It’s the kind of place you can sit and read incognito, be online (they have wifi) , have coffee with a friend or not. The kind of place you can sit alone and watch the world go by while sipping tea and, of course, nibble on one of their luscious pastries. From the simple to the extravagant, cookies to tortes to breads to wedding cakes, all freshly made from scratch.  In fact today is Friday and they serve a couple of their specialty breads on Friday, Ryan’s Loaf and Multi-grain. Perfect with a bowl of soup, except today they ran out of their Split Pea Soup.  Ces’t La Vie!!! but their menu includes several quiches, fresh salads from green to pasta or fresh vegetable salads and the fun part, their menu changes daily.  Hmmm, decisions, decisions, well as the saying goes, life is unpredictable so eat dessert first. and I did.  Gateau au Chocolat, a rich layered, 4 layers to be exact of chocolate cake layered with and covered with chocolate ganache! all I can say is mmmmmmmm. Mouthwatering scrumptious!  and all those anti-oxidants did my body good!

La Vie en Rose is in downtown Bellingham on Holly st.   A wonderful and relaxing place to stop and unwind after window shopping or a great way to start the day.    Bon Appetit!

For  more information about Bellingham’s wonderful eateries, Bellingham Homes for Sale, or Bellingham real estate you can contact me here or via my mobile #,  360-303-3898.  We could meet at La Vie en Rose and discuss your real estate goals or just chat!

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111 w. Holly St.
Bellingham, WA 98225

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Beware the iron fist of The Man!

I went to court today. Not for the first time…probably not the last. It was a matter of principal, and in matters of principal I am prepared to throw down whatever gauntlet is required to guard against offense, regardless of magnitude. Justice must be served, and our rights as citizens must be protected. As Thomas Jefferson once said, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

Today the burden fell upon me to refresh that tree with my blood…or, at least, my twenty bucks.

Here’s what happened.

A couple of weeks back, I’d gone to my favorite bar, Uisce, in the mid-morning to interview the owners, Molly and David, for an article. I parked in front, paid the meter, and headed in for the interview. When I returned, an hour or so later, I saw the all-too-familiar yellow envelope decorating my windshield. Guh… Oh well…I guess I stayed too long. No matter, it was worth it. However, my mood quickly changed when I looked at the ticket. It said that I had parked over the line that divides the spaces, and the fine was $20. Twenty Dollars?!!!! What kind of a society are we living in when you can charge somebody $20 for coloring a little bit outside the lines?!!!

I’ve prepared a detailed diagram to set the scene:

As you can see, there were three spaces along the sidewalk. My car is represented in the diagram as “#2″. Cars #1 and #3 were already there when I arrived, so naturally, I performed one of my customarily precise parallel parking maneuvers. Upon returning, cars #1 and #3 had been replaced by others, with no evident effect having been caused by my “infraction”.

Here are the central points of my case, as prepared for the jury*

• The rules regarding the parking code are unknown and unclear. In a made-up survey of 20 random Bellingham drivers, 19 had never heard of such a rule.
• No harm, no foul. Given that all available spaces were used and paid for, there was simply no evidence that any harm had been done to either the City of Bellingham’s coffers or the lives other drivers, err… parkers. Common sense suggests that the delineation of individual parking spaces is arbitrary, assuming that each space may be occupied and paid for. Surely, it would have been different if my actions had resulted in the occupation of two spots, but that was clearly not the case.
• The small, local businesses of downtown Bellingham rely on the ability of their customers to park their cars within a reasonable distance. Parking rules were created by the City to protect those spaces in the interest of local business. In my capacity as a journalist, it is surely plain to see that I was making wise and beneficial use of the available parking, both as a paying “customer” of the City, and as an advocate of the local business whose marketing was the purpose of my visit. Does it not seem contrary to the City’s agenda, vis-a-vis local business, to unjustly punish citizens who are attempting to advocate and participate in a thriving downtown economy?
• What was my alternative? To NOT park in the nice, convenient spot because some idiot before me doesn’t know how to park? Are we all, then, to be continually at the mercy of our fellow drivers in matters of parking?
• My car is a compact Japanese sedan. It doesn’t take up a lot of space. Why not go after some jack-ass in a Hummer?

*[Ed. Note: There was not really a jury, per se. Rather, there was just a judge and a court reporter seated ominously behind a raised bench. The whole setting looked like a scene from C-Span. There were two long tables, end to end, each with three microphones, opposite the bench with about 10 feet in between. Behind the tables were rows of pews with room for about 300 spectators]

Having delivered my arguments with poise and grace, I calmly sat back while the judge carefully rendered her verdict. The room was heavy with anticipation. The gallery, I sensed, was behind me. Well, figuratively behind me…obviously they were also literally behind me.

“I’ll grant you the maximum reduction”, she said.

Victory! The room erupted with applause, whooping and hollering from every corner. Confetti fell from the rafters while the band played Battle Hymn of the Republic… celebratory canon fire from the street shook the walls, even as the first reports of this tremendous triumph of the meek hit the major cable and internet news outlets. I was later to find out that CNN’s Reynolds Wolf cried a single tear…which struck me as particularly powerful, given the jokes I’d made at his expense in recent weeks…

The judge extended her hand to quiet the room. The cheering slowly subsided, the band faded out…

“That’ll be twelve dollars”, she said.

I was aghast, agog, taken aback! I reached quickly for my pocket thesaurus to search for additional synonyms. The room was suddenly silent… There I was…a solitary soul, standing tall before the Goliath of the American Judicial System. I extended my chest and spoke with great inner confidence, like Joseph Welch challenging Senator McCarthy, ” Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” This only confused the judge, however. Being a woman, she was evidently unaccustomed to being addressed as “sir”. Still, the mob was with me, and the air was electric with nervous excitement. Proud, they were, to see one of their own, a lowly citizen, daring to challenge the system and speak up in defense of the Working Man.

But then, out loud, I said, ” Meh…really? Ok. Thanks, I guess.“

By that point, my concern had shifted, from the $20 fine I already had, to the potential $99 fine that might be waiting for me in the parking lot. See, I’d learned from two hapless souls who’d gone up before me, that it is also against the rules to drive without a license plate on the front of your car. I’d been driving my car for 5 years without a front plate, but I was suddenly positive that Irony was out to get me, and that I would end up paying far more than the 20 bucks I’d come down here to fight about. So I decided that saving $8 was still, technically, a win….so I took it. By the way, $99 was the reduced(!) fine for not having a front plate.

I decided it would be wise to do some investigating of the rules, so as to avoid further frustrating reduction of my finances, and because I am fond of alliteration. Unfortunately, the City of Bellingham Municipal Code appears to have been written by Miss Teen South Carolina. (Watch the video,  if you don’t get the reference) I’m not kidding… I’ll leave you with a little taste. Thanks for reading!

11.36.030 – PARKING METERS – DEPOSIT OF COINS AND TIME LIMITS (WAC 308-330-610)

• A. No person shall park a vehicle in any parking meter space alongside of and next to which a parking meter has been installed during the restricted and regulated time applicable to the parking meter zone in which such meter is located unless a United States coin or coins of the approximate denomination as indicated on the parking meter or a city-issued token shall have been deposited therein for unexpired intervals of time, and said meter has been placed in operation.
• B. No person shall permit a vehicle within his control to be parked in any parking meter space during the restricted and regulated time applicable to the parking meter zone in which such meter is located while the parking meter for such space indicates by signal that the lawful parking time in such space has expired. This provision shall not apply to the act of parking or the necessary time which is required to deposit immediately thereafter a coin or coins in such meter.
• C. No person shall park a vehicle in any parking meter space for a consecutive period of time longer than the maximum lawful parking time designated on the meter, irrespective of the number or amounts of the coins deposited in such meter.

Originally posted by Rob LeRoy at The Real Estate Novelist

Rob LeRoy is a Seattle real estate agent and social media marketing coach with eXp Realty.

Part 4: Bellingham’s Best Dive Bars

• The Beaver: My #1, all-time favorite dive bar. The Beaver Inn has everything you could you want in a dive bar. Low ceilings, brick walls, really cheap beer, darts and a pair of pool tables. Don the Bartender (who can generously be described as “ill-humored”) has been there, 86-ing troublemakers, since the dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The only bartender I’ve ever known who will ban someone “for life”…a fate suffered by more than a few dear friends of mine over the years. No live music…but they have a popcorn machine. And it’s FREE!!!  1315 N State St. Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 733-3460

• The Up&Up Tavern: My second favorite dive bar of all-time. Back in college (when they had $1 pitchers of Busch Light! Mmmmm…), I think I spent more time at “The Up” than I did in class… The vintage sign claims the place is “World Famous”… I can’t say for sure, but it seems reasonable enough.  Unfortunately, the Up&Up has been remodeled and renovated in recent years, making it kind of nice inside…and half the size of its former self (long story).  However, they still have two pool tables, a huge selection of beer, cheap and micro, and one of Bellingham’s largest outdoor seating areas, a nice perk in the Spring and Summer.  1234 N State St. Bellingham, WA  98225 (360) 733-9739

• Cap Hansen’s: Small and crowded, like every good dive bar should be, Cap’s has, in my humble opinion, THE best jukebox in town. Lots of Tom Waits, Pixies, and Willie Nelson… They have a good selection of beer on tap, including the essential PBR. The tall cans of Oly are a nice bonus… They have occasional live music, but the place is so small that the bands take up most of the room. Cap’s is a great place to warm up before a show at the Nightelight, located next door.  209 E Chestnut St. Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 733-0878

• The Waterfront: Home to bikers and about 300 neon beer signs, The Waterfront is lit to the point of being obnoxious…but then again, so are the patrons. (see, I just made a pun on the word “lit”…I know…clever) No live music, but they’ve got pool, pull tabs, and Rainier on tap.  If you like to drink during the day, you can get a nice view of Bellingham Bay, upon which the Waterfront sits, hence the name.  Located next door to the Chuckanut Brewery. 521 W Holly St Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 676-1755

• The Cabin: The little brother of the Waterfront, The Cabin is old-school dive. They’ve got a couple of pool tables and lots of pull-tabs, and a surprisingly nice bathroom. Have a couple of beers here before a show at the Wild Buffalo, just a block  away.  307 W. Holly St. Bellingham, WA (360) 733-9685

• The Ranch Room: Dive bars don’t get darker or funkier than The Ranch Room, nestled in the back of the Horseshoe Cafe, in the center of downtown Bellingham.  They’ve got the cheap beer, but it’s the potency of the  cocktails that really defines the atmosphere…that, and the huge murals of cowboys and wagon-wheel chandeliers. The jukebox selection is excellent. No pool tables or live music, but that’s OK. The Ranch Room is better suited to being a hide-out from bad weather, obnoxious college kids, and just about anything else that ails the mind or body.  113 E Holly St, Bellingham, WA‎ (360) 734-0380.

Follow these links to read Part 1: Breakfast, Part 2: Lunch, Part 3: Dinner, Part 4: Dive Bars, Part 5: Live Bars, Part 6: Classy Pubs

Thanks for reading!  Please leave your comments below. If you have any questions about Bellingham or real estate, in general, please feel free to email me directly at rob.leroy@exprealty.com or call me at 206.883.6668

This post simultaneously published by Rob LeRoy at theRealEstateNovelist.com

Rob LeRoy is a Seattle real estate agent and social media marketing coach with eXp Realty.

I’m a New Englander, I’m thinking Providence, RI, Portland, ME, parts of Conneticut, I’m thinking tight home placement, I’m thinking fixer.  Within a half of a mile on all sides, your walk includes neighborhoods as old as Bellingham, priced from” bring your convertible”, to “bring your toolbelt.  And your cousin with a truck”.

Many have in the past, taking some of the homes, (12 on the market today)  that are currently on the market, and turning homes between 1898 and 1940 into the antithesis of recent new construction, by making the best of modest square footage, inside and outside the domicile.  Most aren’t over 1400 square feet, some have updated by adding a half bathroom,  have refinished original wood floors, maybe even replaced the knob-and-tube wiring.

The Lettered Streets are the sand of the coliseum for Bellingham, i.e. this was, is, and always will be working Bellingham.  There isn’t a whole lot of granite counter top, and jetted tub going on here.  But it was close to the water, close to the rail, close to the store fronts, and provides that small town charm that drew the folks who built mansions here.

Between these homes andthe  criteria of clients, I start to rationalize, and think Would I exchange an extra bathroom to have my kids THIS close to the parks here? or Gourmet kitchen or walk to one of the 5 gazillion breakfast places in DT Bellingham this Sunday?  Which are you going to remember when you’re 80?

Is it worth the extra money?  You decide.  With most of the homes here being between $200-300,000, these are going to be more of the sales we’ll see in Bellingham this year. Check the roof, check the basement, check the fuse box, check the floors, and prioritize.

The small square footage means you’re going to be interacting with those you’re living with.  The postage stamp yard means your kids are going to have to meet other kids.

That could be great for you.  I’d be happy to help you try one on….

South Hill is one of Bellingham’s affluent neighborhoods and is famous for its sweeping views of Bellingham Bay and large, well kept variety of character homes that range from Tudors to Craftsman and grand castle-styled homes at some corners. Because of its proximity to Fairhaven, WWU, Boulevard Park, and Downtown Bellingham, the location is extremely desirable. The neighborhood is strictly residential, with homes on the hill and condos on the main strip along the water, Boulevard and South State. The condos also boast great views of the bay and some can be purchased at a very reasonable price tag.