Bellingham - Ferndale
Washington
Bellingham started as four lumber towns along the bay. They merged in 1903, but Fairhaven still holds onto its name, even though it's a few miles south of downtown. The mills closed. The salmon canneries followed a bit after. What came next was built around the university and the fact that the mountains and the water are close enough to reach on a lunch break. The breakfast spot on Holly Street goes until mid-afternoon and the morning crowd stays through a second coffee, so be warned if you are waiting for a table. A shop on Commercial makes its own chocolate and gelato, and everyone struggles to pick just one flavor. The wine bar sits in a wedge-shaped building where Bay meets Prospect and fills up most evenings. Ferndale is ten minutes north, smaller, the kind of town where the main street has angled parking and people wave from their cars. On a clear day, you can see Baker from half the parking lots in the county. Nobody stops to take a picture anymore.
