Smuggler's Inn Bed and Breakfast

In The News

From the Whatcom Independent - July 20-26, 2006
Lodging on the Line: Smuggler's Inn

Provides digs for youth from the Blaine Jazz Festival

by Sara L. Geballe
sara@whatcomindy.com

Imagine owning an inn that is mostly in the United States, but also a little bit in Canada. Imagine 56 smugglers being apprehended on or near your property – just since 2001. Imagine Hollywood moguls knocking on your door looking for a place to stay while making movies across the road in (less expensive to film) British Columbia. And imagine Grammy winners, Microsoft and Boeing executives, and other VIPs looking for a northern getaway spot less discovered than Semiahmoo.

Since retiring from advertising in 2003, Bob Boulé, owner of Smuggler’s Inn in Blaine, has been busier than ever running the establishment described above. Just last week, 94 teens came to town for the Blaine Jazz Festival, and Boulé housed and fed 31 of them in the dormitorystyle carriage house he built next to his bed and breakfast. Last Monday evening alone, Boulé recalled, “we had more than 80 for dinner.” Not only did Boulé sponsor much of the students’ room and board, he also volunteered as driver and chaperone, transporting the young musicians in the big yellow school bus he owns.

Boulé is a man who thinks big and volunteers big. He’s currently President of Pacific Arts (www. pacificartsassoc.org), an all-volunteer association supporting music and the visual arts in Blaine. Besides subsidizing a large percentage of the housing costs for the jazz festival students, Boulé also knows how to drum up generous in-kind donations from fellow businesses for causes he believes in – especially those related to youth. He actively fundraises for the Mt. Baker Scout Federation in Whatcom County, and last year Boulé received the “Whatcom County Business of the Year” award from the Boy Scouts of America.

Situated on 2.5 lovely acres, Smuggler’s Inn is a tucked-away, 8-bedroom, 8-bath Victorian bed and breakfast with sweeping views of the Fraser River Valley and the Canadian coastal mountains. In keeping with its border location and illegal trafficking theme, many of the rooms are named for famous smugglers of yore including Al Capone, Dirty Dan Harris, and even Joseph Kennedy, a bootlegger. There is a bridal suite, a kids room (with a very low ceiling), and a room that boasts a genuine brothel bed imported from Switzerland. Smuggler’s can accommodate up to 30 overnight guests, Boulé says. Before he bought it, the now popular inn was a private home.

The furnishings at Smuggler’s are notably eclectic, and some would say worthy of a special visit from PBS’s “Antiques Roadshow.” In one bedroom there is a Nigerian grain case circa 1500 AD made from hand-forged metal once used to store seed stock vital to farmers. In the downstairs family room there is a European coffer dating from the 1700s that Boulé says was used by nobility to store their jewelry. There is also a sunroom filled with birds – 18 cockatoos, parrots, and macaws – mostly rescued from estates after their human owners (who generally don’t live as long as the birds) passed away. Other guest amenities at Smuggler’s include a hot tub and a downstairs game room complete with pool table. And don’t forget the two stretch limousines out front.

Adjacent to his property, Boulé rents an additional 15 acres on which he plans to eventually build a “suicide golf course,” create fields for baseball and soccer, offer outdoor weddings, and provide more parking.

Boulé is careful to explain to curious guests they must not inadvertently cross the casual-looking US-Canadian border that runs through his property. The two-lane road on the north side of his land looks innocent enough. But if anyone accidentally steps on it, Homeland Security’s embedded sensors will immediately be triggered, helicopters will start flying, and the Border Patrol will soon be knocking on Boulé’s door asking serious questions.

Check-In Time: 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM Check-Out: 11:30 AM

Smuggler's Inn Bed & Breakfast On The Border Between Vancouver, Canada & Blaine, WA USA
	2480 Canada View Drive (9910 Canada View Drive), Blaine, WA 98230 (In 2008, we where given new Street Numbers, so this is why we have two addresses listed above. Sorry for any confusion).
	For Driving Directions to our Inn, please use Smuggler's Inn PDF Map with exact directions, rather than using MapQuest, Google or Yahoo Maps.

Reservations: (360) 332-1749
Innkeeper: Bob Boulé