Do you remember that scene in My Fair Lady when Rex Harrison’s character Professor Higgins sings “Why Can’t The English Learn to Speak?” It’s one of my favorite movies, so I remember it very well. I think about that movie a lot when people ask me about the Pacific Northwest accent or if there even …
Every once in a while you need to come up with an extra special getaway – a short trip to “wow” your Significant Other and prove that the spark is still there. In the Pacific Northwest, there are many options, but one of the most unique getaways combines two distinctly Northwest experiences: a visit to Victoria, …
If you thought Northwest ski areas were just for skiing, then drop by one of them during the heat of the summer and you’ll see that hikers and bikers are also getting good use out of these mountains and the resort lifts. More and more nowadays, ski resorts are becoming year-round businesses, looking for ways to …
Every time I take a place to somewhere I’ve never been before, one of the first things I do is to find out whether or not I can drink their tap water. Not that I prefer tap water over bottled or purified, of course, but when it’s 3 AM at the hotel and I can’t …
There are lots of couples out there who can’t wait for school to get started again. I’m not super proud to be one of them but, if you have kids, I’m sure you can commiserate. If you can’t relate, maybe this story will help. Last summer my wife and I planned a romantic getaway at Salish …
Nothing says Pacific Northwest quite like a stately yet rustic mountain lodge surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery in the country. Even better, make it a historic lodge, built well before the days of cost-cutting and tough environmental regulations. These lodges are the real deal. They usually are constructed of Northwest timber — …
If Seattle is known for anything, it’s great restaurants and luxury accommodations. Oh and a bunch of quirky people who love trees. But we’re friendly, I promise. If you’re visiting Seattle it can be hard to find a place to stay that really compliments your vacation. After all, why would you settle for a historic …
If there’s one thing everyone knows, it’s that it rains constantly in Seattle. That and the fact that Seattle-ites love their coffee. However, just because “everybody knows something” doesn’t make it anywhere near true. Despite many people considering Seattle to be one of the wettest cities on the West Coast, its level of raininess is …
If you’re looking to camp in your van, it’s likely that we’re either best friends or enemies. Well, not really, but if you’re trying to camp the Oregon coast in a $150k Spring van then we’ll probably be at odds when we pull up in our 30-year-old $800 Club Wagon. So, in the interest of …
I like to go hiking a lot, so my friends often call me up when they have a hiking-related question. However, I got a call last week which…let’s just say it wasn’t quite up my alley. My friend who called told me that he was in Europe a week ago and some of the other …