Many a Lower Mainlander has been been enticed by deals south of the border in neighbouring Bellingham. I had never been. Oh, I’ve certainly enjoyed the pleasures of Seattle shopping, but also the great dining, art, touring, and the overnight accommodations that make that the real purpose of visiting.
Curious about the delights Bellingham had to offer, and on the threshold of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday this week, I went to see what all the fuss was about.

It’s close, even from downtown Vancouver, the drive, either via through Peace Arch or Aldergrove is a 45 minute drive (70 km) south to the border.  And another 16 km takes you to downtown Bellingham.

Our first stop was Bellingham Costco.  Already a member of our local Vancouver Costco, entry is included. Great.  How did it differ? Wow, it was overwhelming. Much cheaper electronics, tons of holiday baskets, chocolates, a huge deli section, the usual household and dry goods, and booze, asles of booze, including Dom, Veuve, and Crystal. Do I need to ask why a bottle of Dom is $125 US there and $210 CAD here? Lets just say, for me that’s just one reason to go. But it was crowded, even at 10am on a Friday morning, all the registers were working.  One glance past a row of parked cars, and my guess-timate was somewhere around 70-80% of the cars had BC plates.  I don’t blame them. Our one purchase here, would have cost us twice as much in Vancouver.

Needing a fill up, (we left Vancouver with 1/4 tank) we decided to see what all the other fuss was about…buying gas.  There were 8-10 queues all queued up. And in many cases, at least 3 in the 10 minutes I was there, people were filling up their fuel tanks as well as a number of gasoline canisters.  Is that a safe idea? I mean driving around town, over the border with 3 or 4 plastic cans of gasoline in your car?  What about the fumes?

The other most-visited shop seems to be the Trader Joe’s in Bellingham.

Certainly many a car hatchback had a multitude of pretty paper Trader Joe’s shopping bags.  It was crowded inside, and the lines seemed to be moving slowly. Certainly not a big draw for me, Moet was about the best on offer. But it’s got its niche in a kitch food way.

Enticed by the also great deals for holiday departing from Bellingham serviced by Alaska Air and Allegiant Air, we went to find the airport. Its convieniently located near the freeway. Not a big airport, but it looked to be under major expansion, so obviously growing in size. The parking is pretty close and costs $1 per hour, or $10 per 24 hours. The overflow lots costs $1 per hour, or $9 per 24 hours. There is no longer term rate at the Airport, though there are other private lots that advertise for long-term parking. No hotel at the Airport, though it looks like they have an open RFQ for Hotel Development, so maybe in the near future there will be some smart hotel there. Will look into current accommodations another time.

 

 

 

We stopped by the Bellingham Visitors Center to learn about non-shopping options the area has to offer. The clerk in the office was very helpful and friendly, lots of information on local hotels and inns, restaurants and the local micro brewery, Boundary Bay Brewing, and even hikes.  We picked up free street maps of downtown Bellingham and downtown Fairhaven.  And were encouraged to tour the tiny quaint Historic Fairhaven, and visit the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, home to the Alaska Ferry.