladyinpinkk t1_ixvikoy wrote

Been here 6 months, planning my escape to Olympia I hope.. not awful though I have found some sweet people here.

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akwardrelations t1_ixvvrjb wrote

My Aberdeen story. I like to go to ocean shores a few times a year which takes me throught Aberdeen. Last time I decided to stop and visit the Kurt Kobain memorial park. It's a tiny little park on the Wishka River partly under a bridge and is now where the homeless hang out. I went to walk under the bridge, there was the BIGGEST human turd I've ever seen laying in the dead center of the path. I'm familiar with animal scat and I'm certain this was human. Also, garbage everywhere. Welcome to Aberdeen.

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cloudlvr1 t1_ixwf5e4 wrote

You can see that on the sidewalks of parts of Seattle

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Jo3yD t1_ixvz1br wrote

Aberdeen will always make me think of homeless people wearing sturgeon like a feather boa.

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SockeyeSTI t1_ixwmtp1 wrote

My coworker is actually related to that guy

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Bardamu1932 t1_ixwd2yv wrote

Was raised age 5 to 13 in Aberdeen. McDermoth Elementary and a year at Hopkins Junior High. I remember: The Roller Rink, clam digging at Oyehut, and Moclips, fishing off the dock at Westport, beachcombing (for driftwood, agates, and glass floats), roasting hot dogs and marshmellows on the beach, "grab bags" at Chuck's Chili Bowl, eating salmon berries, "blow me down" gales, visiting the Quinault Reservation beaches, camping on the Wynoochee, swimming at Lake Aberdeen. Got "sand in my soul", because sand gets into everything...

Thought that I'd be a Weatherwax Bobcat, but instead became a Lincoln Lynx in Seattle.

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Jamieobda t1_ixvtm3d wrote

Seems a bit ironic as they turned down a statue of him.

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13Souther t1_ixw2nvb wrote

Something tells me that Kurt would have absolutely despised this sign.

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lurkerfromstoneage t1_ixwanzy wrote

Cobain gets all the praise while he owed SO much to Melvins + Buzz Osborne out there who receive little widespread/common knowledge credit for what Nirvana became. Also, for being so obsessed with Nirvana/Cobain, and “come as you are” façade, Seattle is the most overanalytical, judgmental region I have lived in.

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thekarmabum t1_ixwr1gp wrote

You've never been exposed to the back handed compliments in the Midwest I take it.

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somemycologist223 t1_ixwcmxr wrote

Wow... I'm sorry 😐 but I. Have to say.... Here you are in one of the most beautiful places in the world and don't have one nice thing to say... That is so sad to me. I'd hate to be such a 😡🐕‍🦺. I promise you that it's my experience baths if you ain't part of the solution, your probably the problem 🤢💩

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btc2123 t1_ixx7fqy wrote

I’m from AZ and we always drive through to get to moclips WA. Always wondered the kind of life it would be growing up in a town like that. Quite different than arizona

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NormieChad t1_ixxcb3t wrote

Great song from Macklemore

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seventh-street t1_ixxqhkn wrote

Never been. All I’ve heard is that it’s the armpit of Washington.

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