Vancouver, WA

Certain criteria make cafes good work environments: enough customers and activity for me to feel forgotten, the staff can’t be shouting conversations across the counter at each other, and WiFi is especially helpful. Mon Ami Café blends each of these characteristics into an eclectic space in uptown Vancouver.

There’s something about this time of year that demands a higher consumption of hot beverages. Luckily, Vancouver is up to the challege of providing and cozy retreats and from the dim and cold of winter.

Vancouver has some unique places to sip a drink and with generous doses of history and class. Tonight’s agenda: two happy hours and a movie.

Entertainment that doesn’t make a hole in the your wallet and time with friends or family. Nice way to spend a lazy day.

It reminded me of Gonzaga University where I roomed with a Vietnamese girl. One day I was invited to join her and a bunch of her friends for a memorable Vietnamese meal at the home of one of their sponsors. It was unlike anything I had ever tasted before or since, until today.

I have not been in the downtown area since before they moved the bus transit station, when the area was filled with homeless men harassing you for money. Not only is that gone, Vancouver has received a face-lift with an infusion of new business. So even if you are not interested in art, give yourself a treat and visit the new downtown Vancouver.

…they brought huge platters with open-face hamburgers and large sides of French fries AND onion rings.

There is something romantic about walking on a balmy evening, seeing others dining out of doors, and though a parking lot could be distracting, the trees which were planted throughout, gave it an air of tranquility. I felt as though I had been transported to a different area or time, seeing the sunset through different lenses.

Later, a short drive or streetcar-ride away the Portland Aerial Tram whisks you up to the top of Marquam hill, treating you to a picturesque view spanning from downtown, across the river and all the way to Mt. Hood.

I was born and sort of raised just west of Astoria, Oregon. I have family who live there still and frequently pass through the town of Astoria but seldom stop. My whole life the town didn’t have a lot to offer passersby so it was not in my “places to stop and hang out” paradigm. Until now.