We arrived in Bellingham, Washington on July 9, 2019. We are staying at the home of Peter’s brother Robert (Bob) and his wife, (Terry) and Peter and Bob’s mother, (Fran). We are staying here two weeks. Peter’s mother is 93 years old. Like our stay in Florence, Oregon, this is a family visit; especially to give Peter an opportunity to spend time with his elderly mother.
We will not be staying in an RV Park while we are here. We will be staying at brother’s (Bob) home in a spare bedroom. Bob has arranged for us to store our travel trailer in a covered storage facility 10 miles north of Bellingham. The space was very narrow and when we got it backed in we could only open the door about half way so we had trouble getting things in and out of the trailer. We realized we should have taken everything we need out before we backed it in to the space. (d’oh!)
Bellingham is close to the Canadian border, about 28 miles. As you know, Peter’s family is from Canada. Robert has lived in Washington for close to 20 years when he started working for Microsoft. He brought his widowed mother to Washington about ten years ago. We plan to also visit his two other brothers living in Canada.
Bob, Terry and Fran actually live in Sudden Valley which is about seven miles from Bellingham. They live in a 3-level home in an old growth forest. We sleep with the window open and go to sleep with a cool fragrant woodland breeze. We wake up to the sound of birds and that cool woodland breeze.
There is something magical about living in a forest. We also get to see deer at least once a day and try not to hit them when driving.
The first Saturday we were here the two brothers, John and James, came from Canada to visit. All four brothers spent the afternoon laying the cement footing for a flag pole in Bob’s front yard. James brought his children, Jet and Eden; they are 2 good-looking kids and both are as smart as a whip.
We have a tradition that every time we are in the area, we go as a family to Moby Dick’s Fish and Chips Restaurant in White Rock, Canada. They allegedly have the best fish and chips in the world. (It is Very good.)
As you may know, Bob and Terry have taken care of Fran, the ailing, widowed mother of the Coleridge brothers; she can barely see or hear among other elderly related medical issues.
Fran left Canada and moved in with Bob and Terry about 10 years ago. As you can imagine, this has been quite a challenge for them. To show some appreciation we treated them to a nice dinner and a night at a luxurious hotel which is a light house by the bay; they had the whole lighthouse to themselves. This provided a well-deserved break from their care giving duties as we were responsible for Fran that night.
Then on Friday, July 15 there was a surprise birthday party for Terry, Bob’s wife. She immigrated to the United States 15 years ago from Saskatchewan, Canada and shortly after became a US citizen. Bob’s 18 year old son, who lives near Seattle, came for the birthday dinner. Terry loves snow crab and ate about 2 lbs. of it. Fran had 2 dozen shrimp and the rest of us each had one of Peter’s famous steaks. Dessert was a chocolate ice cream cake. Delicious!
One afternoon Terry took us to Fairhaven Historic District, a part of Bellingham. It is known for its colorful 19th-century architecture and history. Presently, it is a charming art, eating and shopping district. We particularly enjoyed a 3-story book store. Miraculously, no purchases were made in Fairhaven.
Our 2-weeks in Bellingham provided Peter important time with his mother and bonding time with his brother Bob.
And there was one more opportunity for family bonding the day before we left Bellingham. Fran, Peter, James, John and June Yvonne met again at Moby Dicks for their famous Fish and Chips. They have set the standard for us regarding fish and chips.
North By Northwest 