When Sunset Magazine listed the Bellingham Farmer’s Market as the number ONE Market “across the West,” it was no surprise to me… though I admit to being tickled. Yes, tickled. I LOVE this market and it was a real thrill to see it place so prominently in a well respected and very successful magazine.  The BFM deserves the spotlight!

It’s pretty hard to pass up the amazing produce that arrives each week (plus Wednesday in Fairhaven) but even when I don’t have a burning need for the best fresh raspberries in this country (ok, when don’t I?) or amazing greens, new plants for my garden, peaches so divine they burst in your hands, even when I don’t really need any of those things… I love being at the market. Just being in and amongst the swarms of Hamsters that come each week, with the colors and smells, lifts my spirits, whether they need lifting or not. A sweet contentment falls over me and seeps in, as I drift between the isles of good stuff.

On a sunny day, it is damned near as close to a religious experience for me as anything I can think of … no offense to anyone who sees religion differently. Yesterday, was such a day. Bright sunshine and a serious need for fresh stuff. We had the pleasure of taking friends, new to Bellingham, for their first trip to the Market. The sun was spectacular and the market was packed. We made a beeline for my absolutely favorite lunch booth, 22 Greens. Jessie (a yoga friend), her husband Aaron and her wonderful staff have made salads something that this carnivore craves all week. Having been away for three Saturdays, I could barely wait. Why is there no picture? I was eating it before I even made it to the table! They just make magic out of fresh greens, quinoa, braised beans, flower petals and numerous other tastes that just meld together into perfection.

Seeing all the kids with their booths; the various performers (you’ve got to love 10 yr old jugglers and 7 yr old violinists); blender smoothies powered by kids and playful adults on bicycles; the quirky (two dogs in an old VW bug, “listening to” Zeppelin) and the simply beautiful; all the wonderful artists– it is pure eye candy, sensory sugar. Watching my sweet girl eat her all natural popsicle until she and her dress were one gooey mess, was just icing.  The only thing I wish they’d add are benches. If there were benches right in the middle of each row, I would simply plop myself down and people watch for hours. It fills me up, until next Saturday.

I ended this already perfect day with a night paddle in Bellingham Bay with the BBC (the other BBC), to experience the bioluminescence , best seen at a new moon, so a rare and special treat.  The water was calm, the air still warm and a friend and I paddled out with the group, for  an adventure. The sparkle and glow from the moving sea organisms was pure magic. I just wanted to drag my hand through the warm water all night, watching the creatures fly off my fingers, exploding like small fireworks in the water–a scene right out of Avatar (you can mute the Katy Perry music but this has the glow), the high seas version. Our paddles left trails of shimmery glow and as fish occasionally swam beneath us, their bodies became glowing torpedoes, the bioluminescent organisms attaching to their scales. To be out on the water, in a kayak, from 9-12 was amazing. We laughed and bumped around with others in our group: International Man of Mystery (a S.African), Studmuffin (who I finally met in person), Studmuffinette, and Southern girls.  I wanted to stay out longer, even though it was way past our bed times!  I came home salty and wet, and buzzing with joy.

If I haven’t said it before (and of course that’s sarcastic), Bellingham is:  the bees knees, THE best, the end of the rainbow, all the descriptors that mean glorious, and today was a pinch me am I dreaming day.

NOTE:  All pictures were taken with the knowledge of those shown. Only the dog’s owner suggested that payment might be in order, but no fees were paid. The pups seemed to like the attention, and my popsicle sweetiel is a ham in front of  a camera. If you liked this post, please hit the Like button below, or pass it on, with Share button.