Cool things to check out in a few WA cities

[Batsy]

I’m going to be visiting/passing through the following cities in Washington next month. I’ll be in each one very briefly, from one to 4 nights each. Anything cool to check out? Any cool bars, restaurants, venues, painting spots, shops, etc.?

• Aberdeen/Montesano
• Olympia
• Tacoma
• Seattle
• Spokane

 

[sevedemanos]

get ready to see twaks everywhere. aberdeen is like white fresno.. tacoma can be sketchy af.. oly can be okay depending.. spokane has a big park on the west side but other than that kinda gross.. everybody has to see seattle at least once though. take your lady to the arboretum and the u district

if i were going that way id skirt around the peninsula out to port townsend/san juan/bellingham/cascades national park/wenatchee/skip spokane altogether straight out to sandpoint idaho

ymmv

 

[enxomachina]

I'm interested in spending the summer months in Washington, I'm most curious about the coastal towns from Port Angeles all the way around to Aberdeen, especially recently. I'll be leathertramping and streetvending handmade jewelry to get by.

 

[enxomachina]

And also even further along the coast through Astoria and Tillamook. I've never been around there. After that, I know the Oregon coast / Portland / Salem area well enough. Although it's been some years so the specifics are fuzzy. Is the coast still very nice or rumor has it in Arizona that it's rough in Oregon because they, I guess, legalized the use of all drugs? Haven't heard any first hand accounts.

 

[Batsy]

And also even further along the coast through Astoria and Tillamook. I've never been around there. After that, I know the Oregon coast / Portland / Salem area well enough. Although it's been some years so the specifics are fuzzy. Is the coast still very nice or rumor has it in Arizona that it's rough in Oregon because they, I guess, legalized the use of all drugs? Haven't heard any first hand accounts.

If you go to Astoria, check out The Haunt if you like bars. It’s a goth/metal/viking bar. My brother lived in Astoria for a year and when I visited he took me and my friend there. At the time the bar didn’t do much to express its themes that I mentioned, besides have a bartender with Viking tattoos who played some goth and metal songs from a laptop, but I think I heard they upped the themes a bit since then. I think they have live music too. Plus they’re specifically an antifascist bar too, which is rad. Their bartender was telling me that when you run a Viking bar, you have to take a stance on fascism otherwise you end up with the wrong crowd. Makes sense. Pretty cool place.

My brother did say that apparently there’s not much to do in Astoria besides go to bars, and that there’s not many people under 30 there. Figured that info might or might not be helpful. I was told by a traveler friend that Astoria cracks down on travelers/vehicle dwellers a pretty decent amount. He got a law firm’s business card left on the door of his truck that said “eviction notice” on it after being in Astoria less than a day.

____________

Also, about the drug laws you mentioned in Oregon, back in the 2020 election they decriminalized every drug as long as you’re not selling them. At the time I read that if you’re caught with “personal amounts” of any illegal drug, the worst punishment they’re allowed to give you is a $100 fine.

I have heard that this has made locals in some areas more harsh against travelers, because they’ve had issues with tweakers and group us all in with them. I lived in Portland in my van for the month of May last year and didn’t have any troubles with cops, NIMBYs, or criminals fucking with me. But that’s just my experience

 

[enxomachina]

Sounds like it's for sure worth the try! That eviction notice is pretty intense and I do sleep in a sleeping bag so maybe it won't work out but if I'm in that area I'll definitely check out that bar! I've had much success selling art in places with an age group like that. I imagine the age range has something to do with the property only being affordable later in life, so hopefully 20 bucks might often be considered pocket change.

 

[TheHitcherMan61]

bar known as T's Lounge, very welcoming and great drinks and food, still come there from time to time, Great place. owners also a pretty cool guy

 

[stacysadistic]

In Seattle, there's a nice park along the ocean (the sound technically), also an outdoor sculpture park there too. There's some cool bars and cafes along the piers by there, as well as some really good seafood. There's a ferris wheel on the pier that isn't terribly expensive, but pretty much anywhere along the water is gonna have great views at sunset or sunrise. Lake Union has a lot of boats and a boat museum, Green Lake is also pretty nice. The Fish Market downtown is pretty neat, lots of cool little shops in there, and local food vendors. There's a gum wall you can stick your gum on nearby. Someone mentioned the arboretum, and I second that. The Frye Art Museum is free

As far as things that cost money, I dont really think the Space Needle is worth it. There's a long wait in line, its expensive, and if you've been on top of a tall building before then you're not missing much. On the other hand, I think the Chihuly Garden is money well spent if ur into art. Some pretty trippy stuff in there, its real fun on hallucinogens lol. I also really like the Seattle Aquarium. In general, I'd suggest getting a bagel somewhere and checking out different cafes. Eltana is my personal favorite, tho Rubenstein's and Blazing Bagels aren't bad either. Capitol Hill is a cool neighborhood to check out that's very progressive and queer friendly. It has lots of neat shops. You can go to Cal Anderson park if you wanna see where the CHAZ (capitol hill autonomous zone) happened in 2020.

 

[thealternativekitty]

Imma go ahead and second that Tacoma is quite the shit show at this point. Unless you have friends or family there, I would recommend skipping through it. But going through Seattle, there is a cute little book store in Pike Place's market I would recommend. It's called Left Bank Book Collective. They're a little punk book store, they have a huge variety, including zines. (They do still require masks.)

I like to ride the ferry from Bremerton into Seattle, and just wonder around from there. You can find a huge variety of food, and during spring/summer there is almost always some sort of art event going on downtown. (If you look up the Art Walk I believe it starts in May?) There's a really good little Ethiopian place hidden almost in an alleyway halfway between the needle and the ferry ports. The needle isn't worth the price, but has a pretty sculpture garden.

Bremerton/Port Orchard still have a decent underground scene but it definitely has slowed down in the last few years. There's a lot of punk bars and some really cute resturaunts on the sound.

And if you make it further west, the Olympic National Forest is worth a visit. Specifically the Hoh Rainforest and the Sol Duc hot springs located within. You can also find the tree of life within an hour drive.

Happy travels!