Fairhaven is a little town right outside of Bellingham, WA. I went to school near there, so heading to the north end of the sound is always a bit fun for me. Fairhaven, however, has become a bit more of a fun place to go now that we have Evie to tag along.
The trip started out normal enough with a thought of doing the drive back south on Chuckanut Drive. We’ve done it once before, but we needed something fun to do where weather wouldn’t be a major issue. A scenic drive through the sound is always a great way to pass a day like that. so off we went.
As we drove north, we decided that Fairhaven would be a great place to stop and grab some lunch, so we looked up some recommendations from friends by posting the question on Facebook. The winner of the lunch stop was the Avenue Café. Of course we couldn’t stop for lunch before letting the kiddo stretcher he legs and visit the toy shop.
After a look though that amazing store, and playing with just about everything in it, we ventured back to the Avenue Café and ordered. I went with my stand by for judging any sandwich joint, the Rueben. Although it took what seemed like quite a bit of time to make up a few sandwiches, the food was well worth the wait. The bread was amazing, the sauces fresh and the meat was perfect. Avenue Café will definitely be on our list to visit again on our next trip that direction.
Next stop was a quick stroll through town to work off some of that lunch. We did a quick circle of the Fairhaven block and found a few stops that would be worth while. First up was Rocket Donuts, but we will hit that on the way back to the car. Then as we rounded the corner, we found Katie’s Cupcakes, and their Cupcake Wars Champion sticker in the window.
I can’t say enough about the impression that Katie’s Cupcakes left on us. I was first a bit unimpressed with the slightly dark, dank feeling store. Then I saw the variety of cupcakes and decided it would be ok to get one of the peanut butter pie cupcakes. Evie and Ara picked out theirs as we chatted with the owner’s husband. We had our three cupcakes and were getting them boxed up when he offered a 4th to us for no charge.
After chatting it up a bit longer, he offered Evie a copy of their storybook, which he and Katie wrote about the adventures of the store after the doors are locked. It is adorable and if you make it up that way, you should grab a copy and take a look at it. After that, the rest of the trip was doomed to be a let down.
From Katie’s, we moved on to Village Books, and a quick trip through their amazing selection of titles. Mama and kiddo had a nice story time in the kids section. Village Books is always a great place to check out some local titles and find some of those stories you just can seem to find at the local Barnes and Nobles.
As we left the bookstore, we decided it was time to hit Rocket Donuts for a sweet treat for the drive home. Now, I love donuts, everyone that knows me knows that. And when I walk into a store and see this… I must have it.
This is one of the largest donuts I have ever seen. I decided that the Monster Donut at Rocket Donuts was the one that I must have. Yes, if you look at the picture above, you will see a real penny sitting on that donut. If you look below, you will see it with my smiling face!
We rounded out the trip with the drive back down Chuckanut Drive. The road is beautiful and winds along the Sound. It offers breathtaking views and quite a few areas that you can pull over and enjoy the scenery. I snapped this last photo with my Nokia Lumia 810 at one of the last stops we made along the road.
Hopefully if you make it to the Puget Sound area, you will have time to take this little drive. It can be extended by wrapping down the road to Whidbey Island, but if you only have an afternoon, the simple drive from Fairhaven back to Seattle is worth the time.
