Editor’s Letter

On Expanding Your Horizons (Without Traveling Far)

IF YOU ASK me, travel is all about discovery. Whether you’re learning about different cultures, immersing yourself in a foreign language, or sampling unfamiliar foods, going somewhere totally new provides rewards that persist long after the vacation ends.

Beyond these external experiences, travel can prompt personal discoveries. My own escapades have taught me quite a bit about myself, and these lessons have ultimately made me much more self-aware, compassionate, and capable. (Seriously — figuring out the Roman bus system takes some resiliency.)

But traveling doesn’t necessarily equate to globetrotting a la “Eat Pray Love.” Yes, I wholeheartedly believe that seeing other countries is an important experience if you have the means — but breaking out of your comfort zone doesn’t require a plane ticket to another continent. Honestly, you don’t even have to leave the Pacific Northwest.

If you ask me, transformative travel experiences depend on the person, not the place. I’ve had my fair share of adventures abroad, but I’ve also been wowed by what I’ve discovered close to home. Our world — and our region in particular — provides endless opportunities for revelation, and the best part is there is no timeline. You can keep learning, discovering, and growing in every stage of your life.

I haven’t done much jet-setting since the pandemic’s onset, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t traveled in other ways. I’ve pushed my physical limits (and fear of heights) by learning to rock climb at Mount Erie. I’ve gotten lost (in the best possible way) on countless walks, hikes, and meandering drives through the county. I am continually learning about our area’s diverse communities, ecology, and history.

Moreover, my job requires me to discover something new almost every day, whether that be a restaurant, a noteworthy artist, or (in the case of this month’s feature) a town I haven’t visited yet. Ironically, the more I write about life in the North Sound, the more I realize just how much there is that I don’t know. If you’re looking to stretch your own limits (without actually straying far from home), let this month’s feature be your roadmap. The towns we cover may feel far-flung, but each is easily accessible from our little corner of Washington.

In addition, there are ways to connect with the wider world without even leaving home. You can broaden your cultural lexicon by learning a language (p. 18), studying a map (p. 22), supporting small businesses (p. 26), and even drinking coffee (p. 78).

Whether you’re exploring near or far this spring, the team at Bellingham Alive wishes you bon voyage. Travel is one of life’s greatest pleasures — savor every moment of it. “I love going out of my way, beyond what I know, and finding my way back a few extra miles, by another trail, with a compass that argues with the map… nights alone in motels in remote western towns where I know no one and no one I know knows where I am, nights with strange paintings and floral spreads and cable television that furnish a reprieve from my own biography, [when] I have lost myself though I know where I am. Moments when I say to myself as feet or car clear a crest or round a bend, I have never seen this place before. Times when some architectural detail on vista that has escaped me these many years says to me that I never did know where I was, even when I was home.”

-Rebecca Solnit, excerpt from “A Field Guide to Getting Lost”

COCOA LANEY Editor In Chief

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