My trip to Vancouver was a much-needed vacation for me physically and intellectually. I wrote about all of my reviving nature outings I experienced in that last post, so this one here is about how I maintained the energy to survive it.

Coffee. The Northwest survives on it.

Vancouver is a large city, I found out. We didn’t even touch most of it, largely because our interests were in a few coffee shops near Gastown. The air cool and salty. Buses run connected to overhead wires. Apartments rise over the sidewalks.

And, yes, every other car, a Porsche.

Olive + Ruby is a little café shrouded behind the trees that line the street it’s located on. It’s classy cosmopolitan inside with white walls (except for a multi-colored side that didn’t really fit the aesthetic), one dotted with small, leafy plants and succulents. Two egg chairs hang in the front window, and no shortage of pictures was taken in them. I would describe the coffee as sharp and rich, the avocado toast pleasant and filling, and the soup that came with it (I can’t remember what it was called) creamy and, um, cucumbery? To be honest, I would’ve liked to have tried a different soup than the one of the day. The vibes are calm and simple. Just make sure there aren’t any children there to scream in the echo-inducing space should you choose to patron.

A brief interlude in Gastown led us down streets that remind me of those in Savannah. Old, tall buildings stretch toward the sky and trees complement lamps that populate the sidewalk. There’s an old clock that I can’t help but describe as adorable. It has whistles on the corners that blow steam on the hour.

At one point, I noticed, with my great observational skills, a building was moving. Moving? Yes. It was a cruise ship, however, as the water is only steps away from the road we were on. I hadn’t noticed (yes, great observational skills).

Don’t worry, I totally asked out loud “Hey, is that building moving?!”

Now, I don’t exactly eat donuts. I’ve never been crazy about them, but my friend informed me of a donut that would “change my life forever.” Was she right? Definitely. Cartem’s Doughnutery in Vancouver sells a salted caramel chocolate donut (amazing) and an Earl Grey donut (amazing-er), both of which I found heavenly. The Earl Grey was the one that changed my life forever, by the way.

Another shop we went to carried the same simple-n-clean aesthetic as Olive & Ruby but had warmer tones and a bigger, atmospheric space. Plants lined the window sills and hung from the long overhead lights that spanned the length of the only table in the room. Again, amazing photo spot. Bows & Arrows had softer tasting coffee but were no less flavorful. I bought some dark roast beans from them hoping the box would be able to fit into my suitcase (as was the case with every item I bought to take home).

Though we frequented this shop on multiple outings, Black Tiger Coffee Co. became a favorite of mine, just because. The atmosphere is wonderful, the aesthetic being industrial enough to be cool and calm, and the views (!). The windows lining the wall give magnificent views of Mount Baker to the southeast. I understood quite quickly why this became my friend’s favorite coffee spot near her home. And out of all the coffee shops I went to, this one struck as the place I would write most or all of a novel in.

Those mountains, man. I still can’t get over them.

And, lastly, Woods Coffee. My favorite on that side of the Mississippi. And the Rockies (I guess). My friend gifted me a package of dark roast beans from Woods last summer and I fell hard. Easily the best coffee that I’ve tasted, Woods was awesome to finally visit. The atmosphere at Woods is, well, woodsy. A stone fireplace in the center of the room, wood floors, comfortable chairs, and tables. And, again, wonderful Mount Baker beyond the window glass in the distance. This shop did not disappoint.

As with the last post, everything that I experienced was wonderful and refreshing. Being a guy from the East Coast, I looked at and tasted everything with awe and wished that I had just a few days more.

Visit the Northwest. And take some coffee into those woods and waste away hours among those trees. It’s worth it.

…

Miner—Tuanaki

The Native Sibling—Let the Water Rise

Neil Finn—Song of the Lonely Mountain

Leon Bridges—Bad Bad News

Kyle Lionhart—Call Back Home