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Traveling the Coast of CA, OR and WA (ideas where best to stop?)
My wife and I are planning a trip from one of California's southern cities to Seattle in September/October time frame. What places a long the coast should I attempt to see and what's over rated. probably will have about 10 or 11 days and a limited budget.
(calculate about 2000 dollars for flights, car rental and gas going from San Diego to Seattle) Probably going to spend a day or two in Seattle at the end of the trip. Though I could start in LA or San Fran to cut some driving out.
(calculate about 2000 dollars for flights, car rental and gas going from San Diego to Seattle) Probably going to spend a day or two in Seattle at the end of the trip. Though I could start in LA or San Fran to cut some driving out.
Post edited by Cremlian on
Comments
Oregon: Seaside, Portland for Voodoo Donuts, Astoria (home of the Goonies)
Washington: if you're going to Seaside or Astoria, you can always drive up along the 101 and check out Long Beach. It's touristy, but pretty. If you want to keep up on the peninsula, I hear the state parks there are cool. Never been.
Other than that, most of south Washington is boring as balls unless you want to check out our volcanoes of doom: Mt. St. Helens or Mt. Rainier.
It not, just stick to Seattle. Plenty of stuff to check out there, but you got your peeps in Seattle, so you'll be good to go.
Also, you should check out Canada. Victoria or Vancouver. Fun times.
Agree with Ro on Oregon and Washington. If you're going up 101 to get to Seaside/Astoria, just south of Seaside is Tillamook. If you like dairy products, their factory is a must-visit. Along with Long Beach, you can visit Ocean Shores, they are fairly similar in my mind. If you continue on up the peninsula, Port Angeles is a nice place to visit. In Port Angeles you can even hop a ferry over to Victoria, BC if you'd like.
If you want my personal opinion though, considering that you are looking at a Sept/Oct time frame, when you get to Astoria, you should cut inland to Portland and just stay off the Washington coast. That's late enough in the year that the coast will likely be cold and not worth the time.
If you like the wines, check out any of the wineries we have up here. I'm partial to Chateau St. Michelle.
If you go up the peninsula, you should check out Forks, WA.
DO EET. http://voodoodoughnut.com/doughnuts.php
San Diego: Great weather 99.9% of the time. Balboa Park is a nice place to walk around. The museums are pretty abysmal by east coast standards. Nice ballpark downtown. Seal beach in La Jolla. Lots of nice beaches but the water is insanely cold compared to what I expected from the east coast due to the Aleutian current. You could go to the Salk Institute and walk down to the beach there if you want to see big cliffs. That's about it unless you surf or want to desert hike. I guess Sea World is there too. Never went when I lived there.
You have several options for LA to SF. Route 1 is 8-10 hours of incredibly scenic, super windy roads along the cliffs (with shockingly few safety precautions on many turns). Gorgeous if you plan to stop for a night in the middle. Terribly draining and probably dangerous if you don't. Route 5 is the fastest, straightest road you will ever see. Multiple hours of absolutely straight driving with nothing but a gas station once in a while. I went a little nuts trying to drive it alone. Route 99 is smaller, winds through lots of trees and small to midsize farm towns. Beautiful drive, and only slightly slower. I believe the 101 is nice rolling farmland and might be the best compromise if you're going to SF not Sac, but I haven't driven it.
SF: Hit up Golden Gate Park, but skip neighboring Haight/Ashbury, it's just a bunch of tourist shops now. As with SD, the museums are subpar and really overpriced. Take the Golden Gate bridge over to Marin and go to Muir Woods if you haven't seen redwoods elsewhere (if you have, it'll be underwhelming). Napa and Sonoma are gorgeous places to drink some good wine outside. Depends if you want that. SF is also the best place to see a concert in the country, in my opinion. Great crowds, lots of cool people. Other than that, just wander through the neighborhoods. North Beach is a nice Italian area. Coit Tower is underrated - great 360 views of the city and it's free. The Embarcadero area is completely touristed out, so I'd skip it unless that's your thing.
Also, keep an eye out for any high school logo merchandise in Tillamook. Their mascot is the Cheesemaker.
If you start in LA, be sure to hit up Santa Monica Beach and some of the local famous places like Pink's Hot Dogs.
Also, if you have time, take the 118 off the 5 and stop by Northridge so I can say hi!
Only half joking. They guard the orchards/vineyards/whatever it is they grow up there. Also, they guard the houseboat meth labs, but I think the meth dealers have moved out of Marin County now.