Car Camping Checklist
We’ve just returned home from our first car camping weekend of the summer. Our home was our Kelty tent perched high above the Ohanapecosh River, swollen with snowmelt off the southeastern flank of Mount Rainier. My ears are still delightfully roaring from the sound of the river, and I may have cedar twigs dangling from […]
Cidery Tour: Quimper Peninsula near Port Townsend
There’s a centuries-old tradition of European cidermakers turning tart apples into hard cider, and over the past dozen years or so this craft has experienced a renaissance right here in the Pacific Northwest. To get a taste, you might find yourself driving down a winding gravel path through some woods, wondering just what you’ve gotten […]
NEWS: Tourism Office Closes, Safe Hiking
Happy Friday! And more importantly, happy summer. The July 4th weekend is cause to celebrate our American independence, sure. But here in the Pacific Northwest, we double our celebratory capacities this weekend. See that yellow ball in the sky? July 4th marks our unofficial start to summer. Time to fire up the grill and get […]
Port Townsend Farmer’s Markets
You have heard me go on and on about my adoration for farmer’s markets before. My friends will tell you that I drag them for miles off a previously-planned itinerary if I see a sign for one. But this past weekend, it was my friend Susan who spotted it first. We were on our way […]
Tasting Cider on Vancouver Island
Is wine totally passé? That’s a cider flight. Before our lunchtime stop at Merridale Cider in Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley a few months ago, I couldn’t have told you a single thing about English-style craft cider. Now, I’ll tell you a thing or two. It rocks with food. Really good cider (and Merridale’s is really good […]
Cheap Sleeps: Step Up Your Game
As a budget traveler, I sometimes lament the loss of quality, affordable places to stay. Travel, even local travel, has gotten far more expensive than it used to be while at the same time, our wages have more or less stayed the same (if we managed to hold onto our jobs these past few years.) Maybe because […]
NEWS: BC Road Trips, Camping at Fort Casey
It’s feeling like a stretch to remember that the summer solstice is a week away. Luxuriously long days remind us, sure. But my puffy down vest is getting a lot of use. Too much use. Kale is exploding in our garden, though, a benefit of the cooler June in Seattle. Here’s hoping for a real start […]
All About Vancouver
This week in Northwest travel, our Friday Five is all about Vancouver, British Columbia. Six hundred travel bloggers and travel industry peeps are converging on our beloved metropolis of Vancouver this weekend for Travel Blog Exchange. I regrettably cannot go (waaa!) – read about why, as well as my Ode to Travel Bloggers – right […]
NEWS: Oregon Road Trip, National Trails Day
This week in Northwest travel, here are the things that caught my eye. It’ll be here every Friday. 1) Tomorrow is National Trails Day. Trails are our pathways into the great outdoors, from the wild Olympics to the South Cascades. Celebrate with a hike! If you live in Washington state, WTA.org has this handy dandy […]
Washington Camping: Ten Great Campgrounds
What makes a great campground? One that boasts a special view or extraordinary setting, has spacious campsites with some privacy surrounded by nature, and where there are nearby attractions and unique experiences.
