# Cascades trip from Bellingham to Centralia WA



## bebopalula (May 15, 2010)

May 13-14, 2010 – Bellingham to Centralia on Amtrak with overnight stay at McMenamins’ Olympic Club Hotel.

My husband and I spent 2 days and one night on this little jewel of a journey, about 5 hours south on the Amtrak "Cascades" line from Bellingham to Centralia, Washington. The Olympic Club Hotel s located right around the corner from the large and charming Centralia Amtrak station, so it was an easy, seamless trip. There is free parking at the Fairhaven station in south Bellingham. Train leaves at 8:30 am and gets into Centralia about 1:30. Returning, the schedule was leaving 4:15 from Centralia.

This is a really lovely train route, mostly along the water of Puget Sound. Just beautiful!

The seats were very comfortable. I was a bit surprised and pleased that it was fairly crowded for this time of year, before the summer season. Good for Amtrak! The conductors made everyone comfortable, making sure my husband and I could sit together, and quieting people using cell phones. There was a movie available, but we brought along our lunch and lots of reading material and enjoyed a very relaxing trip.

On the southbound trip, we admired the conductor named Larry. He reminded me of the conductor in the movie Polar Express, a combination of authoritarian and kindly. A regular passenger called him Legendary Larry, so I guess he strikes everyone as the archetype train conductor. The rest of the staff was great as well.

We checked into the Olympic Club Hotel upon arriving in Centralia. The McMenamins chain features old historic buildings that have been preserved and upgraded and are typically very reasonable. We booked a room online for $50 which included a free movie in their theater next door. We enjoyed the movie, a first run (She’s Out of Your League). You could sit on couches and order a drink or food in the theater. The Olympic Club includes a bar, restaurant, pool hall, and theater. They sometimes have live music. Going to a McMinamins in off season is a pleasure--not crowded and with an attentive staff. (We went to one in McMinnville, Oregon few years ago in February and had that place almost to ourselves.) Summer season, I hear, they get very crowded. Even in summer though, this one is a good bet since Centralia is off the beaten track. Next time we will opt for the slightly more expensive rooms with windows, though ours with a skylight was fine. No TV, no phone, which was just what we wanted.

The Olympic Club Hotel is located not only by the train station, but also right in the historic downtown Centralia, an old logging town. We did a lot of walking through the surrounding blocks which included a great public library, a dozen or so antique shops, restaurants, and even a Farmer’s Market (Fri-Sun).


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## Bob Dylan (May 15, 2010)

Very nice get-a-way!  Sounds like a great idea, yall are fortunate to live in such a nice area of the country with trains to get where youre going!


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## GoldenSpike (May 15, 2010)

bebopalula said:


> May 13-14, 2010 – Bellingham to Centralia on Amtrak with overnight stay at McMenamins' Olympic Club Hotel. The Olympic Club includes a bar, restaurant, pool hall, and theater. They sometimes have live music. Going to a McMinamins in off season is a pleasure--not crowded and with an attentive staff...on, I hear, they get very crowded. Even in summer though, this one is a good bet since Centralia is off the beaten track.


I did breakfast there for the first time about a month ago. Quite the place! Bar, restaurant booths, pool area are like you are there 100 years ago right along with the large pot belly stove and pile of wood.

However the staff was not attentive, but I will be back! After I ordered a Bloody Mary, which was promptly delivered, they forgot I was there. After about 15+ minutes, I contacted the gal who brought my drink to point out I've been waiting to order.

After running up a $20 breafast including Bloody Mary, a waiter dropped by. I asked for the bill. He announced no bill, my meal was on them!

For that awesome PR gesture, I will be back!


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## Cascadia (May 16, 2010)

Gee I'm glad you wrote that, and it makes me feel bad that I haven't written up my Cascades trip in March that was from Bellingham to Portland. I saw a lot of the same sights as you! 

I haven't seen Larry the conductor for a while, his schedule must be at odds with mine. Used to see him all the time. He's funny for sure. He used to play a harmonica into the PA system, but I don't think he does that anymore.

Sounds like you had a great trip! And a great time of year to be out - these last few days have been stunning weather-wise.


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