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Moving From California To Washington

Bellingham Bay Sunset

I am often asked why I moved to Washington state from California. People wonder why I would leave the “golden state” and go to a place known for cloudy skies and endless rain. After all, Washington is called the ‘evergreen state” for a reason. I was a little nervous myself since I’m not a fan of rain and have been spoiled most of my life living with lots of sunshine and mild winters. The only time I have ever been in the Pacific Northwest prior to 2016 was for Expo 86 in Vancouver BC that my Mom took me to when I was 14 years old. I should note that I barely remember that trip other than the monorail. I never really had the urge to visit Oregon or Washington as an adult, though the Seattle music scene did peak some interest while I was in my 30’s, yet I still never considered visiting or moving there because it has more rainy days (156 days) than most major cities. My perception changed in 2016 when I went on my first official PNW trip as an adult, which I wrote about previously.

Hood Canal Sunset

Because I fell in love with Oregon and Washington in 2016, once I bought my RV, I went to explore those states even more, which reaffirmed my affection for the PNW. As many of you already know, I take my cat Maverick with me on all my road trips, and at the time, I was blogging from his perspective, therefore, you can read all about my 2nd PNW trip in Summer 2017 from his blog, as well as my Thanksgiving trip that same year caravanning with my vanlife buddy Chris and his cat Michi. Maverick even blogged about the time I explored the Portland Japanese Garden, which I highly recommend visiting, especially in the fall when the leaves change into bright autumn colors.

I wanted to move out of California for about a decade. The summers were getting too hot for my liking with more days over 100*F and many winters were often filled with months of endless rain. I no longer felt joy living in the Bay Area as I did when I was younger. Back in the 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s, I really loved everything about the Mediterranean climate — an ideal mix of sunny summers and mild winters. For most of my career, it also meant great pay working in the semiconductor realm with stock options at pre-IPO companies. Traffic wasn’t too bad either and most of my commutes were only 15-30 minutes. But all that changed in the 2010’s when traffic increased exponentially and my commute became 1 hour each way in horrific, slow-moving gridlock. The warmer temperatures started in May and lasted into October, which led to many lethargic months of staying indoors or hanging out at my pool because I sweat easily. Even going to the beach or to the woods to cool off seemed exhausting knowing that traffic would be terrible to get anywhere.

I knew that once I sold my house in California (photos above), I would probably never be able to move back. I had an incredible deal on my house with a low mortgage balance, low interest rate, and low property tax, which I would never be able to get again, therefore, the decision to move likely meant never living in California again. Leaving the life I build for 25 years had its challenges too as I would be far away from the friendships I had nurtured for a long time and became dependent on. In addition, I knew that I would have to let go of my established side-business in the local music scene. Having lost my parents in 2013 and 2015 did make moving easier because I didn’t have any close family left locally to influence my decision. The shelter-in-place order that arose from the spread of COVID-19 also played a factor since all the social activities that I thrived on were basically halted, leaving me with little purpose and lots of alone time.

Photo by Brett Baunton

The last piece of the puzzle that brought me to move was the trip that changed my life in Sept/Oct 2020. Falling in love with Bellingham was unexpected but understandable. Whatcom County has around 225K residents which is a refreshing change from the hustle-and-bustle of Silicon Valley life. Did you know there are over 7 million people in the entire Bay Area?!? I knew that my quality of life would be much greater here with more access to nature, less traffic, and a slower-paced lifestyle that would lead to less stress and more outdoor activities. Being a lover of water, Bellingham appealed to me for its bay and access to the Salish Sea, as well as the 5000-acre Lake Whatcom and other nearby lakes. Basically it’s a cross between California and Europe, bringing together sea-level beaches with ocean waters and a spectacular snow-capped mountain range within a 1.5 hour drive, and adding in various lakes of different sizes with recreational activities. Where else in the USA can you ski and sea kayak in the same day?

Lake Whatcom Sunset

I was also surprised by the weather as I expected to be inundated with rain. Turns out, Bellingham's climate is generally mild and typical of the Pacific Northwes, getting around 39” of rain per year, which is less than Chicago, New York, and Houston. Unlike the rainfall I was used to in California, which was mainly a downpour for days, Bellingham’s rain is quite different. Mainly it’s a light sprinkle which doesn’t even require an umbrella. Bellingham is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, which is why it gets less rain than other parts of the state. Even though the dreariness index shows Northwestern Washington at the top, I highly disagree with this report, which also puts hot-as-hell Phoenix as least dreary place to live. What most of these data sites don’t take into account is that what is considered a rainy day means there was rainfall at some point throughout the day. It does not consider that the rain could have fallen before I woke up in the morning and that the cloud cover opened up to a sunny day, which is often what happens here. I personally love the drizzle as it keeps plants happy and the state green.

Lake Louise — Sudden Valley

I have lived in Bellingham for almost 3 years now. It was an eye-opening move at first due to the pandemic since most businesses were still closed and I didn’t know anyone here. Let’s just say that February through April were hard and lonely, spending a lot of time indoors and on the drop-in audio app Clubhouse — I actually met my good friend and fellow PNW Blogger Aimee on that app, as well as some awesome vanlifers/nomads that I’m still in touch with. But in Spring 2021, restaurants started to open again and meetups for hikes and outdoor social events were in full effect. Turns out all the people who moved to this area were looking for friends and activities just like me and I started to make friends. If you’ve ever heard of the “Seattle Freeze,” it’s a real thing and extends to the a lot of Northwestern Washington. Therefore, all the transplants find one another through various groups and activities and bond. The Meetup app was a lifesaver for me as I met many of my friends circle via various groups on there.

My Lovely House

I should also note that I really love my house. Despite being 20 minutes from town, it is in the forest near a small lake named Lake Louise and has a modern look-and-feel to it, which is what caught my interest in the first place when I saw the listing. I’m also in a community right on Lake Whatcom, which gives me easy access to this incredibly large lake. Did I mention that I bought my house sight-unseen? I have tons of gorgeous local, regional, and unique art hanging so I have joy everywhere I look, making it almost feel like an an art gallery. I do get a little snowfall each winter, mainly a dusting of snow, but there is about one week in which we get a few inches that stick. I don’t mind having that “Winter Wonderland” feeling for a week and then all the snow melting. Did I mention I also see lots of rainbows now, which is something I hardly ever saw in California! And as you can see in some of the photos in this blog post, I have witnessed some stunning sunsets here, as well as some incredible sunrises. Both the “opacarophile” (sunset lover) and “thalassophile” (ocean lover) in me are beyond thrilled to live in such a gorgeous state!

My life here is pretty easy-going and filled with lots of activities. I took up archery, go axe throwing, learned to paddleboard and kayak, started playing pickleball (the official sport of WA), got my groove on with salsa dancing lessons, and even attend a local logging show. I started to hike and spend more days outdoors in nature — though I don’t do any big hikes, mainly just 1-6 miles on trails with limited elevation gain. My most challenging hike so far has been the Fragrance Lake Two Dollar Trail Loop in Larrabee State Park. I especially love that I can drive 5-10 minutes and hike a forested area for a few miles and feel like I’m nowhere near a city — Whatcom Falls Park, Stimpson Nature Reserve, and Squires Lake are some of those go-to places. My favorite things about living here are Boulevard Park and the South Bay Trail (lovely waterfront stroll and hangout), Squalicum Harbor and Zuanich Point Park (local harbor park), Lake Padden Park (beautiful 2.6 mile walk), Sehome Hill Arboretum (with a cool observation tower), Semiahmoo Spit (especially during extreme low tides), Chuckanut Drive Scenic Byway (known as the Big Sur of WA), Samish Overlook (for sunsets), and Peach Arch Park (on the Canadian border). I’ve also enjoyed exploring Seattle, including the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden & Glass, Pike Place Market, the Fremont Troll, and the Washington Park Arboretum. If you’re ever in the area around Memorial Weekend, you have to see the Ski To Sea relay race which goes from Mt Baker to Marine Park with eight racers competing in seven different sports: cross country ski, downhill ski/snowboard, running, road bike, canoe (2 paddlers), cyclocross bike, and sea kayak.

Photo from Scenic Washington

By the way, the famous saying “live like the mountain is out” in Seattle about Mt Rainier also applies to Bellingham. Even though Mount Baker is only 10,781 feet to Mount Rainier’s 14,411 feet (the tallest in the Cascade Range), its prominence can still be felt all over Whatcom County. Baker (aka Kulshan) is often covered in clouds just like Rainier (aka Tahoma), so when this stratovolcano shows itself, it is a majestic sight! Driving up to Artist Point every summer is a magnificent experience, hiking around and seeing all the mountains of the North Cascades, plus seeing Mount Shuksan reflecting off Picture Lake is a must-see stop! En route you can also check out Nooksack Falls and Silver Lake Park since they are just off Mt. Baker Highway (SR-542). On a side note, I love this Lummi story about Komo Kulshan & His Two Wives, which is about Mt Baker and Twin Sisters.

I also love exploring my new state, going on road trips, camping at various places, and experiencing all that Washington has to offer. So far I’ve camped at Bay View State Park, Deception Pass State Park, Birch Bay State Park, Moran State Park (on Orcas Island), Dungeness Recreation Area, Bowman Bay, and Grayland Beach State Park. I have explored around the Olympic Peninsula, mainly Sequim, Port Angeles, Crescent Lake, Sol Doc Falls, Neah Bay and Cape Flattery (both on the Makah Reservation), Forks, Hoh Rainforest, Rialto Beach, Ruby Beach, and Kalaloch. I spent some time in Westport and Cape Disappointment in the Southwestern part of the state, went to Winterfest at Lake Chelan, and I did some island hoping in the San Juan Islands. I also love seeing and attending the Tulip Festival every spring, which Skagit Valley is known for. I have yet to go to North Cascades National Park and see Lake Diablo — I’ve had camping reservations twice now which got cancelled due to covid in 2022 and a horrible fire in 2023. I also still need to explore Mount Rainier and Mount St Helens more, head over to Leavenworth, Winthrop, and Mazama, and eventually check out Eastern Washington and the Walla Walla Valley wine region in the southeast with a stop at Palouse Falls.

In addition to Washington travel, I am so close to British Columbia that I’m exploring Canada too! I’ve been to Vancouver a few times now and often go to concert there instead of Seattle since it’s closer and there’s less traffic. In October 2022, I took my van around Vancouver Island exploring Victoria, Tofino, Ucluelet and a lot in between, which turned out to be an unforgettable road trip. I fell in love with this huge island and can’t wait to explore it even more! I plan to explore other parts of BC in 2024, including a road-trip around the Sunshine Coast, as well as visits to Capilano Suspension Bridge, Squamish, and Whistler.

Reflection Point — Lake Sutherland

I also invested in a beautiful lakefront home on the Olympic Peninsula at Lake Sutherland this year with my brother after selling our Mom’s home in Florida. This lake house, which I have named “Reflection Point” is available on Airbnb for rent, plus I get to enjoy spending time there when it’s not booked.

As you can see, I do not regret moving to Washington. Living here has been a dream come true and has exceeded all my expectations. I am the happiest I have been in life and I look forward to every day. If you have the same misconception as I did about the Pacific Northwest and the climate here, I urge you to visit this stunning upper left part of the country. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised and understand why moving here was the best decision of my life!

PS: my plan is to blog more about all these places I have visited, so stay tuned!

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My Intro To Vanlife & 1st PNW Trip

In February 2016, I met a man named Jesse (on the dating app Bumble) who lived in a Great West Dodge Sprinter van with his cat Bandit. I was a little skeptical about a grown man living in a van, but he referred to himself as a “digital nomad” and I was curious. We met up for dinner and had a nice conversation, after which he showed me the van he moved into the month prior. It was a nice van with a kitchen, a bathroom with shower, and a comfortable bed. The curtains, textiles, and colors were a bit outdated but when I heard the price he paid, it was very reasonable. Jesse was very excited about vanlife and explained to me why he chose that lifestyle versus living in a “stick and brick” (as he called an apartment or house).

Jesse was inspired by a young Google employee who lived in a box truck in the parking lot that was getting a lot of press. With exorbitant cost of rent in the San Francisco Bay Area, he also wanted to save his hard-earned money and retire at an earlier age, which vanlife allowed him to do. The vanlife movement was just starting to take off at that time, and he was saving 80% or more of his income by not paying rent. Even though I initially had some reservations about dating a guy who lived in a van, I did understand his reasoning for the decision and really enjoyed learning about vanlife living from him.

My introduction to vanlife was local weekend getaways during which I learned what sleeping and cooking in a van was like, how to find good overnight spots, how many beautiful places there were around the Bay Area that I never knew about, and how this lifestyle really allowed you to explore and enjoy nature and the surroundings. As a travel enthusiast, I was hooked pretty quickly! A few months later, Jesse was planning a trip to Seattle for an Ayn Rand convention and asked if I wanted to go since it was during my birthday, to which I immediately said yes. Despite living the Bay Area most of my life, I had never been to Oregon or Washington, nor had I been to most of the Northern California. As you can imagine, I was super excited to see and explore the Pacific Northwest!

We set off on our week-long trip at the end of June from San Francisco towards Bodega Bay, then drove north on Highway 1 along the California coast passing various small coastal towns. For some reason, I remember passing this cute little cemetery along the highway just south of Mendocino with grave stones lined up on the cliffside bordered by tall trees and thinking what a beautiful place to be laid to rest. We found a great spot overlooking the Pacific Ocean just north of Fort Bragg, made dinner, and fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing below the cliff.

Waking up to the sound and views of the ocean is probably one of my favorite things, so that next morning was an absolute joy and a great way to start off this epic trip. We headed north to Highway 101 since the region north of Fort Bragg all the way to Eureka is mostly undeveloped without any major roads and referred to as the Lost Coast. The 25-mile-long trail through that area is a backpackers dream, though there is one road from 101 to Shelter Cove that vehicles can utilize to see a section of that coastline. Jesse and I enjoyed driving through the Avenue of the Giants near Myers Flat, then we continued north where the highway meets the ocean again and stopped in a charming little community called Westhaven-Moonstone. We spent the night at the Trinidad Northbound Rest Area, which is off the highway tucked into the forest and honestly a great place to get some rest.

On our third day, we headed north into Oregon and I was enthralled by how beautiful the coastline is! I know California is famous for Big Sur, but the Oregon coast rivals that easily, with pristine beaches and rocky bluffs for miles and miles. The Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor is probably one of the most stunning places along the West Coast! To cover a lot of distance, we drove a lot that day, all the way to Yachats, known for the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. I had read about Thor’s Well on Atlas Obscura but we had no idea that whole area, known as Cook’s Chasm, was going to be as incredible as it was! We ended up finding this awesome little park on the highway to spend the night, which turned out to have stairs down to the beach with a river going under nice-looking bride. There was a day-use-only sign but we decided to chance it anyways, and luckily didn’t get bothered.

We continued north through Oregon all the way to Tillamook Creamery, where we stopped to grab some cheese-laden dishes and delicious ice cream, which we ate on Nedonna Beach enjoying the ocean view. We made another quick stop at Haystack Rock, which I wanted to see because of the movie The Goonies. From there we got back on the road driving over the Astoria-Megler Bridge into Washington, stopping quickly at the Dismal Nitch to take a photo of the WA sign. We worked our way up the Olympic Peninsula, decided to take a dip in Lake Quinault to freshen up (the water was super cold), and then right at dusk we luckily found a dirt turn-off on the side of the road that took us to this amazing open space on the cliffs by the ocean, where we spent the night. It was one of the most secluded, perfect spots that we could have discovered, and we had it all to ourselves.

The next morning was my birthday, so Jesse made me bacon and eggs in a smiley face on the plate. We had to get to Seattle by 3pm, therefore, we drove around the Olympic Peninsula without stopping at any of the amazing places I would have loved to see. That drive took us through Forks (made famous by the Twilight series), then along Crescent Lake (we did make a quick stop the La Poel Picnic Area to revel at this glacial lake’s incredible beauty), then through Port Angeles and Sequim, and finally all the way around to Bainbridge Island, from which we took the ferry to Seattle. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I was in awe of the Emerald City and its iconic skyline with the Space Needle! Seeing Mount Rainier in all its glory looming in the background was also quite stunning — I can see why locals talk about whether the mountain is out since the visibility of this large active stratovolcano makes a huge impact. Did you know that due to its high probability of an eruption in the near future, Mount Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world and it is on the Decade Volcanoes list?!?

Jesse forgot to buy tickets to the Ayn Rand Convention he had wanted to attend, which was sold out when we arrived in Bellevue, so our plans veered into a new direction and we decided to check out downtown Seattle instead. We stopped at a cider bar, walked around Belltown, and ended up having a fancy dinner at The Metropolitan Grill, voted the best steakhouse in Seattle. We spent the night on the streets by Ruby Chow Park, an overnight spot Jesse found on Freecampsites.net, a website many vanlifers use to find places to park. It wasn’t the most ideal location, but at least it was next to a park and away from downtown traffic.

The following morning we headed out of Seattle and passed Oxbow Park which features a 44' wide cowboy hat and 22' high boots known as "Hat n' Boots." My boss (who was from Seattle) told me prior to the trip that we had to see Snoqualmie Falls and he was right — this 270’ waterfall was majestic to see and totally worth the drive! Then we headed to Mount Rainier National Park and drove around various viewpoints to witness the enormous footprint Mount Rainier has and even caught a glimpse of a small waterfall near Paradise. We secured a campsite at White River Campground on the northeastern section of the park with the highest elevation of all three drive-in campgrounds on Mt Rainier, where we enjoyed a campfire dinner in the charming forested canopy.

July 4th was another busy day of driving. Jesse really enjoys finding remote and unique overnight spots, therefore, we drove around the Gifford Pinchot National Forest to various spots he had saved on his phone (since there’s no service in that area) to see how viable they were to spend the night. We found some really cool places on dirt roads and along rivers which would have been ideal, but instead of staying in the area, we decided to check out Mount St Helens. Sadly the weather was a bit overcast and we couldn’t see the cratered peak that well as it was engulfed in clouds. I did enjoy seeing Spirit Lake and learning more about the eruption from all the roadside interpretive signs and how it altered the landscape. We headed further south and stopped at Swift Reservoir for a quick swim but the water so surprisingly cold considering it was July. We ended up along the Columbia River Gorge early that evening, saw the Bonneville Dam, then found a wonderful spot along the railroad tracks just west of Stevenson on the Washington side of the river. We cooked a steak dinner and watched the fireworks over Cascade Locks after a spectacular sunset.

The next day we headed over the Bridge of the Gods into Oregon and stopped at Multnomah Falls, the tallest and most famous waterfall in the state. We headed into Portland for breakfast at Pine State Biscuits that a good friend of mine recommended and enjoyed their delicious Reggie Deluxe breakfast sandwich. Afterwards, we drove towards Mount Hood with a stop at Trillium Lake, which I absolutely fell in love with. I thought Oregon’s High Desert was quite fascinating as we headed through Warm Springs with a quick stop along the Deschutes River before heading into Madras. Seeing the Cascade Mountains to the west as we drove down Route 97 was quite lovely, with magnificent glimpses of Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters, and more. We ended that day at Crater Lake National Park enjoying the incredible views of this deepest and most pristine lake in the USA. We spent the night just outside the park at one of the big turnouts and were inundated with mosquitos when the sun went down — by inundated I mean that it was a mosquito blackout that you couldn’t see through, something I have never experienced before!

Sadly our road-trip was coming to an end so our last day consisted of us driving home from Southern Oregon into California through Klamath Falls, Weed, Mount Shasta, and Dunsmuir, with a pitstop at Lake Shasta due to heavy traffic. We found a dirt road that led to a nice spot on the Sacramento River Arm where we ate some lunch and got into the lake to cool off. We drove the final stretch home through California’s Central Valley with views of various agriculture and sunflower fields and finally made it home to the Bay Area.

It was a magical and memorable first trip to the Pacific Northwest despite the fact that Jesse and I broke up later that year. He showed me a whole new world of exploration that I had never imagined before, which left such an impact on me that I bought an RV in December 2016 and started going on solo road trips, including multiple trips to Oregon and Washington in 2017, 2018, and 2020! My life is completely different now due to vanlife so I guess I have Jesse to thank for that.

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