Holiday Gift Guide for Travelers
I used to be an awesome gift-giver: homemade sea salt blends, hand-knit scarves, custom-printed stationary. I can see my friends and family nodding their heads right now – “yep, you sure did!” (the operative word being did.) The thing is, I’m a parent now with a job, housework, and virtually no free time. And so, my […]
Thanks for Reading. Really.
It’s snowing in Nanaimo. That’s on Vancouver Island, for those that don’t know. If you follow me on twitter, you know that my family has been in British Columbia for a week now. Like much of the Pacific Northwestern states below us, snow, ice, and arctic-blast winds have been our frequent companions for the past […]
Art Meets High Style at Tacoma’s Hotel Murano
There I was, in the lobby of the Hotel Murano, a revamped boutique hotel in Tacoma’s downtown that I had never before heard described without use of the adjective swanky. But I’ve grown tired of that word, I must confess. And as I sat there the morning after our stylish stay, sipping deliciously strong coffee […]
Win a Stay in the San Juan Islands
Why do you travel? For some people, travel is a way of life. I know people who’ve ditched their jobs, hoisted on a backpack, and traveled the world on a shoestring, forever changed. For others, travel is an escape, like the young couple I know who are saving up all their vacation time to swap […]
Scenes of Tacoma
“I’ve seen Tacoma… from the interstate.” Well, it’s time to make a change. For years now, we’ve heard about how Tacoma’s downtown has been revitalized. And, it has. It’s walkable and vibrant and filled with art, as anyone who has made the trip to visit the Museum of Glass or catch a show at Pantages […]
Cozy Cabins on a Budget at Grace Haven
I have cabin fever. No, not that kind-the other kind. The kind where you’re crazy for cabins. I’m crazy for cabins – cedar walls, steaming cups of cocoa, cozy fires, wool blankets. Love them. First, I told you about staying at my friend’s cabin in Winthrop. But we couldn’t stop there. No, there was another. […]
Where To Go Now: October
BRITISH COLUMBIA The 29th annual Vancouver International Film Festival runs now through October 15th, featuring 370 films from 75 countries. It’s one of North America’s largest and most diverse film festivals, showing big name movies, small name shorts, and art house gems. Tickets are completely affordable, generally $10-$12 per screening, and are sold at several […]
Scenes of Vancouver
My passport expires in 79 days. Its stamps are sparse. There’s Belize, the trip for which I got the passport in the first place. And Costa Rica. A few from Mexico. And, of course, there’s Canada. I’ll get a new passport, surely. But I’m not done with this one just yet. It needs one more […]
Chasing Summer on San Juan Island
Psst…. get our premier guide to fall travel – Autumn Escapes in the Pacific Northwest. Get inspired to spend your fall weekends combing rocky beaches, savoring the harvest, and hiking scenic mountain trails of Washington and Oregon. Get it here. I can hardly believe that summer is over. Wait a minute– did I really just type that? I’m […]
Summer Syndrome
Many Pacific Northwesterners share a common summertime syndrome. It’s one of those yet-to-be-named disorders, but I have proof that it exists. You may even have it yourself. It is characterized by an overfull calendar of outdoor bbqs, gelato dates and weekend getaways. You may notice that you suddenly have dozens of smoothie recipes lying around–far […]
