South Bay Trail

Yeah I know. I'm the weirdo who's obsessed with their dog, and I mean how can you blame me? Everyone who knows me is aware that we are attached at the hip. My last article here on Vocal everyone loved Morty, so much so that I decided to start a travel series exploring this little town in the Pacific Northwest that I moved to called Bellingham, WA.

No lie I had no idea this place even existed prior to coming here. I just knew of Seattle and that alone was enough for me. I am considered a transplant because I moved from outside of the Saint Louis, MO area. Even after buying a home that I literally manifested I still found myself unhappy. I had a looming mortgage payment over my head and bills like every other American but I felt stuck.

I had visited the PNW (Pacific Northwest) seven years earlier with my ex husband when we were in the military, and jokingly I told him I would end up here some day. I just didn't realize someday would be so many years later. I felt the healing process start to occur on a soul level when I finally got to this little town.

My friend Kevin who I met online playing video games inspired me to come here, because at least if I was going to start over somewhere I would at least have friends! I just remember pulling up to the marina while I was waiting for him to get off work, and I remember just hiking and walking around realizing this is where I was meant to end up the entire time. Honestly I have never been happier in my entire life.

I gave up a 300k house in a little suburban neighborhood, all in the pursuit of finding inner peace through nature. Let me tell you I HAVE FOUND IT. Nothing brings more peace to me on a soul level then being in the woods or walking on the pier right next to the ocean! And the best part is Bellingham is known for being active in this community.

It's one of the safest towns in the state, and everyone looks out for each other here. It's very diverse, and the best part is everyone is super active here. You find people have their bikes always in tow heading out on their next adventure. It's also not uncommon seeing people living out their van life or doing camping 24/7. REI is down the way and I managed to snag a copy of this book here- and it is perfect for those looking to start their hiking journey in Washington for Bellingham specifically.

Bellingham has 42 trails alone. That's not including the rest of the state which is mind blowing to me. What's even more cool is that within 4 hours of me in any direction there's so many wanderlust spots from lakes, to Mount Baker! Forks, WA where they filmed the twilight movies is 4 hours away. Orcas Island is the where people go to see Orca pods here as well. It's just wild how amazing it is here. Like you could literally never get board, and the best part is that getting outside is FREE.

You don't have to spend money to spend time in nature. Today specifically I wanted to highlight the first trail they cover in the book featured above is the South Bay Trail. It's mostly flat so it's good for people who are not experienced hikers and round trip it's only 5 miles round trip! So like total even with Morty sniffing all the spots it took us like an hour and a half just walking the entire thing!

I like this trail because it goes from ocean to trees pretty quickly and runs along the rail road tracks. So you kind of get the best of both worlds. Normally we just stick to the ocean, but today I wanted to highlight the trees on this trail as well. People tend to bring their pets here a lot too. So it's a very pet friendly leash park.

There's also a Woods Coffee shop here as well at the park. So you often times see mommas who will go to the outdoor window to order coffee and then their kiddos go play at the pirate ship playground. There's people who string up hammocks or play guitar. I have seen artists come here, like it's definitely the spot my kids love 100% as well!

It's a really moody spot. There's a really amazing view of the costal line of downtown that you can see from the pier. It's definitely more of a rocky costal line so don't expect sandy beaches. But from my understanding the parks and recreation got a grant and now they are planning to rebuild the shore line that has washed away with time.

They are constantly working to keep these parks and trails really well maintained. Which makes this all the more reason for me to invest my time here, because they really care about the environment. They are heavily invested in recycling and overall just caring about where you live and to me that's the kind of life I want my children to learn and grow up in.

If you have some suggestions of places you want me to write an article on please suggest some down below! I'm actively making plans to start blogging about me exploring the PNW. It's something that I am genuinely passionate about and I really love getting out with the kids and of course Morty!

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-Kayla