We already talked about how close into the mountains Vancouver is. I have never seen anything like it—at least not for a city as big as this. Northern Vancouver is literally built into the sides of the Cascades, with its streets and buildings sloping up the sides of the mountains as far as physics will allow. So when you start driving northward from Vancouver, you will find yourself in the mountains pretty much instantly. The drive up follows the coastline of a rugged Pacific fjord that comes to a head in the gorgeous little town of Squamish, and from there it’s all mountains. Here’s a map of the trip. It might not look like a huge distance on the map, but’s 2.5 to 3 hour drive to get up there from Vancouver.
Vancouver is kind of a perplexing place because it mashes together a lot of puzzle pieces that don’t really seem like they should fit. Or at least, they didn’t to me. When I first arrived, I was having a sort of dissociative experience trying to piece it all together and make sense of things.
First off, there’s the location. Looking northward, Vancouver is built into a landscape that seems entirely impractical for a major city. It’s hard to believe just how close the northerly Cascade mountains are to the city. The northern suburbs of Vancouver literally slope upwards as far as physics will allow before you’re headed towards snow caps. 🏔
Say what you will about Vancouver—there’s no debating that it makes an impression on you. Its iconic glittery, sparkling, glassy skyline set against a backdrop of imposing, snowcapped mountains and moody gray skies is nothing if not striking. But there’s a lot more to this place than whatever this image conjures up for you. Vancouver is an unlikely swirl of old and new, of chic and grit, and of sun and rain. And it will serve as the base camp for our next series of articles.
You can’t actually drive all the way out to Tomales Point. There’s a parking lot and a trailhead next to the historic Pierce Ranch. From there, it’s a 9.4-mile round trip hike to get all the way out to the tip and back. Over the course of this route, there’s a total elevation gain of 1,177 feet. Honestly, it’s a pretty easy hike. I did this when I was fresh off a particularly rough COVID infection, still trying to get my mojo back, so this should give you no pause.
Point Reyes National Seashore is a prominent peninsula/cape land formation that juts out of the California coast just north of San Francisco, in Marin County. Bounded by Bolinas Lagoon on the south and Tomales Bay on the north, it’s well known as a beautiful Northern California nature destination. There’s some mildly interesting history here, but mostly it’s just gorgeous. And to raise the geological stakes a bit, the San Andreas Fault is what separates this area from mainland California. That will show up in the pictures I have coming up for you in some cool ways.
Before we head out of the city and into some nature, we’re going to take one last photo-walk through a very specific slice of San Francisco: Haight-Ashbury. Today it would be easy to pass through this area and think it’s just a pretty neighborhood, but there is actually some really cool history here from the not-so-distant past. There was a time when Haight-Ashbury was the epicenter and headquarters of a national zeitgeist whose iconic status endures to this day.
I’m talking about the Summer of Love.
I have been doing this blog for like 8 years now, so I am really only just now arriving at the point where I am running out of things to cover in certain cities. My first articles on San Fran were relatively early in the lifespan of this site, so I would probably do things differently if I were to write about those same things now, but the fact remains that—for the time being—there’s a lot that has already been “checked off the list” here. In other cities that might deter me from taking as many photos or visiting as often, but not here. In San Fransisco, I don’t need an angle. I am happy just to exist here, and walking around it always feels like I shame to leave my camera behind.
San Francisco is not a flat city. The word “hilly” doesn’t quite cover it. So it should come as no surprise that there are lots of interesting staircases (600+) scattered throughout the city, helping pedestrians scale the city’s steepest nooks and crannies. This much is to be expected. But what I did not expect was that many of these staircases have been turned into hidden works of art. I’ve been to San Francisco a few times, and I have somehow never stumbled across even one of these before. And what you’re about to see isn’t even all of them! We’re going to start in the Richmond District, but then we’re going to head south and spend the rest of this article in the Sunset District.
And we’re back in mainland Seattle from our little trip over to Bainbridge Island! In our first installment, we checked off some of Seattle’s more obvious tourist attractions (i.e. Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market, the view of the Space Needle from Kerry Park, etc.). It was very cool, but TODAY we’re going to peel a few more layers off the onion and get into some of Seattle’s quirky b-list attractions. As a city, Seattle has a stronger and more distinct personality than most. I think this cross-section of less-notable items actually did more to help me get to know this place than the major tourist attraction did. It’s all about details.
SO LEMME HITCHU WITH THE DEETS.
I’ve heard Seattle described as “Portland’s mainstream older brother.” It’s true that Portland (Oregon) has long enjoyed a reputation for being one of America’s “weird” cities, as evidenced by its famous slogan, “Keep Portland Weird.” However…
I’ve been to Portland. My main man Buddy who accompanied me on this trip even lived there for a hot minute, and we both agree: Seattle is definitely weirder. In fact, I think I can conclusively say that there is more unabashed weirdness walking around the streets of Seattle than any other city in America. I’d be lying if I told you it didn’t make me feel uncomfortable a time or two (spoiler alert: there’s a nude beach in this article) but after some reflection, I think the problem is me. Because if you really think about it, the amount of weirdness walking around the streets of any city is likely the same no matter where you go. The difference is that, in Seattle, people feel empowered to be themselves. So they let their freak flags fly. And that’s pretty cool.
