Vancouver, Washington

Vancouver sits just north of Portland, Oregon, across the Columbia River and within the boundaries of the state of Washington.  

Not surprisingly, the location began as a salmon fishing and trade center for indiginous peoples which evolved to a fur trading and timber sourcing center and then fruit farming on a large scale became a thing.  Over time, as forests were depleted, its economy transitioned to high tech and service industry jobs.

Today, this city of approximately 160,000 relies primarily on its relationship with Portland for its economic life with the majority of its working population commuting to Portland for work. The difference in taxation policies between the 2 cities/states contributes to this situation - more on Wikipedia.

The port of Vancouver continues to operate and its riverfront bears the hallmarks of a light industrial city, although for the past 20 years a concerted effort has been underway to develop the riverfront with a park, apartments, restaurants and shops.  It has become a lively spot all week long, but particularly on weekends.

We decided to stay in Vanouver because the VRBO was very affordable and spacious after many nights in hotels.  It turned out to be a good choice from that perspective, if not perhaps, because the drive to Portland, regardless of time of day, was long, highly trafficked, and surprisingly unsightly.

We explored Vancouver on a couple of days when driving to Portland did not call.  There were plenty of coffee shops - we were in the Pacific Northwest after all - and, like Portland, many food trucks tucked into small lots offering all manner of foods.  The restaurants along the new waterfront were much more “upscale” with more sophisticated offerings - think tapas - and associated prices.  There were also a fair number of wine tasting spots offering up local products.

We were blessed with a bakery/coffee shop literally across the street from our “home” - or perhaps not.  Way too easy to head across the street for a treat!  Fortunately, they closed at 2PM.

Surprisingly, there were few parks to explore and no easy access to the river waterfront, outside of the downtown area.

In summary, we found Vancouver to be pretty much a suburban town, sweet enough, growing and evolving, but not frankly terribly interesting.

Anecdotal Stories & Observations

We decided to cap off our final night in Vancouver with a nice dinner downtown at a restaurant with an outdoor seating area.  The weather promised to be perfectly lovely.  Reservation made, we headed downtown, dressed up for the occasion from our usual tourist clothes, when we came upon a Black Lives Matter parade.  No problem there (other than traffic congestion), however, on the perimeter of the parade were a hand full of white men dressed in black and carrying machine guns!  These men were only a few feet away from me and I confess it sent chills down my spine.  I heard a young African American woman say - what are you so afraid of? - but I did not hear the reply. 

I do not know if anything happened; I searched the news the next day but there was nothing.

On our many trips south to Portland and around the area, I was struck by the number of pick-up trucks many marked with Proud Boys and machine gun signage.  It undermined the progressive reputation I have heard about Portland and it was very odd and unsettling.