The rain started hitting my windshield around Burlington. Small drops at first, then big drops, followed by small drops again and then none at all. As soon as I shut off my wipers, the cycle of precipitation would start all over, reminding me of the unpredictable nature of road trips during Pacific Northwest winters.
I was driving north on Interstate 5 toward a two-day, one-night getaway to Bellingham. My mission: investigate whether taking a pleasure trip within the state during the winter (sans skis) can in fact be a pleasure — no matter whether the weather cooperates. And not to break the bank doing it.
I found several advantages to winter travel, including discounted prices for lodging.
"Off-season promotions are very strong right now and probably will be through March," said Carrie Wilkinson-Tuma, a manager with the Washington state Office of Trade and Economic Development. "Given our economic times, folks are sticking closer to home and many places are offering discounts to give people a reason to travel in Washington throughout the winter and early spring."
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The Castlegate House Bed and Breakfast towers over the Fairhaven neighborhood.
(DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES) |
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Sadly, there is no clearinghouse for winter travel promotions, although the state-run www.experiencewashington.com is a good place to start research. The portal provides links to travel-destination Web sites from around the state, some of which feature winter specials. Newspaper and magazine advertisements also are good places to scan for slow-season price breaks; Bellingham, Grays Harbor County and the Yakima Valley each have been running ad campaigns for off-season lodging specials, following in the steps of longtime winter-discount programs in bigger cities.
I found a unique place to stay in Bellingham by cruising the Internet. Running a Google search of "Whatcom County" and "bed & breakfast," I chanced upon www.barstop.com/links/lodging, which provided an exhaustive list of B&Bs, including links to Web sites for individual properties.
Photos of an 1889 Victorian mansion-on-a-hill in the Fairhaven district that promised elegance, vistas and a discounted winter rate charmed me. So I booked the Castlegate House Bed & Breakfast for $125 a night, a $50 break compared to its May-to-September rate. A splurge, sure, but I figured I could fit it within my $200 getaway budget by being thrifty in my food, entertainment and recreation choices.
Others with the same idea
I had visions of having full run of the three-floor estate, but those were folly. Unbeknownst to me, Jonathan Callahan and Leska Fore were 30 miles behind me on I-5, headed to Bellingham and the Castlegate House with a similar notion of a winter getaway.
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Chess players focus on friendly matches in the Break Espresso café on Cornwall Avenue in downtown Bellingham.
(DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES) |
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The couple, from Seattle's Fremont neighborhood, was looking to escape (with the help of an understanding grandmother) the responsibilities of parenting three young children, if only for one night. In selecting the location of their getaway, the pair settled on Bellingham over La Conner, Index, Leavenworth and Mount Si.
"We thought that places in the mountains would be too dark this time of year," Callahan said.
"We're outdoor people," Fore added. "With Bellingham, we figured we could explore some of the parks if the weather permitted, or do museums and downtown if it didn't and also not have to be shut in at night."
I had a similar agenda.
By the time I arrived at the Castlegate House, however, the Bellingham skies had opened up. I got drenched during the mad dash from the street where I parked, through the iron gate, along the dormant-for-winter heather garden path, past the matching lion sculptures and up the steps to the front door.
The house, designed by world-class architect Kirtland Cutter and originally owned by Idaho millionaire Jim Wardner, offers five guest rooms. I had reserved the Turret Room for its pentagonal glassed-in sitting room and panoramic views of Bellingham Bay and the San Juan Islands. The only problem was that the rain made visibility poor. If there were islands beyond that bay, I sure couldn't see them. So I snacked on the wedge of brie and salty crackers left for me in the room, pretended to be European royalty and pondered my next move.
When all else fails, eat
I headed downtown for lunch, ordering lamb souvlaki at Cafe Akroteri, a Greek restaurant recommended by Preston Hall, who runs the Barstop.com Web site where I had found the link to Castlegate House. A 1996 graduate of Western Washington University, Hall started the site to nudge lethargic Bellinghamsters out of the house and into live-music clubs to support local bands.
"They like to complain that there is nothing to do up here," he said. "But there is a lot to do."
My friends Les and Rebecca, who had moved from Seattle to Bellingham last April, have a greyhound, Wiley, who won't let them slip into lethargy. After lunch, I headed to their house on the edge of downtown for advice on having fun in their city. Rebecca had compiled a list and many of the options included places where Wiley liked to be walked. Happily for my budget, they also did not involve much expense.
As we went over the list, we noticed something strange outside the window. A sun break.
Rebecca put a leash on Wiley and we walked downtown along a trail that runs along Whatcom Creek, part of Maritime Heritage Park. The prior downpour had swelled the creek into rapids, so the salmon that usually jump upstream were laying low and therefore invisible. We did, however, see a blue heron resting on a piling.
We took a short detour to view a house built in 1856 for George E. Pickett, a West Point graduate, whose Company D of the Ninth Infantry offered protection for early Bellingham settlers who feared raids from British Columbia Indians. Pickett later became a famous Confederate general, leading the futile "Pickett's Charge" during the Battle of Gettysburg.
After that history lesson, we explored contemporary downtown Bellingham, a shopping district more eclectic — and to me, more authentic — than well-appointed Fairhaven. We walked past a row of antique stores on Holly Street, slipped into Greenhouse (a classy home-furnishings store, but not so classy that it prohibits greyhounds) and peeked into the Pickford Cinema, Bellingham's beloved art-house movie theater run by the Whatcom Film Association.
Bellingham being just small enough, we ran into Callahan and Fore, my mates at the Castlegate House. They would eat dinner downtown at The Vines, a wine-bar-turned-restaurant, where they relaxed for three hours over a bottle of wine and a fine meal for about $60. Les, Rebecca and I ate for a little less at Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro, a brew pub popular with the locals, where I tried vegetarian enchiladas stuffed with yam (yum) and tipped back an I.P.A.
Kicking back in my castle
I then showed off the Castlegate House to my friends as if I owned the place. We gave a blue-collar smirk to the four bottles of sherry available for sampling in the first-floor library. I poured a glass of the aperitif Campari (note to self: it's nasty) and we headed to the third floor, which I had to myself. Les and I shot pool and Rebecca warmed herself beside the iron gas stove, browsing a magazine collection heavy on past issues of The New Yorker and Smithsonian.
The Castlegate House is like a museum, with proprietor Edward Davidson owning enough antiques to organize his own road show. Just past 7 a.m., Davidson delivered a pot of strong coffee and muffins to my room. Breakfast followed at 9:30 in the dining room, which is situated within his private quarters. The door opened an entirely new appreciation of the castle, with stained-glass windows and more amazing antiques and fixtures.
A short drive placed me at one of several entrances to Whatcom Falls Park. I followed my ears to the falls and began a peaceful hike that followed the rushing creek. One trail put forest and fern over one shoulder and the backside of an apartment complex over the other, a reminder of Bellingham's delicate balance with nature.
From there, I teased the ducks with a camera (but no bread crumbs) at Lake Padden Park, which Rebecca described as Bellingham's version of Green Lake. By then, the rain had started again so I opted against a three-mile walk around the lake.
I headed out of town on Chuckanut Drive, rewarding my braving of the wet, windy roads by stopping at the popular Oyster Creek Inn restaurant, tucked in a wooded crook of the road just above its namesake stream. The 1930s-vintage restaurant reopened in November 2001 after a harrowing renovation project that used 650 tons of concrete and steel to secure its slipping foundation into 70-foot-deep bedrock. The late-afternoon light reflected off the green-clothed boulders below.
The menu is pricey, but after filling up on breakfast at the B&B, lunch didn't need to be large. I ordered the $10 oyster stew, a cream-based soup seasoned with tarragon, garlic, shallots and cracked pepper. But instead of the usual five oysters, I got 10. The chef accidentally had drenched five extra oysters in the Pernod liqueur, meaning they had to be cooked right away or be lost.
Like everything about getting away during a Pacific Northwest winter — sometimes it pays to be smart and other times it pays to be lucky.
If you go
A winter getaway to Bellingham
Lodging: Castlegate House Bed & Breakfast, 1103 15th St. Rates: October-April, $125 a night, $200 two nights; May-September, $175 a night, $300 two nights. 866-756-2224, 360-201-9086, www.castlegatehouse.com.
Dining:
Cafe Akroteri, 1219 Cornwall Ave., 360-676-5554.
The Vines, 1319 Cornwall Ave., 360-714-1161.
Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro, 1107 Railroad Ave., 360-647-5593.
Oyster Creek Inn, 2190 Chuckanut Drive, Bow, 360-766-6179.
No-cost and low-cost attractions:
Maritime Heritage Park, 1800 C St.; Big Rock Garden of Art, 2900 Sylvan St.; Whatcom Falls Park, 1401 Electric Ave.; Lake Padden Park, 4882 Samish Way; all part of Bellingham Parks & Recreation Department, 360-676-6985 or www.cob.org/parks.
Pickford Cinema, 910 Bancroft St. 1416 Cornwall Ave., 360-738-0735.
Greenhouse, 1235 Cornwall Ave., 360-676-1161.
Zuanich Point Park, a waterfront playground at Squalicum Harbor Road.
Bellwether at the Bay, the Port of Bellingham's new upscale, commercial development at Bellwether Way.
Cornwall Park, Bellingham's Central Park, 2800 Cornwall Ave.
Sehome Hill Arboretum, with hiking and biking trails near Western Washington University.
Whatcom Museum of History & Art,with exhibits housed within landmark 1889 former City Hall at 121 Prospect St. Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.; 360-676-6981.
American Radio Museum, a bonanza for broadcast buffs at 1312 Bay St. Hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 360-738-3886.
Mount Baker Theatre, where culture thrives within an arts palace at 104 N. Commercial St. Administration: 360-733-5793. Box office: 360-734-6080.
More information:
• www.barstop.com This Web site has a youthful vibe but boatloads of information for people of any age or interest. Under the "Links" icon at the top of the page are exhaustive directories of places to stay, eat and play in Bellingham — including many links to their own Web sites. Bed-and-breakfast options.
• Bellingham/Whatcom County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 360-671-3990 or www.bellingham.org.
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