This looked like a really good option, but I finally decided against it when I realized that compared to staying on the east side of the water it would add an hour of driving to the day we leave town.
I ended up at an Airbnb basement apartment in Bellevue near the East Channel Bridge. It ends up being $360 for two nights, and we have the choice of getting downtown by driving or using the bus station nearby.
Sounds like a good plan.
If you end up with too much time on your hands during The Dalles stop, the Maryhill Museum accross the river a few miles back, is a wonderful museum. Sculptures by the artist, Rodin, native artifacts beautiful museum on beautiful grounds.
You might be thinking, “who in Sam Hill would put such a thing way out here in nowhere?” Sam Hill, that is who.
No matter what they want you to believe, that’s not even the original Starbucks. The first location was in a building that was long ago knocked down. it was where all those Tom Douglas restaurants are now.
Thank you for all of the advice in this thread. The Denver to Seattle trip is over, and here is a brief summary:
Around 3100 miles for a total of 52 hours driving, and $300 spent on supercharging.
As suggested in this thread, we went out using 84 through Oregon, and then came home on 90 and 82 through Washington. That worked out well, except after so long driving on sparsely used roads, it was a bit of a surprise hitting the traffic north of Portland, which pretty much lasted all the way through Washington to our final destination at Sequim.
Camping was good at Sequim Bay State Park. If you’re in the area, showers are now free. The kid and I went into Port Angeles and played with marine life and on the little beach there. We also went out the Dungeness spit. Missed Olympic National Park, based on the reasoning, we’ve seen mountains, just saw a temperate rain forest the week before, and wanted a day where we could sleep in, instead of rushing out to get in line.
After that we spent a night in Victoria, BC, where we ate at a brewery, walked around, and went to the natural history museum. My kid really wanted to go to Canada, so we did.
Then went to Seattle, and did the Chihuli museum and the Pacific Science Center. Those were both a big hit with my kid, which is about all that counts. Then she got stuck in the giant climbing playground under the space needle, because she wouldn’t come down the slide.
A few praises and criticisms of the PNW. The Seattle toll roads let you join on a license plate only temporary basis. It was easy, and saved me a few dollars on the 520 bridge. Not that big of a deal for two trips, but a nice consideration if the stay had been longer.
Seattle drivers are weird. I thought only small town Boulder drivers had such a pack mentality they’d all line up in one lane, even if they actually wanted to be in a different one. Multiple times there I’d see drivers all get in one lane at a light, then as soon as they crossed the intersection, they’d move around to whatever lane they actually needed to be in. I kept waiting to see if there was a reason, but I never could figure it out. Same as in Boulder, but bigger city and more cars.
Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming may be ultra-conservative states that worship oil, but they do have quiet roads. The roads in Washington and Oregon are too loud, and I’m judging them on it.
Sounds like you had a good trip! We just got back from a weeklong biking adventure on Vancouver Island (well, one of the Gulf Islands as well) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. My legs are nearly recovered.
Come to the eastern parts of either state and you’ll find a huge difference.
And I promised to report back.
We did take the underground tour. Should have called ahead, as we ended up having to find something to do for 1.5 hours. We went down to the waterfront and wandered around the tour shops, plus stopped at the Magic Mouse toy store.
The host asked if there were any natives (me), anybody been there before (husband) and if there were any visitors from overseas (we live in Switzerland). Rather interesting tour and I’m glad I finally went.
Afterwards we stopped at Tat’s Deli. It was good. Really good. Even the bread was good.
We did mess up our order - it’s been too long since the last time we had one. Should have gotten provolone, marinara, mayo, sweet peppers, lettuce and tomato. We forgot the marinara, lettuce and tomato. Still tasty.
A few weeks later we were in Upper Bucks County and my husband ordered a cheesesteak. He was rather sorry he did - the one at Tat’s Deli was much better.
Thanks for the tip. The next time we’re in Seattle, we’ll probably stop there again.
Glad you enjoyed! I only wish I could’ve done the Underground Tour in its early days in the '60s, when the late Bill Speidel first started leading interested locals around the abandoned and condemned tunnels in an attempt to educate people about Pioneer Square’s history and advocate for the buildings to be preserved after the Hotel Seattle was razed to build the Sinking Ship. These days it’s all catwalks and wired lighting and illuminated exit signs. Back then, he equipped his patrons with flashlights, then locked the doors and refused to let them out until they signed his petition calling for Pioneer Square to be granted historic status. When I go to shows in Seattle, I often stay in the airbnb on the upper levels of the Merchants Cafe building, which is above the first section of underground the tours go through, and I like to look out the window onto Yesler and wave at the tour groups as they’re crossing the street.
My usual order there is pepperjack, onions, hot and sweet peppers, but your version sounds tasty too. I’ve been meaning to try some of their other sandwiches, but the cheesesteak always gets me when I find myself in line there (usually right when they open at 11, just after I’ve checked out of said airbnb).
I hope for your sake that the locals didn’t catch you pronouncing it “SEE-quim”. 
I don’t own a car these days, but when I did I HATED driving in Seattle. The streets are all too narrow, there’s WAY too many one-way streets, traffic is abysmal, everyone is too polite to use their horn even when they REALLY should, it takes forever to find somewhere to park and it costs an arm and a leg once you do, there’s rarely an opportunity to pull over and check your map if you miss a turn, nobody understands how zipper merges work, and it’s even worse when it’s dark and rainy (which it usually is). When I drove, if I was staying the night in town I would just park at the hotel and Uber to my destination. These days, I take the bus up to Seattle when I’m going and use public transit to get around as much as possible.
Magic Mouse is neat - and, as you might have noticed, it extends into the Underground with its basement floor. I wish I’d also mentioned Archie McPhee, which is a little off the beaten track in Wallingford - it’s an old-school novelty store that sells all kinds of toys, pranks, costumes, games, knick-knacks, tchotchkes, and assorted nonsense. You’ve probably seem their world-infamous horse mask;
I like going there and searching for silly holiday gifts for family and friends. My mother’s birthday is next week and she’s getting a Ruth Bader Ginsburg bobblehead I picked up there.
I got that from either this thread or someplace else, so I had it right in my head before going. Even the locals weren’t too sure if it was Skwim (rhymes with swim) or Skweem (rhymes with beam). Maybe because most of the ones I talked to were people from Seattle and surrounds camping for the weekend.
The neighborhood we stayed at in Bellevue was like that. These tiny streets barely wide enough for a single car to pass somebody walking on the edge of the pavement. It was not clear to me at all if they were one way. Fortunately we never met a car coming the other direction, because the only choice would have been to pull into someone’s driveway.
That is also the same as Boulder. Hey, if I’m backing out of a parking space and can’t see you, give me quick honk so I know you’re there. Boulder folks either go right by without any warning, or wait until I see them so I stop and then they honk. Thanks bud, I can’t stop any more than I already am…
Bad enough in a little college town, must be a nightmare in a million+ metro area.
Future tip: parking in the pay garage near the Space Needle was very reasonably priced, had plenty of free spaces, and was conveniently walkable to the stuff in that area. None of the other places downtown we might have visited seemed to have reasonable parking, which is why we got dinner at a brewery in a suburb, with plenty of free parking.
When I worked around the corner, my go-to was either the Tatstrami or more likely, the crispy buffalo chicken sandwich. I still dream of that.
It’s the first one. Just ignore the “e” and it’s pronounced how it appears, as if it was spelled “Squim”. Like “squint” but ending with an “m”. If anyone pronounces it “squeem” they aren’t from the area (and by area, I mean Western Washington).
I worked for years across the street from Magic Mouse (diagonally across that intersection) on 1st and Yesler. It was my first office job and where my IT career really started. (I was working there when I got my first IT certification.) It’s kind of a neat neighborhood, it’s just not the greatest place after dark.
I still recall one year there was a Mardi Gras celebration and it got super rowdy, the Subway at the ground floor of my building had its window smashed in. Someone even got beaten to death in all the mayhem. The police stopped letting folks gather to celebrate after that.
Oh snap, I didn’t realize there is an entire Wikipedia article about the event.
Most of my favorite places to eat in that area are long gone, but to be fair I last worked there 20 years ago. It still gives me a sad. 