Room with a view

Posted by Ken Campbell June 11, 2011 1 Comment 924 views

Have you seen these? Driftwood shanties on the beaches all around Puget Sound. There are hundreds of them (just a guess), at any given time and I don’t really get why they are there. If they are simple kid’s projects, I understand that, but some of them are veritable castles, requiring not only the strength to lift the logs but also the engineering know-how to put the pieces together.

They are clearly not the work of children, but if not kids, then who made them? And keeps on making them? I’ve never actually seen one being built, which is kind of odd too, now that I think about it. And to what end is all this labor dedicated? None of the houses I’ve seen is anywhere near water resistant and the see-through walls don’t usually provide any sense of privacy (in case privacy is what the builders had in mind.)

Just curious.
PS. After giving it a little more thought, I wonder if it’s just the creative side of beach travelers that makes driftwood construction such an imperative. The chance to build temporary mansions and hovels alike with materials found and free, may just be irresistible. Seems so, anyway.

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