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Old 05-11-2013, 11:09 AM
 
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My husband and I are taking a two week road trip from Seattle to either San Francisco or San Diego, depending on how much there is to see.

What are the "must sees" for Seattle and Washington state?

We're thinking of flying with a tent so we can camp on occasion.

I'd love to hear your ideas!
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Old 05-11-2013, 11:54 AM
 
Location: Los Angeles
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Wait...what?

You are taking a road trip from Seattle to either San Fran or San Diego and you are asking what the must sees are for Seattle?

I'm confused.
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Old 05-11-2013, 11:57 AM
 
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Yes! We are flying to Seattle. We will be doing a road trip to either San Fran or all the way down to San Diego.

I'm asking for the must sees in Seattle and Washington state.

I'm trying to figure out how much time to spend in Seattle and Washington before we start heading south.

I'm asking elsewhere for tips on Oregon and California, but if you have must sees for them, that's great too.
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Old 05-11-2013, 12:18 PM
 
Location: Capital Hill
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
My husband and I are taking a two week road trip from Seattle to either San Francisco or San Diego, depending on how much there is to see.

What are the "must sees" for Seattle and Washington state?

We're thinking of flying with a tent so we can camp on occasion.

I'd love to hear your ideas!
Our favorite route from Seattle to San Francisco is take Hwy 101 from Olympia, cross the Columbia River at Astoria, go down the Oregon Coast, take Hwy 10l until you come to Hwy 1 in Califorinia. Take Hwy 1 all the way into San Francisco. You'll see great Oregon and N. California beaches, giant Red Woods, and wine country. Then if you are going to San Diego, take Hwy 1 past Santa Cruz, Carmel, and Big Sur past Los Angelus to San Diego. Great leasure trip. Of course if you want to make it quick, just go down I-5. To San Diego, take Interstate 15, which might be quiker then I-5. I'm not familier with 'flying with a tent' but there may be more camp sites on the Hwy 101, Hwy 1 route, if they are not filled.

Last edited by Vinylly; 05-11-2013 at 12:20 PM.. Reason: remove m after Hwy 101
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Old 05-11-2013, 12:27 PM
 
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Thank you so much for your ideas! I'm so excited about this!

"Flying with a tent" means we might try to pack a tent in our luggage for our airplane flights between Pittsburgh and the West Coast.
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Old 05-11-2013, 01:26 PM
 
Location: Capital Hill
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Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
Thank you so much for your ideas! I'm so excited about this!

"Flying with a tent" means we might try to pack a tent in our luggage for our airplane flights between Pittsburgh and the West Coast.
You didn't say how much time you will spend in Seattle but what you could do is from Seattle, instead of taking I-5 to Olympia, take a ferry to the Kitsap Peninsula. You'll connect with Hwy 101 and the northern end of the Olympic National Park. This way you will see more of Seattle and Washington's coastline as well as getting up close to the Olympic Mountains. You will be taking a roadtrip from almost the northwestern most part of the United States to the Southwestern most part of the United States, nearly all following the Washington, Oregon and California coastline. This should be a roadtrip to remember. I would advise spending less time in Seattle and more time on the road. Seattle is just another city, just like any other city and would be a waste of your time. It's the pacific coastline that you want to see.
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Old 05-11-2013, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Seattle area
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Given your time allowed, I think the natural must sees are Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. The Paradise area of Mt. Rainier is the best part, usually not snow-free until August when the area is aptly named. I'd skip the WA beaches (OR has much better) and save the other WA national parks for another trip. One day in Seattle is all you'd need to see the highlights. On a 2 week trip to San Diego I'd spend 3 to 4 days in WA. If you end in San Francisco instead, I suggest another day in WA with a ferry trip from Anacortes to the San Juan islands.
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Old 05-11-2013, 03:39 PM
 
Location: Capital Hill
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Originally Posted by Jalhop View Post
Given your time allowed, I think the natural must sees are Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. The Paradise area of Mt. Rainier is the best part, usually not snow-free until August when the area is aptly named. I'd skip the WA beaches (OR has much better) and save the other WA national parks for another trip. One day in Seattle is all you'd need to see the highlights. On a 2 week trip to San Diego I'd spend 3 to 4 days in WA. If you end in San Francisco instead, I suggest another day in WA with a ferry trip from Anacortes to the San Juan islands.
Mt. Rainer and Mt. St. Helens would be out of their way. I would recommend while in the Olympic National Park, take a short detour to Huricane Ridge, just off of Hwy 101, exit at the town of Port Angeles. They will have almost the same kind of scenic views plus looking across to Victoria B.C. All very beautiful and it would be on their route.
I would stay, one day in Seattle. Catch the ferry in the morning, be in Pt. Angelus by afternoon. Drive up to Huricane Ridge, spend half the day there, they have walking trails. Leave Pt. Angeles the following day. Continue on and visit the Hoh Rain Forest and then to Astoria, OR. This will take one day. There are some indian reservations you could visit or Long Beach while in route, if you wanted to spend more time. Astoria would be a good stop for the night. The next day, be sure to vist Canon Beach. Lincoln City is a quick drive through (tourist trap). Newport is a good stop. Lots of things to see in Newport. Then on to Florence where you could stop for the night. Be sure to tour the Oregon Sandunes Nationl Park. Then on to Bandon where you could stop for the night. From Bandon, you could head on to Eureka, CA visiting coastal sites along the way, depending on how long your stay at these sites, you could camp out along the way. The next day visit the giant redwoods. As you approach San Francisco you will have a chance to visit some fine wineries. Spend as much time as you want in San Franicsco. The next day head for Carmel but spend the night in Big Sur. Be sure and visit the historic William Randolp Hearst Castle, then Santa Barbra before continuing on to Los Angeles and San Diego. You have two weeks, which I think would be plenty of time and would be a vacation to remember, if the weather is good.
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Old 05-11-2013, 04:17 PM
 
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When will you be making the trip? June is not one of our more beautiful months. You might want to just get on I5, drive to San Diego (or elsewhere in SoCal) and enjoy sunshine and the beaches for two weeks.
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Old 05-11-2013, 04:53 PM
 
Location: Capital Hill
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Originally Posted by tobester View Post
When will you be making the trip? June is not one of our more beautiful months. You might want to just get on I5, drive to San Diego (or elsewhere in SoCal) and enjoy sunshine and the beaches for two weeks.
You can do the I-5 route to San Diego in two to three days, depending on how long and fast you drive. It's not very scenic. But, I think they want to make a leasurely two week vacation out of it.
I forgot to mention, Balboa Park and the world famous San Diego Zoo are the places to go while in San Diego. Then there's Sea World.
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