I figured out last night why I like Olympia so much. It’s weird. Good weird. The walls are covered with amazing murals, the bars and restaurants are a mixture of kitsch, nostalgia and hipster. It is working class, industrial, but also artsy, green, alive. In short, I like it. And, did I mention I have an obsession with murals? I even found myself navigating alleyways full of broken glass to find more, (it was safe, I promise). Ironically, I expected Olympia to be less interesting, just a stop to make for the roller derby bout.
Speaking of which, those girls know how to have a good time. Truthfully, I threw in the towel around 1AM and walked my grandma-self back to the hotel. By that point, the Jersey Shore beats in the club we somehow ended up in were just a little too much for me. I can only fist pump so many times before I lose interest. I think I reached my lifetime limit. And, while I was asked more than once if I had any tattoos, I managed to avoid getting any, which is an accomplishment given the abundance of establishments and my not-so-secret desire for one.
Today we are headed for Portland. Instead of Keep Portland Weird, I think it should be Keep the Pacific Northwest Weird. If it were not so darn overcast up here all the time, I would move in a heartbeat. There is enough weird in the Pacific Northwest to keep me writing for a lifetime.
-
- Four teachers outside the Prius
-
- Hybrid pegasus unicorns, definitely cool.
-
- This love declaration reminds me of something from an indie teenage flick. I found it oddly endearing to imagine the story behind it.
-
- Every nerdy teenager’s dream mural, amazing!
-
- This may have been where I encountered the broken glass…
-
- Groupie status.
oliviaobryon 
I need to stop reading your dispatches from the Pacific Northwest. I want to live there and reading your posts makes it worse. After spending ten days in Oregon, most of it along the coast, a few years ago, I decided it’s where I need to spend at least a few years of my life at some point. And … well … Olympia, even though I probably haven’t been there since I was a child, holds a near and dear place in my heart. When I was a kid, my dad drank Olympia beer (It’s the Water!). I was frequently responsible for getting his beer for him when he got home from work. Let’s just say, at a very early age, I was also responsible for delivering it to him with a sip (nah, a gulp) removed before it reached his hand. Loved that first, ice cold taste. I’m thinking I need to head to Olympia even if the beer is now brewed in Milwaukee.
I’ve often thought the Oregon coast would be the perfect writing hideaway– hope you make it happen! I bet you’d like Olympia now too, it has a lot of personality.