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 Bellingham
Washington Visitor's Guide
Bellingham Washington, located
north of Seattle on the shores of Bellingham
Bay is America's Gateway to Alaska, and an
excellent home base to begin exploring the natural
wonders of Northwest Washington and Puget
Sound--America's Vacationland.
Whether you come to see the
magnificent resident Orca Whales or explore the
San
Juan Islands by
kayak, yacht, or excursion vessel,
Bellingham Washington is a great place to start.
Whale Watching Expeditions and Yacht Charters depart
Bellingham's waterfront from both the Squalicum Harbor and
the Bellingham Cruise Terminal located in the city's
historic red-brick district. There are also seasonal bay cruises and passenger service to
Victoria British Columbia on Vancouver Island.
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Outdoorsman's Pardise Bellingham
Washington
Bellingham and neighboring communities
offer visitors a dazzling array of outdoor
recreational opportunities, earning it a
number of nicknames including "Hiking Town
U.S.A." "Kayak Town" and the city's
unofficial slogan "City Of Subdued
Excitement." Whether you enjoy Hiking,
Cycling, Skiing, Snowboarding, Sailing,
Swimming, Whale Watching, Kayaking,
Golfing, Fishing,
Crabbing, or Camping--The
Possibilities For Outdoor Fun Are Endless!
Life In HamsterTown
Bellingham Wa is a thoroughly modern city
with a "Natural" disposition. Residents
enjoy numerous
forested trails, pathways, green spaces,
parks, waterfront parks, fresh water lakes,
rivers, and as if to please everyone,
there's even a waterfall. Beautiful Whatcom
Falls. Bellingham is consistently ranked as one
of the most desirable cities to live,
retire,
and visit in the United States by numerous
national publications, programs and
potentates and Real Estate values have reflected
it accordingly.
Bellingham is also home to
Western Washington University giving
Bellingham's Downtown district a distinct
college-town look and feel with a lively
music and arts scene. As night falls
Bellingham's Downtown restaurants, clubs and
sidewalk cafes come alive with activity.
| Mini Poll: Do You Support The
Coal Train And The Pacific Gateway
Terminal?
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Historic Fairhaven Washington
Fairhaven Wa known for
it's
historic old waterfront and red-brick
buildings is a regional transportation hub
where you can arrive by Bus, Amtrak Train,
or
Alaskan Ferry. Or you can hop on a train
north to Vancouver B.C. only 45 miles north
or catch a south bound train for Seattle,
Portland or wherever you're bound.
Fairhaven, once its own proud little town is
now part of greater Bellingham and its a
great place to explore if you're in town to
board the
Alaska Ferry.
In
Fairhaven you will find Bellingham's
Greyhound Bus Station & Amtrak Railway
Station adjacent to the Bellingham Cruise
Terminal, home to the southern terminus of
the
Alaska Marine Highway Ferry System
linking Sarah Palin and the great state of
Alaska with the mainland United States via
weekly passenger/car Ferry Service to
Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka and points
beyond.
The colorful shops,
restaurants, and sidewalk cafes of
Fairhaven
are popular with visitors and residents
alike. On your visit you are likely to see Bellinghamsters strolling along the
waterfront, enjoying a cup of coffee in
sidewalk cafes or sunning themselves on
Fairhaven's Village Green which hosts
numerous fairs exhibits and performances
throughout the year.
Dining In HamsterTown
Bellingham has a huge
variety of restaurants to please just about
anybody. From trendy sidewalk cafe's,
coffee shops, and all-you-can-eat-buffets,
to traditional full-service restaurants
serving, Thai, Italian, Chinese, Greek,
Japanese, Mexican, and American Favorites.
If you are in to
Casino
Gambling Fun, you can come stay, play and
gamble your life's savings away in a
Bellingham Wa area CASINO offering 24 hour
Las Vegas Style Casino Action. To learn
about Bellingham's History visit one of
Bellingham's museums such as the
Whatcom
Museum of History and Art,
Spark Museum, or
the unique Mindport Museum.
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"Did You Know?
How Puget Sound got it's
name?
Originally the name was
given only to the southern portion of the
Tacoma Narrows waterway by George
Vancouver in honor of Peter Puget, a
Lieutenant of French ancestry accompanying
him during his expedition to the region in
1792.
While anchored near present day
Seattle, Lieutenant Puget was dispatched to
lead a survey team with two row boats. Upon
his return, the surveyed area was named
"Puget Sound."
A "Sound" Is basically a "Bay"
only with two or more entrances to the
ocean. Puget Sound is an enormous basin of
waterways opening to the Pacific to the west
at Admiralty Inlet, and opening to the north
at the tip of Vancouver island through the
inside passage.
Today, "Puget Sound" is used not
just for the southern waterway portion of
the Sound, it also encompasses the entire
region encircling this vast inland sea.
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Bellingham's Shopping, Restaurants, &
Entertainment
Bellingham's
Bellis Fair
Mall and Guide Meridian area have become a
regional shopping destination drawing eager
shoppers from every corner of Whatcom County
as well as Southern British Columbia. Catch a live show or concert at the
haunted Mount Baker Theater,
profiled on the Sci-Fi Channel's "Ghost Hunters"
The City of Bellingham is
home to numerous national retailers
including Costco,
Walmart,
Target,
Macy's,
Home Depot,
Loews and more, as well as
traditional mom & pop stores and Asian
Markets. Bellingham has several major
grocery stores and supermarkets to choose
from lincluding
Albertsons,
Fred Meyers,
Haggens
Northwest,
Cost Cutter,
Trader Joes--Sorry but
there's no Safeway in Bellingham but there's
a very nice one in
Lynden.
Bellingham will soon be
home to the newest and one of the largest
WinCo
Mega-Supermarkets to be located in the
former Home Base/G.I. Joes building. WinCo
Supermarkets, an employee owned company
offers low prices that have to be seen to be
believed and it is sure to be a big hit with
local residents as well as a stampede of
Canadian shoppers.
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"The Whole Object Of Travel Is Not To Set Foot In A
Foreign Land; It Is At Last To Set Foot On One's Own Country
As A Foreign Land."
~ G.K.
Chesterton |
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Bellingham Airlines
Bellingham's
International Airport has undergone
extensive renovation and expansion
and now offers direct flights to fun
and sunny destinations like Honolulu
Hawaii, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver,
And Los Angeles, okay Denver may not
be so sunny but it is the gateway to
the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
Bellingham is a
convenient and affordable port of
departure for Northwest Washington
and Southern B.C. residents. With so
many regular
flights
arriving/departing from Bellingham
Airport passengers can avoid the
traffic, hassles, and travel time to
SeaTac or Vancouver International
Airport.
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To learn about Bellingham's History make time to visit one
of Bellingham's museums.
Whatcom Museum of History and Art,
Spark Musem, or the unique Mindport Museum.
NEWS! The
Regal Cinemas 16 Screen Theaters
With
Imax Is Now Open!
more information
Did You Know? Bellingham is also notable for
having more drive-through outlets than any other place in
the country.
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Cycles, Snowboards And Flying
Saucers
Bellingham, being one of the most prominent
communities in the shadow of
Mount Baker,
has become synonymous with its ever snowy glacial
peak. Majestic Mount Baker rises 10,781 ft in the
distance and is often clearly visible from
throughout the northern Sound and San Juan Islands from
the Olympic Peninsula to Vancouver British Columbia.
Read More
Immortalized By Artists, Filmmakers, &
Thrill-Seekers
If Mount Baker seems recognizable
or somehow familiar maybe its because it has been so
often been the main subject in countless landscape paintings, and
has been featured in numerous daredevil hot-dogging
ski and snowboarding videos.
Mt. Baker U.F.O.s
Mount Baker has also obtained a
somewhat quirky prominence in the world of UFO-ology
when the term "Flying Saucer" was first coined in
1947 after a small plane pilot helping in a search for a downed plane witnessed several
saucer shaped objects flying over Mount Baker at
high speed before zooming off and disappearing over/past
Mount Rainier. Read
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Massive Snowfall On Mt Baker
A more recent
claims to fame, Mount Baker holds the world record
for annual snowfall for a single season when in 1999
it received a recorded 1,140 inches (Nearly 100 ft of
snow!) Mount Baker's year-round glacial peak also holds the distinction
of containing more snow and ice than all other major
peaks in the Cascade Range--combined.
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Milk Wars Put Bellingham
Washington In the Spotlight
"Bargain Milk, Eggs, Cheese
Brings A Stampede Of Canadian Shoppers""
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The recent
influx of Canadians clamoring for dairy
products and other bargain food items has
landed Bellingham in the National and
International News Spotlight from New York
to the U.K. as some Bellingham residents
have called for a "Locals Only" shopping day
at certain stores.
The crowds of
Canadian visitors filling their
shopping carts and cars to overflowing with dozens
upon dozens of gallons of milk has perplexed
many Bellinghamsters and left them wondering
what they are doing with all that milk?
Read More
Thank You For
Shopping In Bellingham
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 Made In Bellingham/Whatcom County
The Bellingham Area and Whatcom county is famous for its fresh
locally caught seafood, organic produce, and more recently its fresh
milk and dairy products which Canadian visitors can't seem to get
enough of. Some Bellingham area retailers have expand their milk and dairy
sections or have added entire new grocery departments to cope with
the increased demand.
Northern
Whatcom County is North America's leading producer of fresh
raspberries and blueberries. Other non-food related industries
located in the Bellingham area include Aluminum chambered boats
produced for the U.S. Military and Homeland Security, outdoor
sporting products, sea kayaks, and premium shoe insole products..
Other major industries located in the north county include the BP
Refinery and Alcoa Aluminum plant. Some of the largest employers in
the Bellingham area are the St Joseph Hospital,
NW Washington University, Heathtechna Aerospace, and Bellingham
Based Grizzly Industries wood & metalworking machinery
company.
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