pacific northwest

Craving a summer vacay, I spent the past week exploring the great Pacific Northwest with my close friend Sydney (red lips pictured below). It was a jam-packed, non-stop, unforgettable trip!

We started our journey in Seattle where it was a melting 95 degrees! We kept cool with a first-time visit to the International Fountain in Seattle Center and ended the day with dinner & drinks with family and friends on the lawn of the Seattle Tennis Club. We then road tripped north to the San Juan Islands where we took a ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor (our car even got to go with us!). We enjoyed the little shops and restaurants on Friday Harbor, ate fried food and fudge amongst the farm animals at the San Juan County Fair, drove out to historic British Camp, and ended our stay on the dock of Roche Harbor Resort. I discovered my new favorite latte on the island too: the London Fog (earl grey tea latte w/ vanilla). So yummy and cozy. 

Sydney's hometown of Bellingham was our third stop. Hovander Homestead Park was my favorite site, an expansive pioneer farming property with the cutest red barn, a fragrance garden, and walkable trails along lily pads. After a brief visit in Bham, we continued north to Vancouver (my first time in Canada). Vancouver is an oddly amazing city. It's like New York meets San Francisco meets Europe... meets Asia meets Middle East, yet everyone speaks English and there is zero traffic?! There are endless awesome neighborhoods in Vancouver: Gastown (home to Pixar Canada!), Yaletown, Granville Island, and Chinatown.

We stayed at some amazing hotels along our journey: Ace Hotel (our room was sans a bathroom, my first time in a hotel with communal showers!), Lairmont Manor (historic and absolutely lovely), my favorite The Chrysalis Inn & Spa and the posh Opus Vancouver. 

International Fountain, Seattle, Washington

Downtown Seattle

Bellingham Bay, Washington

Aladdin's Antiques, Bellingham, Washington

Hovander Homestead Park, Ferdale, Washington

Bow-Edison, Washington

British Camp, Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands, Washington

San Juan County Fair, Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands, Washington

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

St. Francis Catholic Cemetery, Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands, Washington

Bellingham, Washington