Bellingham: Fairhaven, Chuckanut Drive, Parks, B&B

Bellingham was a great place to visit! I could quickly see why it has received national recognition as a desirable place to live, visit, and enjoy. The town was vibrant with its historic Fairhaven District featuring old restored brick buildings housing unique local restaurants, music venues, theaters, book stores, galleries, museums, and more. On the outskirts were the regular trappings for day to day living and shopping, and it was all ringed by beautiful parks, scenery, and access to other interesting areas in that part of Washington.
Our three days there were jam packed and too few, yet we got in some good relaxing as well at the B&B in the mornings and evenings. We saw a great free concert by environmental folk singer Dana Lyons at the Whatcom Museum of History and Art, and then toured the well kept and interesting streets of Fairhaven. We happened to find out that a local Bellingham performance duo, The Cody Rivers Show, was playing that night at the iDiOM Theater. We had enjoyed their intriguing, funny, and verbally intricate skits when they traveled south to Seattle several times before, so we talked to one of the performers and he was able to get us into the sold-out show. Good stuff, as usual.

Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners were yummy throughout town, and we had plenty of variety to choose from. We sampled different styles and ambiance all weekend with sandwiches at Avenue Bread, deserts at Colophon Cafe, fine French dining at Bistro Zazou, hearty brunch at Mount Bakery and the Old Town Cafe, and even enjoyed live Irish music and dancing at Skylark’s Hidden Cafe over dinner.

Bellingham provided great walking opportunities, with interesting and eclectic shops (you could find some pretty unusual gifts at some of the wackier stores), wide sidewalks, views over the Alaska ferry dock and Puget Sound, and pocket parks here and there.

Traveling a bit out of the center of town, we explored the best outdoor sculpture garden I have yet walked through: Big Rock Garden. It was started by the Drakes in 1981 and eventually purchased by the City of Bellingham in 1993. The art was wonderful, providing an interesting exploration among its many interwoven paths through tall old cedar trees, finding sculpture sometimes literally hidden in bushes and behind trees in unexpected locations. The park included native plantings and views out over Lake Whatcom as well, and in the summer the park allowed certain Pacific Northwest sculptors to temporarily add their pieces among the permanent collection and show them for sale to art patrons.

Whatcom Falls Park was a natural attraction worthy of a walk to its namesake waterfall flowing through Whatcom Creek, by a fish hatchery.

Chuckanut Drive headed south out of town toward Fidalgo Island and Whidbey Island, featuring sweeping panoramas out over Puget Sound to the San Juan Islands. This area included views and classic rugged Pacific Northwest scenes I had never seen before. Larrabee State Park enveloped a long rugged shoreline and rises on steep conifer-covered glacier-carved hillsides for terrific vistas and hiking trails.

And each evening we enjoyed the peace, amenities, and friendly hospitality at the Schnauzer Crossing Bed and Breakfast. After 21 years, the hosts Donna and Monty were transitioning out of the B&B business, but they had decided to keep their separate and romantic getaway cottage open to the public and past guests on a more limited basis. The cottage was spacious and well appointed, with lots of privacy and views out over Lake Whatcom. Hot tub and friendly schnauzer dogs included too.

Bellingham will be worth another visit another time…