Bellingham is a town about an hour and a half north of Seattle and has been on the list of “places I want to visit” since we moved here. This past weekend, our dear friends Woody and Jenny invited us to go up with them for a day of crabbing! So, we had two firsts- our first trip to Bellingham and our first Pacific Northwest Dungeness crabbing adventure! I sure hope it wasn’t our first and only of either experience!
Bellingham was completely charming. It actually reminded me of a Northeastern town in New Hampshire, Vermont, or Maine transported to the Pacific Northwest. It was breathtakingly beautiful with lush evergreens lining every road, rolling hills, and stunning views of Bellingham Bay and the nearby San Juan Islands.
Woody and David did all the baiting and hauling in and out of the crab pots. Basically, they did all the work!
The water was nearly glass like as we boated around Bellingham Bay tossing crab pots loaded with salmon carcasses into the water hoping for a yummy crab reward. The day was perfect- a little bit of fall crispness and overcast skies that cleared near lunch time to blue skies and warming temperatures. We pulled into a picturesque little cove that is part of Lummi Island, one of the San Juan Islands, and anchored for a lunch picnic. The views were stunning!
An amazing sailboat anchored in the same little cove we pulled into for lunch
We caught tons of crabs, but ended up keeping 5 after we measured them to make sure they met regulatory standards for size (at least 6 and 3/4 inches) and gender (male). And, we even caught a few starfish! The crabs made for a super tasty dinner just boiled in some Old Bay and salted water.
Jack catching a little nap as we headed back to shore
a fossilized palm tree in the sand cliffs
It was such a fun day- one, like so many, that makes us feel like we live in vacation land!
Our second day in Bellingham was equally fun- another post with more photos coming later in the week, so as not too saturate you too much at once!
Brown Goat 