After spending two great days with my relatives in Seattle, I traveled up north to La Conner with a fellow wedding guest. The hour-and-a-half drive took us through everything from coastal land to farmland, complete with roadside vegetable stands and pretty wooden churches.

We arrived in La Conner in the early afternoon, and I checked into my accommodation, Hotel Planter. The historic hotel was conveniently located right on 1st Street, the small town’s main shopping strip. My room was a good size and had floral decor and a spacious bathroom. The window overlooked a pretty courtyard with a hot tub and garden.

Once I was situated, I set off to explore La Conner. The town was right on the Swinomish Channel, and many of the shops and restaurants on 1st Street had pretty waterfront terraces. One such place was Hellems Vineyard wine shop. After perusing the selection of regional reds, I sat down outside with a glass of Washington Cabernet Sauvignon and a charcuterie plate. It was a perfect lunch on the water.

After eating I window-shopped at some of the many antique stores and boutiques in La Conner. The sheer number of antique shops in the town amazed me, and I started to wonder if it could win an award for most antiques per capita in the country.

At 3pm, I boarded a shuttle to my friend’s wedding. The bus took the guests to Juntunen Gardens in nearby Mount Vernon for the ceremony and reception.

The gardens were gorgeous, and the weather perfect for an outdoor ceremony. We were greeted with peach iced tea and sat surrounded by foliage and flowers until the wedding began.

The ceremony was beautiful, and just the right length. Afterwards we were offered mint juleps as we made our way through the hedgerows to the reception area. There we enjoyed cocktails, dinner, and dancing under the stars.

The next morning we all met for a post-wedding brunch at the Wild Iris Inn in La Conner. I ate more than I needed to, and then said farewell to the bride and groom before walking around the town again.

Most of my time was spent window-shopping at stores selling everything from baked goods to artisanal olive oil. At the end of the street I found a small waterfront park. I sat there for an hour reading a book in the sunshine while a harbor seal swam in circles around the passing boats.

Soon it was time to leave La Conner for the next location on my Pacific Northwest journey. This time I would be going back to the islands off the coast, but instead of stopping at Lopez Island like I did for my cousin’s wedding, I was heading to Canada’s Gulf Islands. Who knew destination weddings in Washington could start so many travel adventures!

First there were childhood visits to the Space Needle, then teenage trips to the famous Pike Place Market, and more recently, post-college visits to Rem Koolhaas’ Seattle Central Library.

With the major landmarks and tourist destinations covered in past trips, my visit to the city last week offered me a chance to dig deeper into some of the off-the-beaten-path parts of Seattle.

I arrived on Thursday evening. My cousin met me at the airport and drove us back to my aunt and uncle’s house in Laurelhurst. We spent a great night catching up over dinner on their deck, which overlooked Lake Washington and Mount Rainier.

I have always loved their neighborhood, not only for its views but also for its beautiful homes with their pretty front gardens and peaceful ambiance. I wanted the evening there to last much longer, but between darkness and jet lag, I had to go to sleep eventually.

The next morning my aunt and cousin took me downtown to explore the Seattle neighborhood of Capitol Hill. The pretty area was full of shops, restaurants, and markets.

One such place was called Melrose Market. Inside the converted industrial space were a busy sandwich bar, a butcher, a cheese shop, a couple of gift shops, and a restaurant.

The restaurant was called Sitka and Spruce. We sat down there and ordered several plates to share, including a great plate of fool madamas. I also ordered a good glass of Washington wine to celebrate the trip and taste one of the region’s Rieslings.

After lunch we headed deeper into Capitol Hill with a trip to a great local bookstore and a stroll through a design shop called Nube Green. Next door was Molly Moor’s ice cream, which tempted us with funky flavors like huckleberry chunk and peppermint with Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies.

Speaking of food, that evening my aunt and cousin cooked up a Mexican meal of huaraches, which means “sandals” in Spanish. The flat corn bases topped with black beans, pork, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and red cabbage were the best shoes I’ve ever eaten.

To finish off the night and to celebrate our miniature family reunion, we opened a bottle of 1982 Porto Seguro vintage port that my cousin had received for her christening in 1985. After decanting, it tasted nice and smooth.

The next day my cousin took me to explore another Seattle neighborhood: Ballard. Once a Scandinavian fishing area, Ballard is now home to fun boutiques, lively bars and coffee shops, and award-winning restaurants.

We tried to go to one of the last of these, which was called the Walrus and the Carpenter. Unfortunately it was closed for Labor Day weekend. Instead we ate al fresco at a restaurant called the Golden Beetle. I had a breakfast pizza and my cousin a pastry filled with cherries and chocolate. Both were good, and we were glad to have eaten there.

After brunch we spent time wandering through some of the shops in Ballard. We saw cute note cards and paper goods in Venue, pillows galore in Jax Joon, clothes in Ketch and Dolce Vita, and shoes in Re-Soul.

Speaking of soul, that evening my aunt and uncle took me to a place called Jazz Alley. We had heaping bowls of gumbo for dinner, after which we enjoyed the music of the Rebirth Brass Band, a jazz group from New Orleans. They played a great set, at the end of which everyone in the room was dancing.

The night ended on a high note (pun intended), as did my time in Seattle. The next morning we were all up early to head to other parts of Washington for weddings. As we waved good-bye, my family encouraged me to come back again soon for another visit. With so many great Seattle neighborhoods and so much to do and see, I think I will have to take them up on it soon.

On our way to the wedding, my boyfriend and I flew into Vancouver and took full advantage of the city’s good food and still somewhat favorable exchange rate. The night we arrived we went on an Izakaya crawl on Robson Street, where we feasted on all kinds of Japanese small plates at Hapa and Guu with Garlic.

The following morning our jet lag awakened us at 4:30am, so we got coffee at Prado then grazed on chocolate doughnuts, blueberry tarts, fresh fudge and maple cookies at the Granville Island Market. I think that’s what they call a breakfast of champions. We also bought some good West Coast pinot noirs at Liberty Wines then went shopping for clothes back on Robson Street.

In the afternoon we left Vancouver and headed down to Washington. We thought we had plenty of time to get to Anacortes for the ferry to Lopez, but we forgot to check the wait time at the U.S. border. After an hour in the line, we drove as fast as we could to Anacortes and literally ran to catch the ferry.

My extended family met us on board and we had a power session of catching up on the 40 minute ride to the island. Once there, we checked into our hotel and saw some of the local color, namely a red hummer with God Bless America detailed on the side and a few NObama stickers on the back. Next to it was a bicycle with a beer can in the water bottle holder. Ah America, how I’ve missed you!

For dinner we met the rest of my relatives at a local restaurant called the Galley. Between my family and the groom’s family we pretty much took over the restaurant. I met my cousin’s fiance and got to catch up with the rest of my family, then feasted on fish tacos and–because my mother was there and you can’t have a meal with mom that doesn’t involve chocolate in at least one of the courses–about five different desserts.

After dinner it was time for some good old fashioned family bonding. What better way to do it than singing a little karaoke? I had never seen any of my family members sing on stage before, but that night I saw almost all of them. There were sibling duets, couples’ duets, and my uncle even got up solo and sang “Brown Eyed Girl”. We may not have been the most talented group of performers, but we certainly had the most fun of anyone there.

The next day we all went out to my aunt and uncle’s house on the other side of the bay. They gave us a walking tour of some land they recently bought. The trees and woods were beautiful, but it was the ocean that really amazed me. On the rocks below the land there were oysters growing everywhere. Two huge purple starfish were lounging in a rocky crevice and and a red one was hanging out in the water near the shore. There were sea birds everywhere and gorgeous views of Mount Baker in the background. It was gorgeous.

After the tour we headed into the village for a quick lunch and then went to the wedding at Center Church. The ceremony was lovely and it was so great to see my cousin and her husband so happy.

The reception took place at the Bay Cafe, a restaurant in the village with a great patio for cocktails and amazing views of the bay. During the reception I learned some new Danish wedding traditions from my aunt’s side of the family, and once again debated with my cousins about which one of us would be the next to walk down the aisle.

The next morning my jet lag worked to my advantage, as we had to wake up at 5:30 to catch the ferry back to Anacortes. We watched a beautiful sunrise from the dock, and once back on the mainland we had a quick family breakfast before heading back to Canada.

The border crossing went smoothly this time, and we even got to see some real Canadian Mounties marching around for a ceremony. Back in Vancouver, we had a few hours to spare before our flight, so we snagged some bubble tea, walked around the waterfront and took a quick drive through Stanley Park.

The flight back to London was a pleasant one, as the kind people at the check-in counter upgraded me to business class for no other reason than that they felt bad that my boyfriend was flying business and I was stuck in economy. I spent the flight upstairs on the 747, where I caught up on sleep and conjectured as to who would be the next cousin to get married…