Bellingham is a college town about 1.5 hours north of Seattle, just 17 miles south of the Canadian border. Interstate 5 makes it an easy drive, but we had heard from Susan that Chuckanut Drive – the Pacific Coast road in this area – was very scenic, so we exited I-5 at Burlington and made our way to Chuckanut Drive and Puget Sound. Here’s the view from one of the scenic overlooks along Chuckanut Drive:

Built in 1896, Chuckanut Drive altered life in these parts. Previously, the only way to get from Whatcom County (where Bellingham is located) to Seattle was by water.

After admiring the view for a few minutes, we got back in the car and continued our drive.

As in Oregon, the road either hugs the cliff face or wends its way through magnificent stands of cedar, spruce and fir.

We passed two oyster houses on our way in to Bellingham (we’ll be back), but we were anxious to see the town, so we didn’t stop.

After lunch, we wondered around downtown Bellingham for a couple hours, happy to see the numerous restaurants, coffee shops, bars, theaters and funky shops.

And snow!

This place has promise.