My first trip of 2016 happened this past weekend in Bellingham, Washington – a small college town a couple of hours north of Seattle and an hour south of the Canadian border. A lot of people asked, why? where is that? – and I’m here to answer that! If you’re not familiar, I’ve spent a few years living in the Pacific Northwest and Bellingham holds a special place in my heart. I haven’t visited for about 9 years and been wanting to return. Today I’m sharing all my favorite places!
Boundary Bay Brewery –I think at least 70% of all Bellinghamers own a Boundary Bay Brewery hoodie. While there are other breweries in the area, Boundary Bay is quite the hopping place. I’m not a beer drinker so I’m not even going to attempt a commentary on the brews but the amount of people that were there, I’m going to guess it’s good! I did appreciate their house-made root beer, Salmon Chowder and the Stout Oatmeal Chocolate cake (apparently I’m ok with beer as long as it’s in the form of a cake).
Boulevard Park –Bellingham has hikes and parks for days. Unfortunately it was gloomy and rainy weather while I was there, making it hard to go hiking. We did end up strolling from Fairhaven to Boulevard Park to burn off the big breakfast. Boulevard Park is gorgeous. Clean, spacious with beautiful views of the islands and Bellingham Bay. During the summer, it’s the perfect place to lay out or have a picnic. They have a Woods Coffee there now, which was a pleasant surprise!
Fairhaven District – Fairhaven is one of those vintage towns that never changed with the times, which I love by the way. The sweets shoppes, cafes, jewelry, restaurants and knick knack shops are almost all local. It’s such a small area that you can walk through it within an hour or so. As I mentioned above, we had breakfast at Harris Cafe and left our car there to take a long walk into Boulevard Park. It’s like I went back in time, I adored it.
AB Crepes –Located in downtown Bellingham, AB Crepes was founded by Western Washington University students! This may not come as a surprise but I have a big sweet tooth and crepes are my favorite! Their crepes are huge (share!…or not!) and rich. We ordered the S’Mores crepe and the Raspberry w/ Nutella – both were delicious but the winner goes to the S’Mores! They’re open until 2:00AM which I can appreciate!
Western Washington University – Bellingham is a big part college-town. I had to give a mention to this campus because it’s stunning. The boomerang-shaped campus has a great mix of red-brick charm and modern architecture. The views they have of Bellingham Bay is gorgeous. I’m a bit of a nerd so I love anything related to schools but I do think it’s worth a stroll through campus.
Mallard Ice Cream – A Bellingham staple. They’re located in downtown Bellingham and have been for years. They serve not only delicious, high quality ice cream but they have the most unique flavors: Coriander, Black Sesame Seed Vanilla, Chocolate Rum, Nectarine Lemonade to name a few. It was freezing when I was there but nobody seemed to care, it was as busy as if it were a summer’s day!
Rocket Donuts –They have two locations but I visited the downtown Bellingham location because they have a huge rocket outside their shop- how cute is that? I wasn’t even that hungry but once I went, that changed fast. I opted for their Monster Donut which speaks for itself. I’m guessing it’s the size and weight of about 10 regular sized donuts. Whether you get the Monster or a regular donut, you’re going to love the taste and quality. Oh, great coffee too!
HomeSkillet – Last but most definitely not least, this breakfast place. HomeSkillet now ranks high on the list of top breakfast places. They were recommended highly by several people and it’s easy to see why! This quirky, very Bellingham, redesigned home-to-restaurant is in a residential area where you would never expect it to be. The wait for us was only about 15 minutes but I’m willing to wait an hour for their food. I got the Pulled Pork Tater Hash and The Signature Meaty Hash along with Hammerhead Coffee and a Grapefruit Mimosa. The has was crispy, piping hot and soft in the middle – drooling just thinking about it!
Special thanks to Revecka for reaching out and sending me a huge list of hot spots! Follow her on Instagram for beautiful pictures @BalticAndBell or just click here!
Next stop: Chicago, Illinois
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