Each Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com is Souvenir Sunday, the day we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive and local items for sale at airports.
This week’s souvenirs come from Washington’s Bellingham International Airport, a tiny airport just south of the Canadian border and 90 miles north of Seattle.
Allegiant, Alaska and Horizon airlines have been adding flights to and from this airport at prices that make it worthwhile for many people to skip larger airports in Vancouver and Seattle.
A terminal expansion is about to get underway to accommodate a passenger count that has skyrocketed from 70,000 passengers a year to more than 400,000 in just six years. In the meantime, though, travelers must make do with limited services.
And that means shopping for souvenirs in the tiny all-purpose lobby snack/gift shop.
There’s not much room for much stock over there in the corner, but I found neck pillows sewn by the shop manager’s sister, plenty of souvenir shot glasses, some mugs with northwest Native American designs and, in the under $10 range, hazelnuts and few other local food items.
I have high hopes for the shopping options I might find when the airport completes its expansion.
During this past weekend’s annual Whatcom Artist Studio Tour, I visited some of the great glassworkers, jewelers, painters, carvers, potters, weavers and other artists working in Bellingham and Whatcom County and it would be a great treat to see some of this work on display at the airport.
To find out more know about Bellingham, the “City of Subdued Excitement”, check out this popular video, also made by local artists.
