A Week in the Pacific Northwest
From July 31 - Aug 1, I was in the Pacific Northwest. I really love it there. A couple days for work in Tacoma, then to Seattle and then to camp in Olympic National Park. Read on for what I did, what I saw and what I ate!
Tacoma
I glanced out of the window of my Uber and saw Mount Rainier in the distance. Beautiful, solitary. The city is industrial, reminiscent of Hamilton, Ontario, maybe that's why Toyota named their pickup truck Tacoma. The waterfront is littered with views of factories and warehouses across the waterway. The heat, though immense during the day, was dry and I welcomed the lack of humidity with open arms. I travelled back in time, so I got really tired early in the evening. Thank Eater for blessing me with a list of restaurants I should hit up. I worked in a cafe called Anthem, near Wright Park, a 26-acre green space full of people from all walks of life taking refuge in the shade. My initial impression of Tacoma is industrial and mildly hip, with a student population. Quiet, with not many people out and about, even during rush hour.
"Where is everyone?" The question I posed to every one of my Uber or Lyft drivers. They all said, inside, people drive around the city...also don't walk around downtown alone at night. Noted, but what's life without a little spice?
You know that glass museum in Seattle? Well the original one is in Tacoma, the birthplace of Dale Chihuly. There is an interesting covered bridge that has a bunch of glass work in a clear glass case so when you look up you see glass pieces.
Exploring a city on foot is my preferred method, though I noticed things were quite spread out. There are a lot of cool cafes, microbreweries and restaurants intermingled with abandoned warehouses, prisons right in the centre of the city and a lot of homelessness.
Where I ate/drank:
The Fish Peddler - by the waterway, a local Red Lobster meets Appleby's. It was decent, though I must say the Dungeness crab mac and cheese was quite unique and tasty.
Dunagan Brewing Company - a local microbrewery, that does a lot of IPA's. I asked to buy some tall boys to go, and they canned beer from the keg before my eyes. A really cool experience!
The Table - New American, locally sourced, craft beers on tap, "hip restaurant buzzwords", but overall excellent food. I had braised collard greens with a hazelnut spread and bacon bits, and braised elk. It was really tender and saucy, soooo good. Definitely the best meal I've had in a while.
Honey Kitchen + Cafe - a cute cafe that also had a brunch menu, I had some herbal iced tea which was ok. There was a book club meeting going on beside me, I had a great time eavesdropping. They were reading some sort of dystopian novel. The organizer posted about it in a bookstore and a lot of the members hadn't met before. Cool to know that things like this still exist.
Anthem Coffee - think this one is a chain in Washington state, had great service and a nice view of the street. Pretty good Americano, and the barista gave me some food recommendations for the area. A good place to work for a couple hours.
Seattle
The last time I was in Seattle was 2016. Being here, I felt at home. Met up with my friend Nikhil, who lives there now. Sometimes while driving through Fremont or Ballard, I would look out the window, zone out and caught myself thinking we were in Toronto. It was a weird feeling of being familiar with this cityscape despite not seeing it before. Didn't go downtown at all this time, and I don't think I missed out on much.
Where I ate/drank:
Kokakku - a kind of bougie, very highly rated Japanese steakhouse that had a wide selection of Japanese whiskey. I don't know why I didn't have steak, but the scallops (on a bed of yuzu risotto...interesting) I had were perfectly seared, so I'm not complaining.
Salt & Straw - this is my favourite ice cream shop. Full stop. They started in Portland and have a lot of interesting seasonal flavours. I was really excited when my friend told me they opened not one, but two locations in Seattle. I had two flavours from their August farmer's market series - fennel and maple and corn. SO GOOD!!!
Lighthouse Coffee Roasters - a roaster first, cafe second. Nikhil's favourite coffee shop, and I can see why. It's got a neighbourhood vibe, unpretentious. Great baked goods. Pretty good Americano. People having a chill Saturday morning with the newspaper and their dogs. I pet one of them. It was great.
The Mountaineering Club - a rooftop bar in the University district on top of the Graduate Seattle Hotel, which garnered "just okay" city views. The cocktails were interesting and boozy. I had a whiskey based one that had some weird barbecue seasoning on the rim. Not my favourite, but they do make a mean negroni. The crowd was very mixed, that made for very interesting people watching. I also noticed that it emptied out around midnight. Early nights in Seattle because everyone needs to wake up at the crack of dawn to go hiking? That's my kind of city.
Agelgil Ethiopia Restaurant - super solid Ethiopian food, very good value for money. It seemed like a local joint, very no frills with good food. We had a bunch of different stews and veggies on top of the injera. My last meal in Seattle, after driving back from the Olympics. Soooo good after a long day.
Olympic National Park
Nikhil suggested we camp at Olympic National Park. I was very on board, along with his housemate Josh. It's really far away from Seattle, about a four hour drive away. Bless Nikhil for driving. The park is on the peninsula, and there were so many different microclimates that we were able to experience. It's coastal so we saw the beach. The beach we stopped by was so vast, I couldn't see the end of it. There were a lot of little crabs washed up ashore, I've never seen that before.
Then we drove more inland, to Hoh Rainforest. It was beautiful, seeing the hanging moss on the giant trees (below). The majority of the trails in the area were short and flat. Hiked a bunch and camped out there for the night. The majority of the campsites in Olympic National Park are first-come first-served, so we were a little anxious about getting a campsite. Fortunately we were able to snag one when we arrived around 2pm.
Having never built a fire before, Josh tried to use a flint. To our surprise, it didn't work. So we borrowed a lighter and axe from our camp neighbours, and also they gave us some fire starter because we were really struggling. After what seemed like three hours, we got the fire started. It was really an exercise in patience. When we stopped tending the fire, it grew. Is that an analogy for life? I don't know. Then we roasted marshmallows using a random stick and gazed at the stars. That's probably my favourite part of camping - seeing stars that usually are not visible in the city due to light pollution. The stars were so bright, it was such a clear night. It's such a treat because it doesn't happen often. We cherish rarities.
It got really cold at night, maybe 11C? Something I was certainly not prepared for. It's crazy how the temperature can fluctuate so much. Another thing I was pleasantly surprised about was the fact that the washrooms were quite clean, and there was running water (though no showers).
The next day we drove to Hurricane Ridge, and passed by Lake Crescent (pictured above). It was beautiful lake, surrounded by mountains. Had brunch at Granny's Cafe. It was your typical diner, nothing too special, but out back they had a small farm so it was an interesting location. Drove up the mountain on some winding roads. We hiked Hurricane Hill, which was a nice, gravel path that was quite easy to walk on, and the elevation gain was not bad. The end of the trail gave 360 degree views of the mountains and the ocean. Walked back, then headed back to Seattle.
If there's anything to be said from this experience is the fact that everyone needs a little more nature in their lives, and also bless friends that live in different places! So grateful for the opportunity to reconnect.
Tacoma
I glanced out of the window of my Uber and saw Mount Rainier in the distance. Beautiful, solitary. The city is industrial, reminiscent of Hamilton, Ontario, maybe that's why Toyota named their pickup truck Tacoma. The waterfront is littered with views of factories and warehouses across the waterway. The heat, though immense during the day, was dry and I welcomed the lack of humidity with open arms. I travelled back in time, so I got really tired early in the evening. Thank Eater for blessing me with a list of restaurants I should hit up. I worked in a cafe called Anthem, near Wright Park, a 26-acre green space full of people from all walks of life taking refuge in the shade. My initial impression of Tacoma is industrial and mildly hip, with a student population. Quiet, with not many people out and about, even during rush hour.
You know that glass museum in Seattle? Well the original one is in Tacoma, the birthplace of Dale Chihuly. There is an interesting covered bridge that has a bunch of glass work in a clear glass case so when you look up you see glass pieces.
Where I ate/drank:
The Fish Peddler - by the waterway, a local Red Lobster meets Appleby's. It was decent, though I must say the Dungeness crab mac and cheese was quite unique and tasty.
Dunagan Brewing Company - a local microbrewery, that does a lot of IPA's. I asked to buy some tall boys to go, and they canned beer from the keg before my eyes. A really cool experience!
Seattle
The last time I was in Seattle was 2016. Being here, I felt at home. Met up with my friend Nikhil, who lives there now. Sometimes while driving through Fremont or Ballard, I would look out the window, zone out and caught myself thinking we were in Toronto. It was a weird feeling of being familiar with this cityscape despite not seeing it before. Didn't go downtown at all this time, and I don't think I missed out on much.
Where I ate/drank:
Kokakku - a kind of bougie, very highly rated Japanese steakhouse that had a wide selection of Japanese whiskey. I don't know why I didn't have steak, but the scallops (on a bed of yuzu risotto...interesting) I had were perfectly seared, so I'm not complaining.
Salt & Straw - this is my favourite ice cream shop. Full stop. They started in Portland and have a lot of interesting seasonal flavours. I was really excited when my friend told me they opened not one, but two locations in Seattle. I had two flavours from their August farmer's market series - fennel and maple and corn. SO GOOD!!!
Lighthouse Coffee Roasters - a roaster first, cafe second. Nikhil's favourite coffee shop, and I can see why. It's got a neighbourhood vibe, unpretentious. Great baked goods. Pretty good Americano. People having a chill Saturday morning with the newspaper and their dogs. I pet one of them. It was great.
The Mountaineering Club - a rooftop bar in the University district on top of the Graduate Seattle Hotel, which garnered "just okay" city views. The cocktails were interesting and boozy. I had a whiskey based one that had some weird barbecue seasoning on the rim. Not my favourite, but they do make a mean negroni. The crowd was very mixed, that made for very interesting people watching. I also noticed that it emptied out around midnight. Early nights in Seattle because everyone needs to wake up at the crack of dawn to go hiking? That's my kind of city.
Agelgil Ethiopia Restaurant - super solid Ethiopian food, very good value for money. It seemed like a local joint, very no frills with good food. We had a bunch of different stews and veggies on top of the injera. My last meal in Seattle, after driving back from the Olympics. Soooo good after a long day.
Olympic National Park
Nikhil suggested we camp at Olympic National Park. I was very on board, along with his housemate Josh. It's really far away from Seattle, about a four hour drive away. Bless Nikhil for driving. The park is on the peninsula, and there were so many different microclimates that we were able to experience. It's coastal so we saw the beach. The beach we stopped by was so vast, I couldn't see the end of it. There were a lot of little crabs washed up ashore, I've never seen that before.
The next day we drove to Hurricane Ridge, and passed by Lake Crescent (pictured above). It was beautiful lake, surrounded by mountains. Had brunch at Granny's Cafe. It was your typical diner, nothing too special, but out back they had a small farm so it was an interesting location. Drove up the mountain on some winding roads. We hiked Hurricane Hill, which was a nice, gravel path that was quite easy to walk on, and the elevation gain was not bad. The end of the trail gave 360 degree views of the mountains and the ocean. Walked back, then headed back to Seattle.
If there's anything to be said from this experience is the fact that everyone needs a little more nature in their lives, and also bless friends that live in different places! So grateful for the opportunity to reconnect.
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