Monday, June 13, 2011

Day Tripping in Bellingham

Here I am, sitting at the computer with a windy and overcast sky outside while looking longingly at these lovely photos of Bellingham and Chuckanut Drive and Fairhaven and listening to the Cure's Greatest Hits. It seems like just yesterday I was up in the sun, frolicking around Bellingham. Well, shoot. It was yesterday. It feels like it was eons ago.

I spent the first 12 or so years of my life in Bellingham. I don't really know anyone from back in the day up there anymore and I rarely visit, but spending an afternoon at Village Books and the Colophon Cafe in Fairhaven and trolling through used record stores and antique shops and walking down to the water makes for a pretty satisfying way to pass the time and makes me wonder: Why I don't I get up here more often?
It started with a journey to get a puppy. I want a puppy. I will one day soon get a puppy. But I realized that with a sick kitty that needs IV's and TLC every day, I need to wait before I bring a puppy into our house. It was a hard decision that I know disappointed a few of our friends. (But are they the ones that are going to be cleaning up puppy messes and losing their favorite shoes to little puppy teeth? I think not.) Anyways, the puppy breeders are in Bellingham. And after realizing I wasn't going to go up to Bellingham to get the puppy, I decided I needed to get up there anyways. Trevor was out with his dad who was in town visiting, so I picked up my friends Danny and Alex and we zipped up to Fairhaven for the afternoon.

I can't remember why there is a red telephone box in Fairhaven. It was there when I was a kid, 30 plus years ago. There's also a funky old, double decker bus that is now a fish and chips stand.

Colophon Cafe makes a great sandwich. That African peanut soup was good too. And the Arnold Palmer (half iced tea/half lemonade) hit the spot.

We walked down to Marine Park to take in the views.

At a used record store I bought the Cure's Greatest Hits and a 1963 recording of Carmen with Leontyne Price and Robert Merill. I love this copy; it includes a hard copy of the libretto. The CDs I just bought of Die Walkure have the libretto on one of the discs and it is a pain to read. I have a serious problem when I go into small shops; I always want to buy something and support the local businesses. I am sure the owners of these shops don't think I have a problem!

We drove home on the ever lovely Chuckanut Drive.
Then Danny and Alex treated me to dinner and two games of Settler's of Catan. Some days can't get any better!

2 comments:

  1. Love that African peanut soup. I have the Colophon cookbook & made it at home, but it didn't quite taste the same... Bellingham was a great place to grow up.

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  2. I never get tired of the views on Chuckanut!

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