Hey, what’s the capital of Washington? I’ve been doing pub quizzes and bar trivia in different cities for years now and every single time the question is asked, someone says, “Oh, I know this one! It’s Seattle, right?” Is Seattle the capital of Washington? This may surprise a lot of people, but no, Seattle is …
Earlier this year, a friend of mine went to Vancouver, British Columbia, to see a Dua Lipa concert. I saw him walking his dog on one of the trails by my house the other day and since we were going in the same direction, I decided to walk with them for about a mile or …
On a recent trip to the Oregon Coast, my family and I stopped by Brookings to visit the secret beach there, cleverly called Secret Beach. While we were at the gas station, I overheard a fellow traveler asking the cashier about things to see while in town. I wasn’t close enough to hear a lot …
A few weeks ago, I met a friend of a friend who was visiting Southeast Alaska for the first time to meet some of his fellow Haida. He lives in the Haida Gwaii Islands off the coast of British Columbia, which has been their home for thousands of years. They were also known as the …
Washington State is a relaxing place to live, with plenty of scenic natural parks and rugged mountain ranges. At least until the dreary Seattle rains kick in and everyone turns into a serial killer because of the lack of Vitamin D. Well, not really. Vitamin D deficiency is a serious issue but thankful the serial …
I went over to Safeway last week to get some protein powder and while I was there, I saw an old friend from high school who I probably haven’t seen in about five years, despite the fact that we live in the same city. He was wearing a shirt with “Run 4 The Rock” and …
A few weeks ago, I had some family in town for the holidays and I ended up seeing some of my nieces and nephews for the first in a few years, as they live out of state. At one point after dinner, my nephew comes up to me and says, “Hey uncle, you know things …
This past summer, I made my first trip over to Wrangell since I was about 12. Nothing against the town, I just never really had a reason to go. I went with a group of friends from Juneau on the Alaska Marine Highway boat and, as it happens, they didn’t know what to do in …
Two of my nieces and I went out to the Mendenhall Glacier last week and, on our way out to the waterfall, the older one asked me what color bears are. I told her that there are brown bears (which are often called “grizzlies”), black bears, and polar bears, which are usually white. She points …
I recently took a day trip with some friends up to Skagway and, on the Alaska Marine Highway ferry ride up from Juneau, we discussed what we wanted to do while we were in town. The one thing everyone agreed that we wanted to do was to check out the famous Gold Rush Cemetery that …