Much of this particular trip has revolved around touching base with family, both in Oregon, and in Vancouver, BC. Because of that, our preferred destination campground this time was located in Bellingham, close enough to easily visit both locations. Our "destination campgrounds" are normally state or national parks with beautiful scenery and few amenities. This time, due to the length of our stay, we chose a Good Sam campground called Bellingham RV Park because it has provided full-hookup at our site (water, electric, and sewer), as well as immaculate restrooms and laundry facilities. The latter is important when spending a couple of weeks in one destination :)
As we explored this area, we spent some time in
Fairhaven, a historic part of the city of Bellingham, situated on the water's edge and rich with interesting old buildings turned to new use, a very active biking and walking area, home to trendy shops, wonderful bookstores, varied restaurants. We had a delicious lunch and a good browse at
Colophon Cafe and then walked around a bit just taking in the scenery. I was so busy taking in the scenery that I neglected to take photos! Fun area to explore; fair warning: STEEP streets in some sections.
We spoke with people we met about this area of Washington and learned that although it has not yet reached the outrageousness of Seattle in terms of traffic and real estate madness (people in Seattle reportedly receive multiple offers well over asking price within days of listing their homes), folks from Seattle are moving to this location (Bellingham and surrounding area) and commuting to work (both real-time and virtual commuting).
We spent several days exploring the communities of Anacortes and La Conner, both seaside towns. Coming from Michigan and appreciating the beauty of the Great Lakes, we are also always enthralled by oceans and ocean bays as saltier and larger versions of the water we have come to love - nay, feel bonded to - over the many years of living in the midwest. Some of the huge differences between this shoreline in Washington and what we are accustomed to in Michigan are: rocky shoreline vs sandy shoreline, 6-9 foot tides compared to negligible tides, varied marine life detritus on beaches vs the occasional dead fish on Lake Michigan beaches. But the water - AH, the magic of the water, the power of the water, THAT is similar! That makes us feel at home in an area far from home.
Here are some of the scenes that have endeared this area of the country to us.:
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| Bridge from Anacortes to Whidbey Island |
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| Harbor in Anacortes |
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| Washington Park outside Anacortes |
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| Washington Park. We ate lunch looking at this scene |
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| Washington Park. This pair of Bald Eagles was calmly perched just below where we were eating our lunch. |
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| Semiahmoo Park, Blaine, WA |
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| Scotch Broom - considered an invasive plant in this part of the U.S. - but what a beautiful nuisance ! |
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