Pacific Northwest

On August 2, 2025May 21, 2026 By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Travel

My brother-in-law lives in Washington state, about halfway between Seattle and Vancouver. What a bummer to have to fly out there to visit him.

It’s not even fair how gorgeous it is out there.

Our first full day, a Thursday, my wife and I started to explore while her brother and his girlfriend were at work. At their recommendation, we selected the trail called Oyster Dome, on Blanchard Mountain.

We drove up the first part of the mountain via a long, winding unpaved road. There’s a way to avoid this (adds significant elevation, with no facilities and minimal parking), but we simply navigated to the main parking area (Samish Overlook parking), which bypasses the initial ascent on foot, offering breathtaking views from the start (and toilets!). From the main parking area, it’s still about a 5-mile hike, which was sufficient for us for our first day anyway. The other trailhead is off Chuckanut Drive (must cross state highway to begin hike).

View of the Samish Bay, near the Samish Overlook parking area.

We loved this hiking trail. The parking lot is quite large, signaling how busy the area can get, but we started mid-morning on a weekday and fortunately avoided crowds; we only crossed paths with a handful of people, and shared the summit with four others.

The trail begins steep, tackling a bit of the 1000-ft elevation gain, before leveling out through the cedar and fir forest. The trail crosses several creeks. Even while away from the views, the sounds and smells of the forests are incredible.

After enjoying the more level trail for a while, it spikes upward for a significant incline the final ~ half mile. As you continue up the switchback, the trail narrows as well, and becomes a bit more technical. Reaching the top is well worth it! You’re rewarded with a nice, wide rock face to sit and rest while enjoying the breathtaking views. The people of the pacific northwest are so friendly, too! When they discovered we were visiting from Ohio, they offered up other trails to check out, and their favorite meal spots nearby, as well.

We already had a plan for dinner that night, though, and after heading back down the mountain, we drove to downtown Mt. Vernon to meet our brother and his partner.

Day 2

Another work day for our family, my wife and I drove to Larrabee State Park. Offering over a dozen trails to explore, we bopped around, quite sore from Oyster Dome. We drove first to the top of the park for the views, and then hiked a bit of the Ridge Trail before heading back down to the bottom of the mountain for the Clayton Beach trail.

The Clayton Beach trail wound down the hill onto the beach. It’s a short trail overall; fairly steep, but a much more gradual slope than by the overlook. There are some rocky areas near the beach that we climbed up to relax and enjoy the views.

View of the beach in Larrabee State Park — Clayton Beach, Larrabee State Park

Once we wrapped up our time in the state park, we rewarded ourselves with a beer – we first tried “The Oyster Bar,” just off Chuckanut Drive, not realizing that it was fine dining (we were covered in sweat and sand and in our hiking gear, yikes!). We snuck away and instead headed to “Chuckanut Manor” — which sounds fancier but is less so. They had a good happy hour, and we ordered a couple of pints and a snack to share. The food was excellent and view from the patio beautiful.

Following our hike reward, we headed back to our family’s house for dinner. Our brother has gotten into duck hunting, and grilled some duck for us to try. My wife and I had stopped by the cheese store in downtown Mt. Vernon to complement our appetizers with some wine and cheese. Skagit Valley Larder was a great experience – we were able to sample the cheese prior to purchasing it, and they offered some recommendations that would pair well with the cheese (and the duck!)

Day Three

On Saturday, the four of us piled into the truck with the dogs and headed out to Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Just adjacent to North Cascades National Park, we were able to enjoy similarly amazing views … but also bring the dogs (no dogs in national parks, boo). We did the Thunder Knob trail, which was breathtaking but painfully crowded.

If I were to go again, I’d likely select a trail that’s typically less crowded.

On our final day, my wife and I went to Deception Pass before heading back to the Seattle Airport for our red-eye flight home. At Deception Pass, we hiked the Goose Rock Summit trail – which can be either a shorter, steeper out-and-back, or a full loop trail. We did the latter, hiking the steep climb on the way up to grant us the slowly meandering path back down to the parking area.

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PNW Lez-Travel rating:

The Pacific Northwest is an interesting place when it comes to gay travel. There are lesbians everywhere… but you’re in such a rural area, that you meet some closeminded idiots, as well, and certainly see a lot of Trump flags. Based on our experience, these are not the same folks we encounter on the trails or town centers. PNW wins 3 rainbows.

[Trump’s] Love Nest

On July 3, 2020May 12, 2023 By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Travel

As our travel had, of course, been cancelled for spring and early summer, I had a few days off that were scheduled to expire on July 1. We love camping, and certainly that had been our hope, but though originally scheduled to reopen at the start of phase 2, campsites didn’t end up reopening until July 1. We instead looked at a variety of cabins in New Hampshire near the White Mountains, and found the perfect fit. A little efficiency one-room cabin near Lake Winnipesaukee, complete with a fire pit, grill, and walkable to the lake.

The drive up was rough – not because of usual traffic now gone due to covid – but first because of a hailstorm (not common in New England!) and then because of the wild amount of Trump signs. Wondering what these two lesbians got ourselves into, we glanced nervously at each other and a took a deep breath of mountain air with a bit of the stench of Trump.

Day 1

We pull into our cabin, immediately unload the car and bikes, take a seat on the lawn chairs outside the cabin and crack open a beer. We hadn’t been seated but for a few minutes when the host’s neighbor came home, said hello, and then opened the back of his trunk. Boxes of fireworks tumbled out of his car. He threw the boxes back inside, kept out a couple, and slammed the door shut. Grabbing one of the boxes, he walked over to us, and started passing along handfuls of firecrackers. Wide-eyed and unsure of what to do next, we put them in a pile (we never used them).

It started to rain, and we walked a bit down the street to a restaurant with a covered outdoor patio (Dockside in Alton Bay). No sooner had we sat down did the skies open; seated comfortably with draft beer in hand (only the second since March), we enjoyed the sound of the rain on the lake and watched the lightning in the distance.

We ordered lobster rolls and a couple draft beers each; they had a phenomenal selection of local crafts brews than we enjoyed while watching the rain. We overstayed our welcome a bit and headed home in the rain.

Day 2

Monday we awoke to only some light rain! Thrilled at our good fortune, we hit the road to a nearby rail trail in Wolfeboro, NH. 12 miles each way, it’s a packed dirt trail that was perfect for our cyclocross bikes with wider treaded tires (wouldn’t have been as fun on a full road bike).

We rode nearly the full distance, turning around as we started to get hungry.

We grabbed lunch in the continuing drizzle on the lake on Wolfeboro at Garwoods, a nicely spaced out patio on the lake. One woman tied a sweater around her face because of the restaurant’s ‘masks required sign.’ At first, we were discouraged by the seemingly-inflated menu prices, but put that aside for the sake of our amazing view of the lake. But we didn’t pay for the view alone: I had the MOST DELICIOUS salmon sandwich I have ever had in my life. Come to find out later, they also have a great bloody Mary. “Top 5 of my life,” the man we met from DC-area said, but unfortunately, we didn’t make it back to try it ourselves.

After lunch we drove to Mount Major, but by then the downpour was so intense we decided that climbing a mountain wasn’t in the cards. Instead, we took a stroll on a snowmobile trail, which was flat and peaceful, through the woods.

On the drive back “to town,” we blasted the floorboard heat to try and dry our only pair of sneakers.

Day 3: Mount Major

Still.Raining. But finally time to embrace Mount Major, rain or shine. Fortunately, most of the way up we are able to avoid the rain. It’s a short hike by miles, but nearly straight up at the end. My favorite hikes are those with crawling on rock faces and turning around to see breathtaking views! As I straighten out to stand up at what I think is near the top (spoiler: it wasn’t!), I sigh with relief that the rocks aren’t wet and slippery (yet) as I take in the view of the lake.

We press onward to the very top, where we have a full 360 view of the mountains, the lake and all around. Three ways up meet at this point and all are well marked to find the right path back down. We had about 60 seconds of views before the cloud cover came in at incredible speed and, after another 60 seconds, the first crash of thunder.

Glad to have brought our raincoats (which were cumbersome on the way up), we pull them on and rush back down the mountain, moving quickly to get under tree cover before the first lightning. We decide to take the longer, less steep way down, to enjoy the woods and avoid the slick rocks now that the rain had begun.

Days 4 and 5 we are back “at work,” working remotely from the cabin while enjoying the view from the lake. Of course, it’s still raining, but in the evening we’re able to put our skills to the test and manage to light a fire with the wet wood, and get it hot enough to stay lit once the drizzle starts again. The fire pit was a huge perk of our stay in NH, especially since we had not been able to go camping yet due to covid, and, though we love rain, being unable to have a fire the first few nights bummed us out! We made up for it with three nights of huge fires.

On our last day, we pack up the car and, of course, it’s the first rainless day we’ve had yet, so we head north around the lake for another hike, West Rattlesnake Mountain. A shorter hike with spectacular views, it was a perfect hike to end on. As we passed Mount Major, cars were parked a mile up and down the road, beyond the huge parking lot. Rattlesnake Mountain had been busy, but not ridiculous. (We got a lot of stares for wearing masks…!)

It was a lovely vacation, besides the Trump signs, the one bad meal, and the inability for New Hampshire people to wear masks.

Covid-19 is real. It is scary. Wear your damn mask.

Lez-Travel Rating:

Despite the many Trump signs, we felt safe around Alton Bay. A huge tourist area, I expect the locals are used to people from all sexual preferences and backgrounds, and though we didn’t seem to be in a crowd of queers, no one gave us any reason to feel unsafe, or even uncomfortable. Even our Airbnb host, a Trump fan, knew we were married and could not have been kinder to us (not to imply that all Trump fans hate the gays).

Prindl Cafe

On December 11, 2019May 12, 2023 By JC ThrashIn Lesbian Living

Sometimes while traveling, one can experience a simple delight that can transform the experience.

While we had a delightful and problem-free time in Vienna as traveling wives, we took a longer bike ride to the outskirts of the city. This, in my experience, means ‘tone down the gay and be chill.’ ¹

We are about to cut over from the bike lane to the off-road path along the river, when we noticed a cafe called Prindl Cafe. We immediately gravitate towards it, as “Prindle Pond” was the name of the venue of our wedding the previous week. (Prindle Pond is a camp in central Massachusetts).

Of course, we go inside. My mind is full of toning down the gay and chilling, but my wife, bubbling and outgoing and desiring to befriend everyone, goes right up to the bartender and tries to explain how we got married at a camp with the same name as his cafe.

He grows quiet and has a stern expression; he does not smile at the coincidence of the name and does not congratulate us. I grab the elbow of my wife’s sleeve and prepare to take a step backwards.

As fate would have it, the man has no issue with gay marriage, but does not speak English. We try to explain in horribly broken German (though – I am still uneasy), but fortunately his English-speaking daughter comes to our rescue and translates.

Immediately, his face brightens. He claps his hands together. He runs to the pastry display and grabs us two croissants, two chocolate croissants, and a delicious apple something (which provided us a wonderful pre-airport snack the next day). He does not stop beaming the entire time we drink our beers. We stayed too long that we did not make it to the island before dark, but it was all so worth it. We had not felt uncomfortable in Vienna, but this was the peak of comfort, acceptance, and even joy from someone met on our travels.

Though this was a delightful interaction and a lovely cafe/pub, I am sad to share that I was nervous about someone’s reaction toward my relationship and my marriage. This is something I have dealt with the most in my own cities and American travel (that is, more than in Europe), but how disappointing that I almost turned away from sharing my story with a kind and gentle-hearted man, who did not flinch, double-take or have any reaction other than absolute delight at our story, just because I did not know how he might react.

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I lived in Columbus, OH for three years. It was a very open city, I was in a very accepting and progressive graduate program. I came out while living in Columbus. But half a step outside the I-270 loop, the gay-hating Christians appeared in full shaming force. (Note: the emphasis is on the geographical area, and I will point out that the Christian communities inside the city were, in my experience, kind and open and loving towards the Columbus LGBT community... in fact, issues inside the city stemmed primarily from yo-pro-bros asking to see us make out… but that’s another novel).

Lez Travel

Tag: Bikes & Hikes

Pacific Northwest

[Trump’s] Love Nest

Prindl Cafe