Not a resident but take a look at NW Classic Auto Mall and open the page listing car events around the state. The town is close to the Canadian border and Mission Raceways plus the deuce event each year on Vancouver Island. But I am not sure of the current regulations regarding border crossings; seems to change frequently. I have seen car show photo albums from Mt. Vernon and there is an event in Sedro Wooley annually from what I have been told. There is something going on every weekend in the summer, probably no different than other areas of the country. But winter sucks.
I have two sons living up there and they tell me the car scene is very active once the weather improves. Of course they get plenty of rain, so don't expect a lot of months of car events going on. Mostly June to September, and some early events can get rained out too.
It's nice because you have the best of both worlds. Seattle is only a 40 minute drive and Vancouver is only a 40 minute drive. Lots of car clubs in both cities that will have schedules for 2022 events.
40 minutes Bellingham to Seattle??? LOLOL!!!! It's a 90 mile drive, so I don't think you can average 120+ MPH... Get any traffic/slowdowns, it can be 2 to 2.5 hours easy or worse with any kind of accident. It's gotten noticeably worse in the last couple of years. The bigger shows (if that's your thing) are all further south; Good Guys in Puyallup, Billetproof in Chehalis, and Long Beach and Ocean Shores both have big summer shows. All of these are a 1/2 hour or more south of Seattle.
World Famous Swindlers poker run happens in that neck of the woods, some of the best traditional cars in the Northwest show. Search the HAMB for pix
Bellingham is (was) a college town with a fishing fleet. South and East more rural, farming, dairy. I haven’t been there on a regular basis in some years. Half an hour south is Burlington, and half an hour west is Anacortes. I’ve been there a lot in recent years. Nice little private hot rod/street rod/ motorcycle place in Burlington. Couple classic car sales lots off to the west. So you’ll find more small town activities with the cars than you’d think. Most of the comments above are accurate. I’ve got friends who retired up there (who just finished restoring and OT 54 year old truck he’s had for 44 years). So you’ll find some gear heads, probably retired, and hiding out from the big cities to the south. Where I still am. Another friend did the Swindlers run for years, misses being able to do it. Great event in the middle of the daffodil farms. Pretty area, lots of services, etc. in Bellingham proper. I’ll put the arm out for my buddy, see about storage, etc.
Thanks, the transfer idea went and took a hard right turn that I wasn’t expecting. So may end up further north than we were expecting. Now if we can only afford a house…… mike
The PNW had great swap meets, Monroe, Puyallup and Portland. Much better than the ones when I lived in Michigan.
Hello, Before the pandemic, my wife and I were in Bellingham for a couple of days, as we were planning on chartering a sailboat to sail that pristine big bay and add in a short visit to friends that lived a ½ block from the waterfront. To top it off, different ferry rides to the many islands to check out homes for sale. We saw a lot of old trucks and one hot rod sedan cruising around the smallish downtown area. The shops are quaint and have some cool stuff. The locals probably knew the oncoming weather pattern, but when we planned the adventure, the sky was blue and sunny. Our main goal was to sail around the bay and enjoy ourselves in the location that was different than the ocean sailing in So Cal. But, as we were ready to go to the waterfront location, a fast moving front came in and started sprinkling that turned into a solid rain. So, it was head for our room until dinner and our sailing adventure would have to wait for another “up the coast road trip,” later. Jnaki If you are planning on moving to the area, it is a very nice location, with the big bay looming into the far horizon. Close enough to the San Juan Islands, Canada and Victoria Iland, but as we found out on another trip, the currents between the islands aren’t the greatest for pure sailing. The currents are very strong and around some of the local islands, almost impossible to have a great sail and not fight a losing battle of distance gained. If we moved there on one of the islands, we would still have our sailboat, but for direct use and access to nearby islands/mainland, a power boat of some kind is necessary. YRMV It certainly is a beautiful area. As soon as the pandemic allows for safe travels and we don't get too old, we missed out on our last planned vacation to the Roche Harbor area and plan on going back one more time.
The Jalopy Journal
