First question: Should I drive or fly? I pretty much hate flying, and I do enjoy long drives. But I dunno if I want to be stuck in a car for fifteen hours. If I go straight through, how long can I expect it to take? And what, besides Portland, would be worth checking out on the way?
Secondly, here is what I’m planning on doing in Seattle: BeerAdvocate- sampling these fine establishments… I know I’ll also be going by the Wildrose. Seattle Underground/Underworld Tour Mariners vs Oakland or Anaheim- I figure it’ll be more fun to go boo Anaheim, since I’m indifferent to the A’s & Mariners EMP, definitely
Columbia/BofA Tower- I suppose I could do the Space Needle, but this sounds less hectic, and cheaper
Otherwise, I’m into science/industry, architecture, and photography. The Pacific Science Center doesn’t look too appealing though; too much like every other science museum I’ve come across. How about nice, scenic walks? I’ll have my car, but I have no problem with going out walking for a few hours. Is there anything to do at Nintendo’s HQ?
I have a couch to crash on, thankfully, so I don’t need a hotel.
Sorry, this is one of the more disjointed posts I’ve made in a while, it’s kinda stream-of-consciousness. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
My only reccomendation is to buy gas at the chevron at exit 14 (2nd ashland exit heading north) in ashland, but if you miss it dont buy gas at the next exit, as its a lot more money. Also the medford exits are a pain if your not familiar. It will be incredibly hot there, so take advantage of your A/C and the no self serve gas.
I admit I might be a bit jaded about the area, but still cnt think of anything special to see if your driving through (probably too hot anyway).
In portland, OMSI is fun, doing a body worlds show right now. Be watchful of the signs for highways (if your a fast lane person) as the 405 splits off from the left of I-5, and if you dont watch out will end up on 405 instead of I-5.
How much time do you have?
If it were me I’d avoid I-5 and drive up the coast, especially if I had 3 or 4 days to do it. It’s much more scenic and filled w/ interesting places to stop.
I think I’ll take I-5 one way, probably going there, and if I have time, I might do a little more sauntering on the way back. Even then, I don;t think I’d want to soend more than two days coming back.
I’ve driven border to border in 18 hours, so SF to Seattle should take you substantially less. Skip Portland and keep driving. Be aware that Oregon drivers are among the most unaware and mindless in the country.
Lots of good beer places in Seattle. Check out the Museum of Modern Art.
I had some friends drive from Seattle to San Jose in “a day”. I’m not sure exactly how long the drive took for them, but they left Seattle sometime in the morning and arrived at my door around about 9pm in the evening. Its a long day in the car to be sure, but not really long enough to have to plan in a night in a hotel along the way.
If I could just remember the name of the place in Astoria where I had that fantasic clam chowder…
Would you consider taking the train? If you take the Coast Starlight from Oakland, in the evening, you’ll get to Seattle early the following evening. Admittedly slow, but I can testify that the scenery you’ll see during the daylight stretch through Oregon and Washington is quite breathtaking and well worth the trip. If you want to put down the $238 for a roomette, you’ll have all your meals (for you, it would just be breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the second day), and you can hang out in the Pacific Parlor Car. You can also participate in the afternoon wine tasting.
I just looked it up on Amtrak’s website; it’ll cost you about 300 each way if you book the room.
Would you be travelling alone or with an SO? If the latter, it would only be another $87 each way for the two of you, since sleeping accommodations are like hotel rooms…a solo traveler has to pay as much for the room as a couple.
Everyone’s tolerance level is different. For me it would be much too long in a car; if I didn’t want to deal with Amtrak I’d seriously consider flying.
To the OP, is flying out of the question? Travelling through SFO seems to be a snap, from what I’ve seen. The last time we boarded a plane there we got through security in about 10 minutes.
Nice scenic walks: Magnolia/Discovery Park, and maybe Seward Park/Lake Washington Blvd. Maybe also Interlaken Park/Arboretum/Montlake Cut. I could send you some starting-point addresses if you’d like.
I don’t think Seattle has a “Museum of Modern Art,” but the Seattle Art Museum was recently expanded to good reviews.
EMP is a big yawn IMO; YMMV.
I’ve driven the Pacific Coast Highway from Seattle to SF and loved it (esp the Oregon Coast, & of course the redwoods). If you can find the time…
Plenty of good beer in Seattle too. Elysian and Big Time are my favorites.
Danalan- That thought had definitely crossed my mind, but I don’t know what my host will be up to, or even when exactly I’ll be there. I’ll post here, though, when I get it figured out.
From which border to which border? Looking at Google maps it is 1370 miles from National City, CA. to Blaine WA. Dividing by 18 gives us a non-stop average speed of 76.1 mph. Which does not sound that fast until you factor in fuel stops, food and potty breaks. To average 76 mph you would have to travel at about 85-90 for most of the route.
Trying to travel 90 through large chunks of Oregon and Washington would be next to impossible. For example the Seattle area is posted at 60 MPH.
I have driven many times from the San Fernando Valley to Portland. Also from the San Fernando Valley to the bay area.
It was right on 1,000 miles from my home to my office next to the Portland Airport. Driving with cruise control at a steady 10 over the speed limit (75-80 depending), with stops it took me 15-16 hours. Now the bay area is somewhat closer (about 300 miles from my house to the intersection of I5 and I580) but you have to add the 180 miles from Portland to Seattle and whatever distance you have from your house to the intersection of I5 & I580. Depending on where you live in the bay area, I am guessing it will take you about one hour less to do the bay area -> Seattle than it took me to do LA -> Portland. IOW 14-15 hours. That is a long day behind the wheel.
Me? I would fly and rent a car. Cost wise depending on what you drive, and it’s gas mileage there will not be a huge difference in cost. Southwest has fares from OAK to SEA for as low as $254 RT. Two thousand miles at 20MPG and $3. gallon is $300.
I confess I did violate the speed limit for most of that trip. It also was a bit less than “border to border.” In reality it was from Seedro Wooley, WA to Yucaipa, CA. Almost exactly 1300 miles driveway to driveway. I peed and got food during the fueling stops.
Actually, I was going to mention the Hotel Eliot in Astoria, which has one of those old fashioned painted ads to itself on the side of the building, that promises “Wonderful Beds”.
Seems to have an almost Lileksesque quality to it.
Keep in mind that any place worth seeing off of the direct I-5 corridor is gonna take time. It’s 90 miles (thereabouts) one-way between Astoria and Portland, and you cannot cover the distance at 60 mph. (And that includes the twisty roads and Oregon drivers!)
I have driven twice between Seattle (Actually Kent, just south of Seattle) to San Francisco in the past 5 years. The first time I made to Redding by early evening, the second time I drove on to Fairfield and was munching on an In and Out burger by 8 pm. Turning it around, you could easily make into Washington in one day, I would shoot for the Centralia area. Seattle would be an easy 2 hour drive the next morning. I would not recommend driving the coast between San Francisco north. My wife and I did that the first trip heading home. The plan was to make the central Oregon coast from SF in one day, we made to to Coos Bay and I was exhausted. The roads are narrow and curvy, 25 mph speed limits in every little town and old folks in motor homes driving nowhere near the posted speed limit on the open stretches of road. The second trip home we went from SF to Eugene, headed west to Florence and watched a beautiful sunset a few hours later. In my younger days, I drove from San Diego to Tacoma in exactly 24 hours and that included a stop to buy 4 new tires.
Here is a place to look for various things to do in Seattle, it is a good start. If you happen to get by the Boeing factory in Renton, give me a wave, I’m in there somewhere.
