Last Minute Travel Planning

Larrabee State Park, Bellingham, WA ( July 2010)

Serendipity! That's how we discovered the inspiring beauty of Larrabee State Park, which is located 6 miles South of the city of Bellingham, Washington. Last July 2010, we had to cut short our trip to North Cascades National Park because we were unprepared hiking in deep, solid snow with avalanche warning. Ice axe were needed in the trail and we haven't had experience climbing on ice. Our experience is snowshoeing and skiing which is far from ice climbing. Because we have covered most of North Cascades that we could cover safely without using ice axe, we decided to look for an alternative place for us to explore instead of spending several days sitting around at North Cascades. We looked for a place that is in between North Cascades National Park and Olympic National Park, since we were going to Olympic National Park the next few days. Our last minute accommodation search brought us to Bellingham, WA.

Larrabee State Park, Bellingham, WA ( July 2010)

While driving from North Cascades to Bellingham, some of us were searching high and low for last minute hotels in our cell phones and iPads that will give us a good deal. After finding a place for us to sleep in, we again searched for places to hike near Bellingham. Thankfully, it is not difficult to find scenic places in Washington. Having less time to search for more information, we came to Bellingham with less expectations. We felt so lucky on finding out that the last minute hotel we found was near Whatcom Falls Park.

Because the water was too cold for us to swim, we finished exploring Whatcom Falls park early. We again looked for a place to explore near Bellingham by typing the phrase: "State Park near Bellingham". Google referred us to Larrabee State Park, we went to the state park site, and finally decided that Larrabee State Park will be our next place for exploration and sunset watching. On reaching the park, we were not disappointed, in fact, we had so much fun scrambling on rocks next to the water, and we were so excited even to see tidepools! We went to small beach inlets, found our place to relax and take in the scenery. We may have failed to conquer the icy slopes of North Cascades, but we were rewarded by such peaceful and inspring beauty at Larrabee!

Serendipity- I so believe in it! Last minute travel plans- though we do not do it often, but I believe in it as well :) In fact, just a week ago, I was happy enough to make successful last minute flights reservation. Last minute travel planning can be fun especially with the hottest deals around. Who does not want the best accommodation for the cheapest cost?
“Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for.”- Lawrence Block

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