Travel Update - July 2023 PCH, Seattle, British Columbia

In the last one of these (all about LA, San Francisco, and some extras) I said that I expected things to slow down in June/July as I moved on from LA and headed up the coast toward the Pacific Northwest. 

That didn’t happen.

Sure things were a little slower than LA, but I stayed busy for sure. I also started producing more content, or at least at a more regular pace again which has been feeling good. Let’s dive in and talk about it all real quick. 

FYI if this is your first time here- These blogs are for me, primarily. They’re very conversational and the idea here is that you might get something completely different from reading them as I do from writing them. Or maybe nothing at all. You’ll just have to give it a go and find out. 

You can always tell me what you think over here.

Pacific Coast Highway

I think I could live on the pacific coast highway. That’s probably not an uncommon opinion to have about what is, objectively, one of the most beautiful parts of the entire country, but oh well. 

I also finally got to see most of the Oregon coast, so I can check that one off the bucket list. It was just as amazing as I expected it to be, but I will concede that for me, the SoCal/Central California coast reigns supreme. 

I’ll leave this section short. I’ve already done this drive once- from LA all the way up to Seattle. This time I took it a little bit slower, and really focused on photographing my favorite spots, so I’ll let the images do the talking. 

New Photo Gear & Car Camping

I was testing out the Fujifilm X-T5 for the first time though, and I shot my very first-ever rolls of film along the way, so lots of fun trying new things and creating with different tools. 

This time, rather than drop my life savings on hotels along the coast, I decided to car camp. This is something I’ve been perfecting for a while now. 

It’s an unwieldy process of shifting my bags and camera gear around my (very small) 2016 Hyundai Elantra GT, folding down the seats, blowing up a camping mat, throwing down my sleeping bag, making a pillow out of hoodies and a camping blanket, and laying at just the right angle where all six feet of me can lay flat, rather than the fetal position- which necessitates at least 2 ibuprofen the next morning before.

It’s also kinda sketchy, to be honest. Depending on where you camp, you run the risk of getting ‘the knock’ in the middle of the night. I will say it feels a little less sketchy on some other fronts, like general safety- I prefer it to tent camping. At least when I’m alone in the woods.

But I feel like this was the trip (5 or 6 days, I think?) where I finally mastered the art of a good night’s sleep in a very small hatchback.

More shots from PCH and the west coast if you’re interested.

Seattle

Seattle, up until last month, was another one of those cities that I’d spent something like 36 hours in and really wanted more than that initial taste. 

It didn’t disappoint. I think I liked Seattle much more the second time around. The weather, aside from some rain and mist the second week of June, was magnificent, I stayed in the most zen, chill AirBnB where I came to be great friends with the hosts- and an older couple who’ve been sharing their home with travelers in some capacity since the ’70s. 

I took advantage of the (new-ish?) one line that takes you right downtown. I was up in Lake City, so I could roll over to Northgate station in 7-8 minutes, park free in the garage there, and get off at one of the downtown stops for $3.00. 

Honestly, Denver, take notes.

I know it’s not perfect, but it made getting around much less stressful. I love road trips, but when it comes to the city, I’d take walking or public transit any day. 

Boston really showed me what public transit could be last year, and those red line trains that come by every 2 or 3 minutes always seemed to pop into my mind when I found myself circling the same block in LA over and over in search of a parking spot in April and May this year.

The Pike Place Market was amazing as always, at least where street photography is concerned. I’m always so busy taking photos that I’ve only really stopped long enough to buy fruit from the vendors and check out the record shop.

I also loved the ferry to Bainbridge Island, Fremont’s Saturday Market, the University District. I have nothing but fond memories of Seattle now, and I’d love to come back a third time one day soon. 

British Columbia (+ Bellingham, WA)

If you keep up with me on Instagram, no pressure- you might have seen me talking about Bellingham. 

I’m up here for the month of July, and it’s my last stop on the west coast before I head back to Denver- where I’ll leave my car behind and fly to the east coast for the rest of the year.

I booked this AirBnB due to its proximity to the Canadian border. Vancouver is a quick day trip (about an hour and fifteen minutes each way), and I made it out to Victoria by ferry last weekend- a destination that has long been high on my list. 

I have loved being so near Canada, and I’ve tried to strike a balance between spending time in the cities and getting out to explore and hike along the coast. I think it’s been a great way to enjoy all of what makes BC special. 

I’m working on another Canada trip later in the year. This time to Montréal and maybe Toronto by train this fall while I’m in New York. The leaves will be changing, it’s 10 hours via the Adirondack, and I might just need to invest in a bigger hard drive for all the photos once that trip comes to an end. 

Maybe another opportunity to throw a roll of film in too? 

Wrapping Up

That’s it for this update! I’m looking ahead to a long journey back to Colorado next week with stops in Mazama and Leavenworth, WA, and Boise, ID before I finally land back in the Centennial state.

It’ll be a beautiful drive, so hopefully that makes up for the fact that it’s 24 hours and 1,500 miles in the driver’s seat.

I’m not staying put in Denver very long though. That’s definitely my preference these days. I’ll be on a flight to Boston just a couple of weeks after I make it back home.

On that note, I’ll admit that I’m beyond excited to return to New England. I’ve loved the west coast, and I’m sure I’ll have my sights set on SoCal again soon, but those northeast cities are calling my name. 

I’ll be working closely with a few photographer and artist friends out there, and I already have so many plans that I think I’m starting to get pre-stressed about fitting it all into four months. Wish me luck, friends.

Go make something cool.