Exploring Bellingham, La Conner, Everett & Granite Falls (Pacific: rent, house)

[PartIrish]

If you are flying out of SEA TAC, the drive from Edmonds to the airport could take 1.5 hours on a weekday. The slowdown will mostly be north of the city and you will be fretting about making your flight. If you stay in or near downtown Seattle the commute to the airport will be closer to 20 minutes.

[sll3454]

Originally Posted by MauriDarling

Just one more question… Any recommendations for where to stay our last night? We would like to be pretty close to the airport or within a reasonable drive, as we have a 1015 flight in the morning. Would Edmonds be a good choice? Didn’t want to deal with a lot of traffic in the morning. Thanks.

Since the only thing you will be doing in the morning is going to the airport, stay close to the airport. (You could also return your car the night before and choose a hotel with a shuttle, but it might be just as easy to return the car in the morning.)

[rkcarguy]

It's been awhile since I've flown out of Seattle, but sll3454 is correct. With weather and traffic a potential big slowdown, I'd stay in one of the hotels adjacent to SeaTac that offers a shuttle (and continental breakfast/breakfast bar if available). That way you can turn the rental in the night before, sleep in a bit more, get some breakfast, and then simply have the shuttle drop you off at "departures". It's worth every penny, especially if you have a long flight/layovers ahead of you.
We are getting some more snow in the Whatcom county area, and it's 16 degrees this morning. Coming back from Mill Creek Sunday night I hit snow around the Stanwood area and it looked like a different world than when I passed it going south an hour earlier. Near white out show, heavy slush on road, several cars off the road and one rollover accident. Took me almost 2 hours to go 40 miles back to Bellingham. Thankfully the turbo-freeze NE winds didn't get too strong and we haven't seen the 6* temps forecast earlier.
It's snowing again today, but the sheer amount of traffic is keeping I-5 and the main roads in decent shape and traffic is still zipping by as I write.

[mayfair]

It's snowing again, and looks like Everett north may get 2-5 inches tonight, which could make travel complicated after the temperatures fall again.

[MauriDarling]

Happy to report that we arrived without too much incident on Tuesday. While our flights were delayed, we drove the Subaru straight up I-5 and reached our hotel pretty late. As it turned out, we had no traffic, just snow and wind. Nothing we are not used to, after living in Colorado!

Really glad that I asked about the hotel recommendation near the airport. I now understand the magnitude of the traffic, As we saw some of the congestion leaving the airport.

NEW QUESTION:

We are in Fairhaven and would like to take a walk without taking the car. Are there any trails or walks Right in town? We did the Boardwalk loop yesterday.

Also, we will be in downtown Bellingham for lunch – any recommendation for Seafood market/stand for steamed muscles? Nothing fancy, picnic table sort of thing.

[PartIrish]

Glad you made it to Bellingham! There is an interurban trail called the Padden Creek Trail that starts at 1815 Old Fairhaven Parkway, maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile from Fairhaven. Another starts in Fairhaven at Harris and just west of 8th St called the Lower Padden Creek and Larrabee Trail.

Steamed mussels: Rock and Rye in downtown B'ham, the Web Locker at Squalicum Bay, or the Skylark Cafe in Fairhaven all have seafood; you will have to call re steamed mussels in particular. If you're willing to drive down Chuckanut, try Taylor's Oysters--it's definitely a picnic table place. The double decker bus in Fairhaven at 11th and Harris has great fish and chips, and is also a picnic table spot. Or, if you want to drive 20 minutes up the road, Drayton Harbor Oyster Company is excellent.

[MauriDarling]

We ended up hiking Whatcombe Falls; it was really beautiful – the sun even tried to come out a bit. Will definitely go to Taylor Oyster Farm, as we are staying on Chuckanut drive right above the oyster house. Thanks for the suggestions of the hikes. We will try Padden tomorrow morning.

[rkcarguy]

Good to hear you got to Whatcom falls for a hike, it's a great park. The snow has been keeping about half our typical traffic at home, so you probably got the pleasure of a far less busy Bellingham visit than would be typical. Whatcom falls park is usually full on a nicer day.

[PartIrish]

Also happy to hear you chose Whatcom Falls Park--it's really lovely and has lots of trails to explore. If you are staying near the oyster house, go a few miles further south and you will be in Bow/Edison. As I think I mentioned in an earlier post, the Farm to Market bakery (right on the side of the road on Highway 11 (Chuckanut drive) has very delicious baked goods, and tasty homemade soups for a cold day. Enjoy!

[mayfair]

MauriDarling, how was the rest of your trip? Hope you had a good one!