To give you an idea of exactly how isolated this place is—the one gas station in the area was out of service during our visit, so we had to drive 2.5 hours EACH WAY to get to the next nearest gas station. We had been advised to stock up on groceries in Victoria before coming out here because we’d have to travel similar distances to find a supermarket. Also, Port Renfrew apparently experiences random rolling blackouts from time to time. When the power went out on our last day, we stopped by a local hotel & restaurant that had a generator running to ask how long these blackouts usually lasted—they told us that the last one lasted 2 days. 🤯 Suddenly, the flashlights we found waiting for us in our Airbnb made a ton of sense. That’s part of the deal out here!
“……Paraguay?” I asked through a confused squint. I did not recognize this name, but it sounded a bit like Paraguay, even though this guy was clearly not from South America.
“No… Haida (exaggerated pause) Gwaii.”
Google that. Google “Haida Gwaii.” I had never even heard of this place. And I have heard of most places.
That is the kind of place that Victoria serves as a way-point for. It’s a completely different world that awaits up here. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, let’s take a walk around Victoria…
Making the jump from plain ol’ Richmond/Vancouver suburbs to historic Steveston happens unceremoniously. One minute you’re speeding through cozy residential neighborhoods, the next you’re slowing down as you drive along the docks. Having never been this far north on the west coast, my only reference points for what this place feels like were all about 2,000 miles eastward. Maine. Massachusetts. Nova Scotia. That’s what Steveston feels like.
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.
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.
I’ll start with a quick introduction to Bainbridge Island. The first thing I should probably tell you about Bainbridge is that it’s not just some tourist haven—it’s actually a commuter suburb of Seattle. Lots of people live here! In fact, there are more islands out here than just Bainbridge, and many of them fall into this same category. Bainbridge alone has a population of about 25,000. I actually had a friend in college who grew up here, which now makes me jealous.
Some places hit you with vibes the second you step out of the airport. The air is different. The energy is different. Even the industrial in-between areas around the airport and the highway have a strong sense of character. Seattle is one of those places. In a happy twist of fate, I unwittingly ended up on the same flight to and from Seattle as one of my buddies in BNA, so I got the express pass into the city riding shotgun in the car that he had rented. Seeing the breathtaking Cascadian landscape unfold before us, I could not stop talking about how cool it all was. The mountainous terrain makes it so you are always either arriving at or leaving from a scenic vista, each of which provides a more gorgeous view than the last. Looking out in any direction, there are always multiple layers of water, city, and evergreen-dominated foothills between you and a background of MUCH larger mountains. And those mountains are always set against an expressive sky, which alternates between a clear, northerly baby-blue color, or a swirling moody mass of clouds.
