Tag: Pacific Northwest

My Connection With The Pacific Northwest

Carl Setzer

I was thinking about my ties to this region, and how that impacts my views on life. So, let’s see…

I’ve lived in:

  • Lynnwood (the vast majority of my life)
  • Edmonds
  • Bothell
  • Seattle (First Hill, Capital Hill, the International District and the U-District)
  • Des Moines/Seatac
  • Silverdale (Subbase Bangor)
  • Astoria
  • Idaho Falls

Also, I’ve spent significant amounts of time in:

  • Port Townsend
  • Yakima
  • Spokane

Though I was born in Rhode Island (a Navy hospital, to be clear), my ties here run deep.

  • My father and his mom were born in Seattle
  • His dad was born in Concrete
  • My birth mother was born in Yakima
  • Her parents were born in Walla Walla
  • Though my childhood was spent around the globe, Seattle/Edmonds were always “home”. It’s where my grandparents and cousins lived. It’s where we came “home” for Christmas. It’s where my parents always called “home”.
  • My parents met at the University of Washington.

So, my roots and ties run deep here. Yet I’m a bit more complex.

  • I was born in Newport, Rhode Island. And lived there twice.
  • A few years were spent in the Los Angeles area.
  • Started school in Chantilly, Virginia (hi Brookfield!).
  • Lived a few years in the Philippines, San Miguel and Subic Bay Naval Stations.

With deep ties and a long, personal history here mixed with global experiences, I have a unique perspective on the region’s culture. There are elements that are reflex to me, yet there were also things that I struggled to adapt to. Umbrellas, for one. I loved umbrellas, but they were (are?) a cultural faux-pas of magnificent proportions.

Makes for a unique perspective on this region I love. I constantly am exploring how my history, and my ancestry, affect who I am, and who I’m evolving into.

How do you think your background affects your outlook, viewpoints and perspectives?

Follow up thoughts on Travel Dreams

Carl Setzer

Yesterday’s post on my old Travel Dreams, and then a comment by JoanJet (probably not the rock star…) reminded me of another piece of this: it’s evolution.

JoanJet wrote about her plans to throw an iKamper (check out it’s Kickstarter campaign) on the top of her Navigator and hit the road. That’s very close to what I picture myself doing….eventually.

Looking at the iKamper campaign reminded me of this film by Zangs Films: Our Land – Traversing Oregon.  (They had a similar camper set up on their Landcruiser in the film). It reminds me of what’s great about the Pacific Northwest, our current policies around public lands and how important they are to maintain.

Anyway, check out the film. It’s worth your (just over) 15 minutes.

(*if you liked the film, check out the behind the scenes blog post from the folks at Zangs)

Thinking Thanksgiving & Christmas

Carl Setzer

I hope your holiday was lovely, filled with bonding and growing those relationships that truly add meaning to our lives. Ours was spent in one of my favorite NW cities: Bellingham. Since the day was spent with family, we didn’t get to any of my favorite shops or eateries, but I was prepared. The weather was blessedly calm, and traffic rather lite, so the drive was uneventful. Having the Stillaguamish bridge back open was particularly nice.

Over the past week, I’ve noticed several neighbors with Christmas lights up. Add to that Christmas marketing already going, and I find I’m struggling with acceptance. I grudgingly tolerate the Christmas season starting today, the day after Thanksgiving. There’s only so much resisting one can do.

But I still can advocate for Advent, the season of preparation for the coming of the Christ. Preparation, awareness, anticipation; all these elements get lost in the commercial madness that’s modern Christmas. Perhaps it’s intertwined with our overall impatience, or just our inability to filter out marketing.

So, I’m a bit pleased to see the rain, which seems to have built up with it’s delayed delivery. Maybe we’ll have another day or so without the frenetic lights, et al, of Christmas blazing. Of course, this will probably make the malls that much more desirable. So be it, makes the rest of the region that much more accessible to me. So it begins, I guess. For me, it’s clearly a good day to get some coffee, avoiding the roads near the malls.

Wishing you a safe holiday season filled with light, delight and warmth.