Friday, May 20 was “Ride Your Bike to Work/School” day here in Whatcom County promoted by EverybodyBIKE. My daughter has been wanting to ride her bike to school for months now, but I’m pretty out of shape so we haven’t tried it yet. I had planned to “train” for this day, but alas, it never happened, so Friday morning arrived and not one to disappoint, we geared up and went for it!
It was a gorgeous day and I was relieved to find it’s literally down hill the entire way from our house to her school*. Whew! We even had the puppy harnessed in a basket on the front of my bike and she loved it as well! I only wish there was a helmet small enough for her.
We stopped off at the “Celebration Station” at my daughter’s school and enjoyed granola bars, oranges, pins, stickers, free bus passes, drawing entries and more. And to see all those kids (and parents) on bikes was great.
Later in the day, my boys had fun pointing out all of the people we saw on bikes, and I was pleased that most were helmeted. I have ingrained helmet use in my children’s very being, so when they see a skateboarder, bicyclist, scooterer (?) or anyone else who SHOULD be wearing a helmet NOT wearing a helmet, they are quick to point out to me that it’s “NOT SAFE!” But on Friday, they were so excited to point out all of the riders they saw with helmets, give two thumbs up and say, “Good job!” 🙂
After my daughter was home from school, we decided to take advantage of that gorgeous day and headed to Zuanich Point Park where the sun was shining and the kites were flying. If you’ve never been, it’s down near the water, on Coho Way and a great open space with grass, a paved trail that goes from the waterfront up to the little complex where the Marine Life Center is located. It’s a nice little center where you can go in and learn about local marine wildlife and has a “touch pool” in the center for a hands-on experience.
We actually like to turn in on Bellwether Way and park in the first lot to the right marked “Overflow Parking”. We pull up near the complex and unload – makes it great for stopping by the Marine Life Center before or after your ride. Then we ride the trail along the harbor to the playground and let the kids burn off steam there for a good long while before biking back to the car. It’s only 3/4 mile from the complex to the park, so it’s a nice, easy ride. Here’s our wheels parked at the playground. (Please forgive the pictures today – I only had a low-res cell phone with me to snap some shots.)
The playground is small, but it’s shaped like a ship (named “Marie” as a matter of fact) and it keeps my kids’ imaginations going for a long time.
There’s always a lot of kites out at the park as well, which I believe are put there by Bellingham Kite-Paddle-Surf (correct me if I’m wrong, here – they weren’t answering their phone for me to verify this). With steady 10 to 20 mph winds at the point, it’s the perfect place to kick back and relax with a kite any day. This one was HUGE!!
Here is a map showing where the Marine Life Center is and then Zuanich Point Park. The trail is along the harbor – you can’t miss it – and I marked Bellingham Kite-Paddle-Surf that’s along the way.
[mappress mapid=”3″]
* Down hill all the way TO school obviously means UP hill all the way home. Dang.