Vimeo of the Day: Seattle and the Pacific Northwest

By Michael J.W. Stickings

With winter descending with a vengeance on the Toronto area, and on so much of eastern Canada and the northeastern U.S., one thing is clear to me: I hate winter. Maybe that makes me something less of a Canadian than I ought to be, but, honestly, I'd prefer to live in a more temperate climate.

I'm not saying I don't like eastern Canada, or Toronto in particular, and, also honestly, I have nothing if not a deep and abiding connection to this place, to parts of Canada that get quite cold, whether it's Toronto or Prince Edward Island, which I love so much, or Montreal, where I spent most of my childhood, or to the northeastern U.S., to New Jersey and New York and Massachusetts, where I spent most of my teenaged and college years, but at this time of year, with another long winter ahead of us, that connection becomes a tad tenuous.

So, then, why not the Pacific Northwest? Seattle and Portland seem like wonderful cities, it's a lovely and beautiful part of the world, I really like wine (and especially Pinot Noir) from Washington and Oregon, there's a great micro-beer culture, it's a fantastic place for unpretentious foodies, and well, the climate generally appeals to me. A bit too much rain, perhaps, but whatever. I can deal with that.

And yet I've never been there. Alas. But this nice video reminds me that it's high on my list, and that even if I never live there I really must spend some quality time there. So from a frigid, snow-draped Toronto, I offer this, described as such:

They say it's gloomy, it's cloudy, it's wet, I say it's paradise. I've been in The Pacific Northwest about three years now and have fallen head over heels for the place.

Maybe so, Larry, maybe so.

Seattle and the Pacific Northwest from Larry Gorlin on Vimeo.