Anyone from Vancouver...? Dumb questions! (Camas, Mill Plain: hotels, subdivision, to live)

[elevation24]

So my boyfriend and I are from Sacramento, CA area and we are leaving at 1AM to drive up to Vancouver, WA to visit some friends who just had a new baby. We'll only be staying 1 night, plan to arrive in the morning on Wednesday and will be leaving Thursday afternoon, because of work unavoidable commitments (I'd rather be able to stay longer).

We were given a few driving pointers from our friends (they use to live down here in CA), but mainly on where to stop for gas, etc. They live in Camas, but our hotel is in what looks like Downtown? I don't really know, I'm really dumb with maps and directions and all that... our hotel is off of SE Mill Plain Blvd.

Is there lots of one-way streets up there? I think the street names are just throwing me off, because down here numbered and lettered streets only really appear in Downtown Sacramento and they are mostly one-way. I hate driving out there!!! So, someone please tell me that the streets are normal, otherwise stay off the road on the 20th and 21st cause you're going to run into me, the retard who is going the wrong way & can't parallel park!!

Also, since its like a 9+ hour drive and we are leaving in the early, early AM, are we likely going to hit traffic on I-5 through Portland? I'm sure there are a lot of commuters between Portland & Vancouver but I don't know if they are mainly going into Portland or into Vancouver or if we're going to get stuck in the flow. Should we leave earlier and try to arrive into Vancouver before traffic hits, or are we pretty much screwed and gonna get stuck in it no matter what? Or maybe we won't get to Portland until about when traffic is going away? I don't know!

Someone help me! My boyfriend has to work all day today so I am driving because I'll get to sleep before we leave, while he's only going to get a few hours... so he's going to get to sleep on the way. Bad idea for him because we're going to end up in like Utah with me driving!

Also... are there any particular areas where I should like drop my speed down a lil? My ex-husband says that Oregon is really strict and he got a ticket there for speeding. And like, what are the drivers like anyway? Drivers down here are so aggressive... I'm not aggressive at all except that I speed a little, but my boyfriend is and pretty much everyone else down here is too.

Odd question.. are there not many smokers? We're both smokers and I had a lot of trouble finding a hotel with smoking rooms. Most of them were non-smoking in all rooms. I really didn't want to have to take a 10-minute walk from my room to elevator to outside just for a smoke.

I'm sorry if my questions are dumb... I've hardly been out of this state, only venturing off to Nevada (Reno) and southern Oregon (Klamath River), along with having been basically everywhere in California. But other than that I'm totally clueless.

Stupid Californians!!

[PNW-type-gal]

You'll be coming up I-5 until you get to the south end of the Portland area, where you take the I-205/Portland Airport fork. That will bring you up I-205, outon the east side of the Portland basin and out of some of the worst downtown traffic.

Get off I-205 at the Mill Plain exit (just past the Columbia River), and your hotel will be one of the ones within a few blocks. This the the farthest east side of Vancouver - actual downtown Vancouver is the far WEST side of town. If your hotel was in downtown Vancouver and on Mill Plain (which is doubtful, because there aren't any) the address would be SW Mill Plain. There are one-way streets in downtown Vancouver, but there aren't any out in the east end of town, nor is there really any need to parallel park. Depending on where you're going in Camas, there are a few one-way streets there, along with parallel parking. Most likely your friend lives in a subdivision.

Avenues go north-south, streets go east-west. Starting at the Mill Plain offramp from I-205, you're on about NE 117th Avenue, and the numbers will just go up from there. Mill Plain is, mostly, the divider between N and S - So an adress on, say, SE 192 Avenue, will be south of Mill Plan and about 80 streets east of the freeway.

I'd suggest using mapquest and putting in the hotel and you friend's address.

[PNW-type-gal]

Ooops, I forgot some

Also, on smoking - no smoking in bars, restaurants, public places in Washington and I believe most of Oregon.

Portland traffic starts around 3:30 in the afternoon and lasts until about 6:00. If you don't go up I-5 to the bridge and through the worst parts of downtown Portland traffic, you won't see anything, really, compared to Sacramento.

Speeding - less than 10 over, and the speed limit is 55 in a lot of places. There are days when it's heavily patrolled and there are days when I've only seen 1 car the entire 300+ mile stretch. You'll get their attention with aggressive California-style driving (passing on the right, tailgating, zipping in between cars to get ahead).

[elevation24]

Oh yeah! I did mapquest it, I forgot that it took me off of I-5 like 30 miles out. So we're not going to be in downtown. Well that doesn't really make a difference because I don't know anything about the city (or the difference between downtown and the various suburbs) but I just saw numbers and letters in the streets and was like ah crap I hope this isn't like downtown Sac because downtown Sac and I aren't good friends. I cry when I get called for jury duty (three times in 4 years, I'm only 22!)...

So, for the smoking, well, there's no smoking in bars or restaurants or anything here either (except the rare occasional bar that for some reason allows it, I've only seen one in Lincoln, CA, and some just have an enclosed sort of smoking area outside of the bar). But what do you mean by public places, like just walking down the street or whatever? I don't want to irritate people (or break the law heh) because I don't like to be rude especially when I'm treading on someone else's ground so to speak. What about smoking in your car? It just struck me as a little odd that half of the hotels I wanted to book with had zero smoking rooms, like it even said in the description that it was all non-smoking, so I was just like well I guess there must not be a lot of smokers there. But then again I was thinking why would people that live there be booking hotel rooms all that often

Avenues north-south, streets east-west... I'll remember that. I don't really care too much about the traffic I just don't want to get stuck in crazy traffic forever when we aren't going to be up there very long, I want to spend the time ya know, doing stuff, so I'd like to try and avoid it the best we can. So what's this about not passing in the right lane?

Edit - Thanks for the tips and info, btw

[diggitydot]

If the address of your hotel is SE Mill Plain Blvd, it is most likely east of I-205...which is good. It's a nicer area and is significantly closer to Camas than downtown Vancouver.

Just to help you get your bearings, Mill Plain cuts across Vancouver heading east/west. The W/E/SE depends on which part of Vancouver you're in. From I-205 to 164th Ave it is SE. From about I-5 to around I-205, it's E Mill Plain. And it becomes W Mill Plain when you get on the far west side of downtown Vancouver. I know it sounds convoluted, but Mill Plain is Mill Plain, regardless which W/E/SE identifier is attached to it. It's the same street, just in different sections of the city. (It really isn't too tough to navigate once you get into the area. And people are friendly. Stop and ask someone for directions if you need them. Most of the locals are very willing to help out, if they're able.)

Camas is a cute area. But be aware that the cops in Camas will stop you for going 5 over the limit...if they catch you. Watch your speed as you're exiting HWY 14 and entering town. That is almost always where they hang out to catch speeders. It's a small town with a pretty small police force. But they know where people seem to not pay attention. Just keep an eye out for traffic and speed changes.

Oregon and Washington drivers rank VERY high on all those lists about the best and most polite drivers in the US so you'll be fine. Just don't drive aggressively and you likely won't run into any problems.

Traffic isn't particularly nasty...especially compared to most of the larger cities in California. Portland traffic won't even likely be a blip on your radar unless you hit a seriously bad day. If you hit the Portland/Vancouver commuting traffic just keep in mind that the heavy morning traffic flow is from Vancouver to Portland (heading south). The heavy afternoon/evening traffic flow is from Portland to Vancouver (heading north). And definitely take the I-205 cutoff south of Tualitin to avoid the nastier traffic that goes through Portland's downtown if you're going to hit down near rush hour. That cutoff will put you on the east side of Vancouver when you get over the 1-205 bridge. (It is also called the Glenn Jackson Bridge so don't let that freak you out if you see it. It's the same thing as the I-205 bridge over the Columbia River. I don't get what it is with all the dual names, either.)

I wish I could help you out more with the smoking thing. I don't smoke so I have no clue what the rules/laws are. It doesn't pertain to me so I kind of don't pay attention to it.

Have a great trip! Camas is a very cool area and I hope you enjoy it!

[StealthRabbit]

you can smoke in OR bars that have 'off-track betting'... found that out when we went to one of our 'upscale' ex-favorite prime rib joints, that recently had a 'betting bar' attached. So much for the taste of fine beef.

I think you are making this trip too complicated... relax, take I-205 north at the split south of Portland (just past Wilsonville), the to Mill Plain EAST exit, just over the Long... Bridge - past the airport it will take you to within a few blocks of your motel. Feel free to pull off the road and take some cat naps, but don't drive when sleepy. The best way to stay awake when you absolutely have to keep driving is to open the drivers window and hang your arm out. (amazing, but this really works). I've been doing 'long haul' truck driving (in my free time / weekend nights) since I was a kid (17). Just be very courteous and defensive. (always know your escape route, and keep a 4 second following distance) Road trips can be really fun. (or an adventure if you drive a $35 car like me.)

Oh, and save some $$ and stop for Ice Cream at "rice-hill" (central OR) on I-5 (north of Roseburg). It is a little trailerhouse joint on West side of freeway, they serve lots of gal of ice cream / year, and many flavors to choose from.. I recommend "the Piglet" (5 scoops- share, of course...) or you can go whole hog for the Pig Trough. I think it is 15 scoops. Rainbow Sherbert is nice way to top off the feast.

DROP YOUR SPEED at Coburg !!! (north of Eugene) They provide about 80% of their city revenue from I-5. I think $380,000 recent year. You don't want to contribute to their 'cause'. Quite honestly I find it is best to just stay with 'the pack' and remember to stay out of the left lane unless passing. Driving there is good for a ticket, but worse is being rear ended by someone in a very big hurry.