Taylor Avenue View

Fairhaven Harbor is seen from atop South Hill.  The Alaska ferry was not here this day, but if it had been it would have been docked center view.

Waiting

This wrought iron table sits and waits for use outside of Daphnes in Fairhaven. Sadly, I think it has a long wait ahead of itself.

Boardwalk

Fairhaven looms in the distance as the rain holds off just long enough for an early afternoon walk on the Taylor Street Dock.  A few people were trying their hand at crabbing, though the crabs seemed to know better and were avoiding the pots. 

Do you think they meant to dress alike?

Salts

Jars of gourmet salts march across the counter at Quel Fromage, Fairhaven's dangerously yummy cheese shop. A friend and I had a picnic lunch with their "Fromage A Go-Go." We chose the box packed with wedges of brie and blue cheese, a little jar of honey (from my neighbor, Rob and his Backyard Bees!), two mini crusty baguettes, strawberries, and two amazing chocolate ganache-stuffed figs. It definitely beats my usual PB&J picnic lunch!

The Old Warehouse

It is flanked on one side by a blackberry-laden trail

and on the other by a boardwalk busy with people.

Mothers chat, pushing tandem strollers

joggers sweat past it and bicycle bells ring.

No one looks at the loveliness of one decaying warehouse

except for us.

Because we're like that, aren't we?

Harris Avenue Cafe

Faces at the table

Faces on the wall

Thwarted in Exploration

Doesn't the sign just make it more enticing?

A Long Line of Bicycles

The Ski to Sea race ends in Fairhaven, where a huge celebration (literally named "It All Ends in Fairhaven") awaits teams and revelers. Thousands of people join the fun, so it's smart to forgo the car and walk, bike, or take the shuttle. Some of these bikes belong to race participants-- there's a road bike leg and a mountain bike leg in the race-- and some, like ours, were just bicycling on a beautiful day.

Run, Baby, Run!

For Mother's Day I decided I deserved a new pair of running shoes. I was directed by a friend to Fairhaven Runners, and I'm so glad I went. Silly me-- I thought I would pick a shoe or two I liked the looks of, try them on, and say "Sure, this one's good!" and out I'd go. Luckily, the knowledgeable guy who helped me knew better than I did what I needed, and after plenty of trial runs I found the perfect shoe for me.

Guess what? The sun is out, and I'm going for a run!

Left Behind

"Was it something I said?"

(click to enlarge)

A New Kind of Pet

They follow her down the street,
faithful puppy dogs begging for a treat
but they don't sit, shake hands, roll over--
and they sound more like Rover's squeaky toy
than Rover.

Weekend Reflections: Beer

More of a weekend refraction than a weekend reflection,

this shot was taken during happy hour at Archer Ale House in Fairhaven.

And a happy hour it was indeed.

The Old Oak Tree

Walking down Knox Avenue in Fairhaven the other day, we saw this sign. It touched my heart-- in a world that generally can't tear down old things and put up new stuff fast enough, here was a sweet family who cherished their old oak tree, and recognized that their neighbors did, too. Goodbye, old oak tree! You will be missed, but I suspect not many oak trees are as loved as you are.

My Little Girl

Years from now she won't phone,

and I won't have met her latest boyfriend--

the one

who might be "the one."

She'll sleep in a bed that I don't tend,

and have a job I don't quite understand--

but I'll be happy

it makes her happy.

Years from now she'll choose her own hats,

and wear a chic red beret from France,

or a yellow cloche

or saucily angled fedora.

I'll embrace her when she's home for the holidays,

elated with this lady, my little girl--

and she'll be happy

she's made me happy.

This was taken at Eclipse Bookstore in Fairhaven.

Click here to visit other poets on One Shot Wednesday.

Before the Storm

Bellinghamsters are like cats-- if there's a sunny spot, we'll find it and relish it until it's gone.

Wardner's Castle

One of a pair of statues guarding the gate to Wardner's Castle

Wardner's Castle today, and...

over a century ago.

If you do a Google search for Wardner's Castle in Bellingham, WA, the top results will be: as a bed-and-breakfast, as a major historical home, and as a widely-believed-haunted house. 

Wardner's Castle was designed by architect Kirtland Cutter and built in 1889 for Jim Wardner, who lived in Fairhaven for only two years but during that time invested in the Bloedel-Donovan coal mine, founded a waterworks, an electric company, the Samish Lake Logging and Milling Company, Fairhaven National Bank, and-- rumor has it-- the infamous Eliza Island Consolidated Black Cat Company. Busy guy.

The web search on this home is downright comical in the abundance of information, and I could spend all day researching and writing about it, but I already have a five-year-old pestering me-- I mean um, cheerfully asking me-- for her breakfast, so that project is doubtful. Instead, here are some interesting links I've found which, should you have no pestering five-year-olds of your own, you should check out.

Click here to read a blog post by Taylor, a local ghost-hunting girl, about the creepy side of Wardner's Castle. Please note that I don't know her sources. However, as far as local-legend stuff goes, everything she writes about is widely believed to be true. I remember my high school paper (Sehome High School, and the paper was called The Rising Tide, but who knows what it's called now) did an article on the house in the mid-90's and had many of the same pictures of the murals.

Click here for a blog post by Brandon Nelson, a local real estate agent who showed the home to prospective buyers in March 2010. He has some pictures of the interior included. I don't know if it was sold to these buyers or some others, but it was recently purchased by somebody who is now doing a lot of work-- when I walked by last week it was empty and there was a lot of plaster and drywall lying around.

Click here for a short "official" history of the home on the City of Bellingham website.

Click here for a longer history of James F. Wardner himself from the Skagit Journal. This article has several more interesting relevant links included. See why you could spend all day on this?

Lastly, click here for an article, also from the Skagit Journal, about the legendary Consolidated Black Cat Company. It's a fun read.

All right, you guys have fun. I've got breakfast to get on the table! 

Cathedrals in Conflict

Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Fairhaven

Church of the Assumption on Cornwall Avenue

The beauty of the two Catholic churches in Bellingham belies the feuding history between them. The Church of the Assumption, in what used to be the north end of Bellingham, was formed in 1889. From the beginning, however, the southside community clamored for their own parish. (Those darn Fairhavenites, always wanting to go their own way!) Their requests went unheeded until 1903. Ironically, as the towns of Whatcom, Fairhaven, Sehome, and Bellingham were consolidating into one, the Fairhaven Catholic community was granted their request to divide the local parish into two. About one-third of the Assumption parishioners left to form Sacred Heart, and they hopped around from place to place until the church was built in 1913. Supposedly the rivalry between the churches was so intense that parents from one church would actually forbid their children to go to the other church, and parishioners claimed they would rather go to a Protestant church than attend the other Catholic church.

They both are lovely though, aren't they?

Sisters

She could play but nothing is ever more interesting than what big sister is doing.

Eclipse Bookstore

My favorite thing about Eclipse Bookstore is the serendipitous organization system. Sure, they have some books in shelved categories, but there are also piles of books everywhere you look. As soon as I find a stack with an intriguing top book I inevitably discover that all the books underneath it are books I've been wanting to read. Who needs alphabetical order when you have serendipity on your side?