WHITEHORN COTTAGE | Whitehorn Cottage

Welcome To Our Home

We purchased this home to be near our family in the Bellingham and Sudden Valley areas, and also for the rest of our family, which is spread out all over the US to have a place to stay and visit more often. When we are not here, we invite other visitors to share our home - and we hope you come to love it as much as we do!

Our neighbors are wonderful. Many of them live here year-round. So, please be respectful of their property, and noise levels - especially early in the morning or in the evenings.

This page is intended to let you know about the some of amenities you will find in and around the house that are not necessarily listed in the booking information.

Key Information

TV & INTERNET

Wifi is enabled in the house with boosters to keep signals strong all over the property. Upstairs in the family room area is a tall working computer table equipped with USB ports! All the TVs in the house are smart TVs so you can sign into apps with your own info or cast from your cell phone as needed.

WhitehornCottage is our network. PW: Because this changes often, VACASA will provide the password directly to you when you check-in.

GROCERIES

One of our favorite things to do when we first arrive is to arrange for groceries to be delivered - we recommend Instacart as a great way to accomplish this if you don't want to hit up the local groceries in Birch Bay, Blaine or Bellingham before arriving at Whitehorn Cottage. The local Safeway, Costco, and Fred Meyer are always great and can usually deliver within a couple of hours.

FIREPLACE

We are excited to share our new gas fireplace logs in the main living room. A warm fire on a cool evening is a lovely thing indeed - and having morning coffee fireside is also pretty great.

Please follow the instructions (also posted on both sides of the fireplace).

To Use Fireplace: Please make sure all the doors to the fireplace are always open when in use to prevent overheating.
Turn ON: Turn the knob towards the “on” position.
Turn OFF: IMPORTANT Please do not turn it fully off. Leave it on “PILOT” setting.

COFFEE & TEA

We have starter supplies for coffee and Nespresso Vertuo machines. You can supplement them for longer stays through the local grocery (Instacart is fabulous!) or at the Bellingham Bed Bath and Beyond for larger supplies of Nespresso Vertuo pods. The teapot is in the cabinet below the stovetop, and tea bags are located in the same drawer as the coffee.

BEACH ACCESS

There is neighborhood access to the beach on the corner of Holeman Avenue and Birch Bay Drive. It is clearly marked by a sign. BUT, because of recent weather these stairs may not be in good repair so extreme caution is advised. The BEST beach access is just a few blocks away on Birch Bay Drive in the State Park (a rocky beach). Be sure to pick up a day pass, at the entrance to the park OR you don't need a pass to use full access areas to the sandy beach in Birch Bay.

*We should note here that a permit to the State Park, a "Discover Pass" is a great idea and can be used at all State Parks in WA. You can purchase them by the year or by the day. You can get them at the entrance to the park, or via email/internet at https://store.discoverpass.wa.gov/

Sadly, because these permits are "attached" to your vehicle tag number, and not a home address, we cannot furnish them for you.

GAMES & PUZZLES

Our family loves to play games and put puzzles together, especially in the evenings and on rainy days. We have included several family-friendly games and puzzles which you will find in the console below the TV on the main level. We try to monitor them and keep the pieces together, replacing new sheets in the Yahtzee, Meme, and Pictionary games, etc., but sometimes they "walk away". :-( We appreciate your help with this by double-checking that dice and game board and puzzle pieces make it back into the appropriate boxes, and that decks of cards, etc., remain in the house for others to enjoy.

OUTDOOR GAMES

Our collection of outdoor games is available to you and can be found in the laundry room, garage, or downstairs closet by the fireplace. Enjoy! But please remember to gather all pieces and put them where you originally found them.