Visiting Bellingham Washington

                                         City of Bellingham with Mt. Baker in background

Last Friday we woke up to snow in Western Washington. The first time for us here in Gig Harbor; a lot of the area had a little snow the Monday before. On Friday we had one inch to four inches depending where you actually were.

On Monday December 12 Bellingham and the county of Whatcom where it is the largest city in the county had more snow where the rest of us did not have any snow. The mountains and ski resorts have been getting a lot of snow this winter so a good chance to get out skiing.

Bellingham is in the north part of Western Washington about twenty miles from the border of British Columbia and Canada. It has a population of around eighty-seven thousand and is the home of Western Washington University.

There are several options going into Canada from Bellingham. You can go straight north on interstate 5 and cross into Canada at Blaine or you can get off in Bellingham and go east for several miles to enter into Canada. I have done both depending on the traffic over the border.  A lot of citizens of British Columbia come down to Bellingham to shop depending on the money exchange at the time. Also the gasoline prices are less in Bellingham too. Usually I stop in Bellingham to get gas when going to British Columbia. I have cousins living in middle of British Columbia so when I go see them I go more east to cross the border.

I have a lot of cousins who live in the Bellingham area so we have a family reunion in one of the parks in Bellingham every couple years. Most of my cousins are second or third or whatever. My only first cousin still living in Bellingham is Jim Harrison.  He grew up in Bellingham and decided to stay.  He told me a few years ago that the house our great grandparents Nightingale is now a historic site. They along with several other relatives are buried in the Bellingham area. My grandfather Richard Nightingale settled in Tacoma coming from Birmingham, England around 1909. He had a sister who settled in Bellingham and that is where all those cousins come.  

Jim’s mother my Aunt Emily lived in Bellingham after becoming an adult and getting married. Besides Jim who is the youngest she had a daughter Peggy who lives in Oak Harbor close to her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. Also had a brother Pete who passed away six years ago; his widow Cindy along with their daughter Xica, husband Josh and four children live on Samish Island which is a small island south and west of Bellingham. They have a lovely view at their home. I am sure there are bed and breakfast places people can stay at in Samish Island. They have a son Chet who lives and works in Seattle.

Mount Baker is the closest place to ski and mountain hike near Bellingham. I recommend visiting Bellingham whether you are going to Vancouver, British Columbia to the north or Seattle, Washington to the south; a great place to visit a park or one of the lakes in the area.

Growing up our family visited Bellingham and Vancouver at least a couple times a year since we had cousins in both places.  I remember visiting Aunt Emily’s farm in Deming Washington which is a little south of Bellingham. Most I remember is the bull they had in their barn. I wasn’t very old at that time. It was before she moved into Bellingham. One year my brother Jack and I decided to run away. We thought it was a good idea at the time however we didn’t have money or food so we were gone for a couple hours before returning. What upset us was that no one noticed that we were missing. Talk about being disappointed. Another of the stories I remember well from childhood.

Remember to come and visit the wonderful world of the northwest.