“Give the tourist a ticket”

It's true, visitors should be advised (warned) to follow the speed limits exactly when passing through the nearby towns of Raymond and South Bend on Hwy 101. An article by Stephanie Frieze appearing yesterday in Tacoma News Tribune; In Your Neighborhood section encourages an inexpensive vacation to Long Beach and then offers some tour guide information; where to go, where to stay, where to eat.

I was reading along, agreeing, nodding my head in affirmation when I came to the last paragraph in the article

excerpt; Word of caution: if you have a heavy left foot (which is hard on the pocketbook these days) when you get near to Raymond, ease up on the accelerator. “Give the tourist a ticket” is a favorite sport of not only the WA State Patrol, but the Pacific County Sheriff. The South Bend Police Department has made it an art form and while the Pacific County Courthouse has a really cool dome, you may not want to have to appear to fight a ticket. Don’t even try. The new variation on the game is “pay us now, don’t get any more tickets in Pacific County for 6 months and the ticket drops off your record; fight the ticket and all bets are off.” Play it safe by driving safe. Don’t speed.

Well, it's true, and I had to nod my head in agreement. We try to always tell any of our guests traveling to visit us specifically to heed exactly the speed signs, and the speed changes throughout the span from Raymond till outside of South Bend. Can be 45 mph, then 30, then 50, then 45, then 30, then 40, then 55 on what is not much more than a 15 mile span along Hwy 101.

It's not all that friendly, and can be frustrating for those who, unaware, of the rapid changes in speed limits, find themselves 'caught' in one of the tourist traps. We know of visitors (not among our guests)who have not wanted to return to the area even with the siren call of Long Beach. And most people driving through on their way to say Long Beach, are from another region and don't relish the idea of returning to pay a visit to our Pacific County Courthouse to settle a traffic ticket.

But we, who live here, quickly learn about the shifting speed limits, and we who live here also know the siren call of Willapa Bay as well.