Left coast advice

[Don C]

I will be attending a conference in San Francisco this summer and plan to go up to my sister's afterwards up near Seattle.

One possible plan is to rent a car and drive up, taking several days to wander 101 and see the coast and whatever there is to see (which seems to be PLENTY).

What would be the driving time for such a mission? That is, how much time would be spent actually driving that route (somewhere near Washington we'd stop touring and hit the I-5 to travel on to Issaquah)?

Once I know the amount of time actually driving, I can figure out how much time we'll have for stopping and "redistributing my income among the natives."

This is the end of June.

Thanks

[Paul F.]

I would budget a 6-7 hour leisurly driving day to get from San Francisco up to the Eureka/Arcata area, with a detour through the Avenue of the Giants. You can do the drive in 5 1/2 or so pushing hard, and not taking the scenic detour...
I made it in just over 5 hours once, but that was extraordinarily good traffic conditions.. not likely repeated.

Beautiful area.. (I'm biased.. I live here...).

I'm a bit hazy on the drive from here, up to Portland and through to Seattle... I haven't driven that way in many years (and then, I was a passenger).

The drive DOES get slower up 101 north of here (Eureka area).

Hope this helps!

[AlphaDog]

If you planned four or five days, you'd probably wind up with too much time. But, if you want to stop in wine country, there's a day, and there are several interesting things to do along the Oregon coast, including a great aquariam and - my favorite - the Tillamook Cheese Factory. There's also a lot of new stuff to see and do up around Astoria, Oregon, that was developed for the Lewis and Clark Expedition celebration, if that kind of thing appeals to you. If you do take 101 up to Astoria and then head east toward Portland, you can cross over into Washington just below Longview and hit I-5 for the stretch up to Issaquah. That bypasses Portland, but there's lots to see there, too, so you might want to plan another day there. Actually, there are several places where it's easy to cut over to I-5 if you get tired of scenery and just want to make good time.

Oh, and around here, we don't refer to it as "THE" I-5.

[Paul F.]

LOL!
Darn right!

[kahuna1342]

If I were coming up the coast I would stop at the places Paul & Alpha recommended. However if you have a little extra time, I would cut over at Seaside to Portland. There is a bit to see here in town (Zoo, Rose Garden, Chinese Garden, Japanese Garden, Oregon Museum of Science & Industry (OMSI)). Then I would take a day to drive the loop around Mt. Hood (see Timberline Lodge) and back through Hood River and The Columiba Gorge National Scenic Area (Multnomah Falls is pretty cool).

[Don C]

I'll make a note of that. It's always good to heed the locals' warnings!

We are thinking of 3 or 4 days for the trip ... leave around noon on Wed and arrive in Issaquah on Sat or Sun.

Thanks for the tips!

The Lewis and Clark sites might be interesting for a quick stop. They planned The Trip and assembled the first recruits on Corn Island just up from the Falls of the Ohio (river) at was is now Louisville, KY. They then moved on to Missouri to outfit and complete the crew and actually start off. Being from the Louisville area this would something of an alpha - omega experience.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

My family went up the coast one summer. We stopped at the giant redwoods, Sea Lion Caves, and something else I can not remember along the Washington coast. Using Yahoo Maps, it is 19 hours of driving to get from San Francisco to where US 101 meets the main road from the Washington coast to Seattle (another 2 hours without traffic). There is a tourism site for driving the coast. http://www.pacific101.com/

There will not be anything to see today, but you could stop at the beach in Oregon where they blew up the whale. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_whale

It is a little old skool, but the AAA Oregon & Washington Tour Book would have points of interest along the coast.

Edit: Oh, a warning, you do not pump your own gas in Oregon. They hire people that seem like they are borderline homeless to do it for you.

[Don C]

My AAA Oregon/Washington book is on order ... should be here by the end of the week.

www.pacific101.com looks to be a super resource. I'll check it out further on MY dime tonight.

[tortoise]

Another warning relating to Oregon, watch your speed carefully they have little tolerance for over the limit and their radar is deadly accurate. They pay particular attention licenses from other states. It is very easy to get used CA custom of 20+MPH over the limit then slide into Oregon and get a ticket before you realize what happened.
To their credit if you do get a ticket it can be resolved by attending online traffic school if your driving record is clean and that way you keep it clean, all they want is the money.

[Paul F.]

I second what Tortise said..
Lived in Oregon for a year and a half.. and trips back and forth to "home" in N. Ca. I had to be sure to slow down to the speed limit RIGHT ON THE BUTTON at the border.
They don't even fool with "Speed limit +5mph"...