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Life as a Pedestrian: My First Few Days in Bellingham

Note: This is a piece that I wrote towards the beginning of my time in Bellingham. I plan another article soon as I am on the other side of my internship

The world is a bigger place when you have to walk everywhere. This is my profound discovery of these first few days in Bellingham. Walking is one thing that I’ve done a lot over these past few days. It gives you a different perspective on life. I’m thankful to the many drivers that have stopped for me to cross the road these past few days.

The apartment that I’m sharing with Stephen Morrison is nicely situated for all the walking that I’ll likely be doing this summer. It’s under two miles from both my job at Logos and from Dollar Tree. A Fred Myer’s only five minutes away rounds out the supply of necessities very nicely. ­

Walking also gives time to enjoy the hilliness and beauty that is around Washington. The Northwest is beautiful country. There are trees everywhere, and Bellingham is situated on a lake. I have yet to see everything around here, but even walking around the downtown and near my apartment shows a lot of beautiful flora and businesses.

Coffee shops are abundant in Bellingham. My favorite hangout so far has been Wood’s coffee shop, since I’m able to get free wifi when there. My favorite named one would have to be the The Black Drop simply for their logo:

For those that can't see it, The Black Drop logo shows a girl hugging a coffee cup, with flowing black hair flying back, as if electrocuted or buzzed. A drop of coffee is suspended right above the cup, ready to blow her into caffeine oblivion

Being required to walk in order to get Internet is also a productivity boon. Once you see this post, I’ll have stopped by the Wood’s Coffee Shop to get it uploaded to my server, but I wrote it at my apartment. Due to a scheduling mix up on my part, I am without Internet access at the apartment for at least another two days. Predictably, I can get more done when using my computer, such as writing this blog article and finishing the greater part of my blog software.

Walking also gives a different perspective on groceries. Getting more than one gallon of milk? Not if you want to get anything else. That trip to the dollar store 1.6 miles away doubles as an upper body endurance workout. You want to buy groceries, because it means that you don’t have to leave the house every time you want to eat something.

Overall, I think all this walking will be good for me. Time will tell…

Published Summer of 2014

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