2020 PNW Trip - Washington 2

We started our full day in Seattle with a quick breakfast at Oddfellows Café and a stroll around Capital Hill. The rest of the day was mostly spent driving around the greater Seattle area, working our way counter-clockwise around Lake Washington from Renton and New Castle, up through Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland, and finally shooting all the way over to Edmonds before settle back down to Greenwood area. Overall it was interesting to get a sense of how each neighborhood was like and the “vibes” they had compared to their online descriptions.

Saw a couple of these rigs, really cool trucks that look like the product of AEV, an overlander focused company that’s known for using Rams as a foundation. They’re very pricy and not really well known so spotting one is pretty rare.

One thing that was not rare during our trip were the number of JDM 4X4 vans that have been imported to the States. They’re not common in CA where our SMOG laws prevent them from being registered, but up here that’s not an issue.

On our last day we drove around West Seattle before returning the rental and flying home. I’m lucky enough to already live in one of the prettiest cities in the world, but both Portland and Seattle really do have a lot going for them. One of the few cities that I enjoy every time I visit.

2020 PNW Trip - Washington 1

Last day in Portland, most of it was taken up with a roadtrip along the Oregon coast and into Seattle late afternoon. But before we left, we had to get another taste of Portland food.

Between Seattle and Portland, each city has it’s strengths and weaknesses, but when it comes to food we definitely feel Portland just slays. Maybe if I were a huge seafood fan I’d better appreciate Seattle’s food scene, and their scene is no slouch, but the options in Portland genuinely made me excited just so much more often. Maybe even more than Bay Area…

Once on the road, I wanted to swing by Tillamook’s factory for some of their ice cream. Unfortunately, we chose the one day that they were filming a new commercial. They were letting a limited few in at a time for a factory tour, but the food was closed until they wrapped up their shoot which was indefinite. So being mindful of the distance we needed to cover, we decided not to wait and went straight to the coast.

I don’t know if it’s normally like this or we just got lucky with a break from the weather, but the moment we got to the coast the sun really came out and turned the whole place into Studio Ghibli level beauty. We had to stop at Cannon Beach of course and after stretching our legs a bit and a great lunch, we got back on the road to Seattle.

After checking in we grabbed some nice warm ramen and then walked around Capital Hill for a bit. Had to swing by a Starbucks of course, but this is one location that (as long as the crowds aren’t crazy) I don’t mind going to. Afterwards we drove up to Kerry Park for a good view of the city before turning in for the night.

MONTANA / Day 1

Last year in 2014 my family went to Maine for our family vacation. So for 2015, we needed to go someplace different, why not Montana? Yup! The final destination is Glacier National Park but we begin our trip in beautiful Spokane Washington. Seriously, when the plane was approaching the airport, I was having serious doubts about how Spokane would be like since all I saw was flat, empty cropland. But the city itself is a wonderful blend of valleys, trees, streams, waterfalls, and an AWESOME architecture vibe. Think traditional industrial brick factories (already a favorite of mine) peppered with some geographical 70's lines and curves. It makes for some great building shooting.