Tag Archives: shops

Fairhaven Washington

A sunny fall weekend day is a good time to go out to somewhere new.  Nancy suggested we head up in the direction of Bellingham.  On our way in to the city, we stopped off in the Fairhaven district.  This is an old town area that has a core of nice little shops and restaurants.  We had a stroll around and I took the M6.  The fall colors and the bricks of the buildings looked great with my sunglasses on but that was assisted by the polarizing effect.  Since I had left a proper polarizer in the car, I tried shooting a few shots through the sunglasses’ lenses!

The area seemed to have plenty on offer for a visitor.  It was a bit cold and blowy so sitting outside was not too appealing but, in different times, it looks like somewhere that might be worth a further visit.  Some more time to peruse the shops and galleries as well as to try out the breweries would seem like a plan.  Not a huge amount on offer but, when it is so easily accessible from home, definitely worth a go.

Leavenworth – How Did I Not Foresee This?

After our trip to Roslyn, we decided to cut north towards Leavenworth.  I had heard about this town before although I hadn’t researched it at all.  It is famous for being in the style of a Bavarian town.  All of the buildings are styled like a Bavarian building and the town takes the theme everywhere.  Starbucks and McDonalds have their signs in a similar style!

While we were there, on a sunny summer’s day, the streets were busy and entertainment was being provided.  Some dancers had just finished up when we arrived but a band was playing on the bandstand with the sort of oompah music you might have expected.  They were pretty good too.

What I had not thought through is what sort of town this would be.  I grew up in tourist areas and have lived in others since.  I should have realized what the town would include.  Every building does look German but inside they are either an eatery or they are selling the amazing quantities of crap that you only find in tourist traps.  It was shop after shop full of rubbish.  We very quickly realized that there wasn’t too much to see but there were large crowds of people to get through to not see anything.  Time for a swift exit.  There was the museum of nutcrackers but, since I find them a creepy looking item at the best of times, that was not going to be the place for me!