Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
A Getaway to Bellingham – Fairhaven, Lake Padden, and WWU
A few days away does a body good and so it was for us this week, when we headed north to Bellingham.
Ninety miles north of Seattle, close to the Canadian Border, Bellingham is home to Western Washington University, where I went to school back in the day and fell in love with the town and the campus.
We stayed in Old Fairhaven, a unique, historic district where we could walk to our favorite bookstore, shops and restaurants.
Our first full day there, we woke early and went to Woods Coffee on Bellingham Bay. Then we drove to Lake Padden, a few miles away, a popular park, that for some reason we’d never been to before. Wow! We loved it! We walked the trail around the lake, through the forest, a perfect length of 2.75 miles.
There were a handful of people on the trail, including runners in shorts and t-shirts, though it was in the thirties; must be students we thought, young and hearty. (We were bundled up.)
There were lots of ducks and birds in the lake,
but what caught my attention was a Great Blue Heron hiding in the trees.
After our walk, we returned to Fairhaven for lunch at the Colophon Cafe,
then headed to Western, just before sunset. Western Washington University has a beautiful campus, surrounded by woods, and holds the sweet memories of youth. Old Main is still standing, where I registered each quarter, in person, from a paper catalog, long before the internet.
We walked through Red Square, surrounded by buildings where I took my classes. I especially loved the first two years of school when I had to satisfy general liberal arts requirements. Yes, eventually, there were Business and Accounting classes, which I enjoyed too, but not as much as English, Western World Literature, and History of the Middle Ages.
Across the street from Wilson Library, the large sculpture is still standing, near the Viking Union Building, overlooking Bellingham Bay,
where we were treated to a gorgeous sunset.
We passed more sculptures on our way back to the car (Western is known for their collection,) including these little people,
and stairs to nowhere.
The sun set quickly, and it was dark by the time we were back at our hotel. After freshening up, we walked to dinner, adding to our totals for the day, 17,000 steps, or 7 miles according to my fitbit. (I hadn’t walked that many steps in a day, since our trip to NYC last fall!)
A couple of days away was just what we needed. Time to head home.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Perfect 🤩🙌🏼
Thank you! It was a perfect getaway!
What a great way to escape the madness of everyday news…peaceful, quiet and a nice way to decompress! Thanks for the tour!
Yes, we needed that escape for sure! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Wow, I love the little town and the surrounding forest, very beautiful, Susanne! Thanks for sharing the lovely views. ❤️😊
Thanks, John. So glad you enjoyed it!
Yes, I always enjoy your posts, Susanne, happy weekend!! ❤️😊
Great pics, Susanne. I agree about short holidays versus long ones.
Thanks, Don. It was nice to have a short getaway, and come back refreshed. The cats appreciated it, too!
Great photo trip! I love the sculptures! I managed to get 52,000 steps while on the cruise (well, one of the excursions) and that injured my Achilles tendon… oh well, now I’m in the healing process!
Thank you! 52,000 steps? Wow! I thought 17,000 was good. Sorry about your injury. Hope you heal soon.
It is going to be a long healing process – the most important thing is to avoid reinjury while it is healing. I’ve discovered that I’m good for 2 trips up and down the stairs. Anything more and I am in pain… A good reason to put off laundry! Yay!
Glad you had a good break, and good to see that the Colophon Cafe is still in business. I loved that place when I lived there. I don’t remember visiting Lake Padden when I was there though. My loss! I used to live below WWU and worked above it, so I cycled through it most days, at least until someone ran out from behind a bus and we collided!
It was a nice time; I love visiting Bellingham and the campus, and staying in Fairhaven. And yes, eating at the Colophon, and visiting the bookstore, all good! 🙂 I hope you (and the other party) weren’t hurt too badly during your collision! Scary.
Ah, the bookstore is still there too. Excellent. I got an impressive collection of raw flesh. The other guy had to go to hospital, but was fine. Ironically, he worked part-time at the same place I did, and had to take the next day off. I was able to go in though.
Yikes! Glad you healed up quickly!
That looks like a perfect winter break, discovering somewhere new AND revisiting some old haunts 🙂 The lake looks lovely, so still, and that’s a beautiful sunset over the bay! I also loved the little people sculptures 😀
Thanks, Sarah. We had a great few days away. The lake was perfect for a nice walk, and we loved visiting the campus, my favorite!
What a treat to go back to visit your old university and find it all still as you remembered it. And surrounded by a nice town and some lovely countryside too. My old school is still in the same place, but unfortunately that is a run-down district of South London that I have no real desire to revisit.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks, Pete. It’s always a treat to visit Bellingham and the campus. Both have changed very little over the years, probably because of the remote location.
I spent a lot of time in Bellingham when we lived in Vancouver. Great shopping and restaurants. I especially liked Old Fairhaven. Nice memories.
Wonderful! It really hasn’t changed much!