We're planning to drive from S Cal to Seattle.. What should we see ?

[SoCalDem]

along the way?

We have penciled in:

Hearst Castle
Railway Museum in Sacramento
Muir House in Martinez
Dunsmuir ( I think it's in Oregon)


what else??

[democracyindanger]

1. Crater Lake

The Vortex

[Gormy Cuss]

2. The Muir House?

Wow. I haven't been there and I live less than 20 miles from it. It looks very cool from the outside. If you're planning to stay overnight in this area might I suggest Walnut Creek. There are several levels of accomodations and plenty of restaurants. Plus there is a public garden, Heather Farms Park, with a gorgeous rose garden and native Calif and Mediterranean gardens. Also there is access to Mt. Diablo, a great peak with long views in most directions, barring hazing and fog. If you're more of an historic house type, there the Tao House in Danville where Eugene O'Neill wrote 'Long Day's Journey into Night.'

Up I-5 consider a stop at the Oregon Caves Monument. It's a neat cave tour.

[SoCalDem]

6. Our son lives in Concord, so we'll have a place to stay

I saw a piece about the restoration of the Muir house & it looks really cool..

[Gormy Cuss]

10. Cool.

I'll bet he knows everything local to take in.

[SoCalDem]

18. Actually, he's a stick in the mud and has not explored his

own area much.. he travels a lot with his job, so when he's home, he prefers tinkering with his cars and tending the garden with his wife.. She turned him into a "plant-person".:)

[Arugula Latte]

30. I grew up in that area.

Mt. Diablo is very gorgeous, with some amazing "live oak" trees (that's the type of oak). They are massive and have very twisted branches -- beautiful.

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. Mount St. Helens is on the Oregon/Washington border....

somewhere around there. A friend visited a while back and said it is an awesome sight.

[CatholicEdHead]

11. Mt St Helens is still shaking pretty good

http://www.ess.washington.edu/SEIS/PNSN/HELENS/helensep_mo.html

[Lydia Leftcoast]

20. I vote for Mt. St. Helen's

Also, you should drive up the Oregon Coast. It's spectacular. If you're into wine, Yamhill County is prime pinot noir country.

Then stop off in Portland to see an attractive city with a great transit system.

[NNadir]

4. Have a glass of wine at Nepenthe in Big Sur.

They have some very nice Oregon Pinot Noirs.

[begin_within]

14. Not to mention the view...

[DiverDave]

5. Mt. Shasta...at night...with a full moon...awesome.

stop in the redwoods national park.

http://www.nps.gov/redw/

Herds of elk, the trees will blow you away.
Redwoods have the capability to grow again if they get blown down.
A branch can get broken and get buried in the ground.
A tree will grow from this.
I saw 3 huge trees that had done this.
The 1st tree fell, a second grew out of it, and was blown down, then a third was growing from that.
And, they were all 10-15 feet in diameter.
Well worth the side trip.

[Metta]

7. Mt. Saint Helens and Mt. Rushmore.

Just amazing. Muir woods, just north of 'Frisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. Magic, if you take your time and clue into it.

[SoCalDem]

8. We're planning a meandering 2 weeks...

with short stops to see our son in Concord and our son near Tacoma..

[Lydia Leftcoast]

21. Uhhhh, Mt. Rushmore's in South Dakota

I think you mean Mt. Rainer. :-)

[SoCalDem]

22. yepper.. South Dakota's a bit out of the way.. But I would like to

see it someday :)

[AmyDeLune]

9. Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR

Even if you don't get to see any plays, the town is a great place to visit.:)

[gkdmaths]

12. Mts Rainier and St. Helens, Columbia River, Olympic Peninsula

You cant miss any of them. For Rainier, take US12 East from I5 (Mary's Corner exit) For St. Helens, take Spirit Lake Hwy from the Toutle exit (go east, drive to end of road ~45 miles).

Also, see the Columbia River. from Vancouver WA, take a nice two-day (though it could be an easy one day without stops) excursion into eastern Washington. From I205 from Portland take US 14(Wa side @ vancouver) or I84 (OR side through Gresham, IIRC) east. this will be the best time of year to go, the camas is out! I prefer the WA side, Continue past Bingen, Lyle, et al towards Dallesport (about 4 hours, depending on stops - visit the Dalles Mountain State Park, there isnt a thing there, but its pretty). Leave the Columbia and turn north on US97 through Goldendale (Biggs Junction on the OR side), over Satus Pass and on towards Yakima. from Yakima, take SR12 over White Pass (right between Rainier and St. Helens) This route will dump you onto I5 where I suggested you exit to visit Rainier above (the Mary's Corner exit).

If you want, on your way from Yakima, you could take Cayuse/Chinook Pass from SR12, which dumps you right in Mount Rainier National Park almost - take the Stevens Canyon entrance and travle it to Paradise (very nearly!), on your way down, drive through Longmire and exit at the Nisqually entrance. Continuing will take you past Alder Lake right to Tacoma.

If you've got time to do some slightly more extended tripping, visit the Hoh Rainforest on the peninsula. From Olympia (en route to Tacoma) take US101 west towards Aberdeen, from Aberdeen travel north towards Queets (dont stop, Queets will suck you in forever) take a short hike up the Hoh, its amazing. Continue north through Forks, then on to Port Angeles (a richly historic city!) from there you can take a few ferries to Seattle or continue south back to Olympia (or into Tacoma on SR16).

Oh, yeah. consider getting out to Orcas or one of the other pleasant islands.

[Fawkes]

13. Dunsmuir is in California north of Shasta Lake

Mount Saint Helens RAWKS!!!!!

Lava Beds is a worthy side trip if you are into Native American history or birds.

When you're in the Seattle area you should go out to the San Juan Islands, the Olympic Peninsula, and the Skagit area.

:hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

40. My dear Fawkes!

Welcome to DU! Enjoy your stay in our crazy, addictive little village!

:hi:

[Capn Sunshine]

15. The Monterrey Aquarium

and the Big Sur Lodge is worth a night's stay. It's inside Pfieffer State Park. If you're into funky B&B's try Deetjens. If you like high end 5* there's The Ventana Inn and Nepenthe's is a stones throw from there. The Hearst Castle is a pleasnt day trip from Big Sur, and then Morro Bay is a nice post-Castle stop. I recommend the Inn At Morro Bay it's high end but worth it. but there's plenty of hotels in Morro Bay.
Like the movie Aracnophobia? Much of it was shot in Cambria, CA, a few miles inland from Morro Bay, also worth a visit. If you like wine, there are all sorts of wineries in the area, and farther south is the Santa Ynez Valley - where Sideways was shot. Winery Tours galore. Farther south Lake Cachuma is nice, if you like camping. So is Carpenteria, where you can camp on the beach as well.

Take Highway One, from Monterrey to Morro Bay-- you have the time.

[kwassa]

32. these are some of my favorite places, too, take the coast road always

Visit both Pfieffer state parks, one is a redwood forest, the other a beach with huge rock formations and very beautiful. Point Lobos south of Carmel is spectacular. I also liked Cambria, which has a very English feel due to those who settled there.

I would avoid Solvang, the tacky Danish tourist town also featured in "Sideways"

The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo has some of the wildest and wackiest interior decorating anywhere.

Side trips to Yosemite and Lake Tahoe are very worthwhile. I think Yosemite is the prettiest place on earth.

[Capn Sunshine]

35. heads up abour Pfieffer St. Beach

The natives think of it as "theirs' and frequently remove the signage marking the road in. Also , it's a nude beach (the northern end near the stram)

[Floogeldy]

16. Unidentified Flying Objects

:)

[Catamount]

17. Drive on 101 as much as you can, especially from N..CA to..

Oregon, through the Redwoods and along the coast! It's all just beautiful!
If you have kids there's the Banyon Petting Zoo or there's another Wild Safari animal park- wonderful- no cages near Roseburg!
If you come north from Crater Lake you'll see the turn-offs.
Then there are the sea-lions if you head west again--to Florence!
The whole trip is beautiful-which ever way you go!
How long have you got?

[SoCalDem]

19. two weeks, give or take..

I prefer to just get in the car and go where the road takes you, but my husband, being an architect/engineer MUST HAVE A PLAN...WRITTEN IN COLUMNS..NUMBERED COLUMNS..WITH MILEAGE:)

I am the "risky" one in this family..

I moved out out my family home at 18..I had $28.00, a gas credit card..no job..no place to live..
... moved almost 400 miles away with my cat and everything I owned in my car.. Just loaded the car and left :)

Turned out fine.. I met a person who was airing out the professor's house for her return, but I also found out she was not returning with her kids (who I was sorta of planning to babysit for her, in exchange for a room).. the girl who was opening up her house said her roommate had moved out, so I moved in..and found a job the next day :)

[Catamount]

34. I'd just make a plan (for hubby) and see all the places mentioned in this

in this thread!
They're all worth seeing!

[Omphaloskepsis]

23. The Oregon Vortex....

Freaky shit.. Not really, but, it is cool..

http://www.oregonvortex.com/

It makes you feel funny and you can appear taller then the person next to you even though they have a few inches on you. And it looks like balls are rolling up hills.

[SeattleGirl]

24. And when you get to Seattle, you can always go on the

SeattleGirl guided tour! :hi:

[SoCalDem]

25. Our son lives in Tacoma, but maybe we can hook up with you

for lunch :)..

I hope we can find time to visit Port Townsend.. I was there in the 70's when they were really getting into the town restoration.. I hope to see those grand old houses finally all restored by now :)

[SeattleGirl]

26. You know, I've never been to Pt. Townsend, but I understand

it's a great place to go see.

I didn't realize your son lived in Tacoma. If you have time to hook up, I'd love it! I love meeting DUers. You know how to get hold of me, so let me know!

[Buck Turgidson]

27. Crater Lake, Oregon

Except that 67 inches of snow have closed the rim road

[thefool_wa]

28. I've done that trip a thousand times

If you want to go up I5 then the interesting stuff is hard to miss. Definitely stop at a roadside olive stand and get some California Greens (big jar of the giant ones, you will not be disappointed, unless you don't like olives).

This is not my suggested route of travel. Sure you can do the trip in 24 hours, but its long, straight and boring most of the time. If you want a good trip, plan for 2-3 days and go up US101. You will go through San Francisco (over the Golden Gate Bridge, stop at the Winchester Mansion), the Redwood Forest (definitely stop and see the Trees of Mystery) and then up the Oregon and Washington coasts. The view alone is spectacular, but make sure to stop at all (or nearly all) of the touristy attractions along the way. Most are worth it (Aquariums, the Sea Lion Caves, Newport, Astoria et al) and if you are a souvenir collector then there will be so much shopping you may need a 4th day. In Washington you will want to see the Lewis and Clark museum (in Astoria) and cut back east at Long Beach (brings you in to Olympia). We did this drive when I was a kid living in Long Beach, CA; LBC to Salem oregon took 19hrs on I5 and it took us 4 days to get back on 101. Worth every minute.

[Arugula Latte]

29. I recommend Ecola State Park on the Oregon Coast

It's just north of Cannon Beach (which is a very nice beach town). Gorgeous views, cliffs, forests, secluded beaches. :loveya:

[Arugula Latte]

31. P.S. -- Napa and Sonoma Valleys are beautiful and

they're like Disneyland for people who are into food and wine.

[kwassa]

33. Once you are in the Seattle area ....

take a tour around the Olympic Pennisula, which is both beautiful scenery with amazing huge empty beaches, and occasional small Indian fishing villages.

On our trip we then took the ferry to Victoria, B.C., toured there, and went up Vancouver Island, then taking a ferry across, and coming down to Vancouver. It was a great trip.

[SoCalDem]

36. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas..

:loveya:

We have lived in CA for over 30 years, but have traveled the state very little due to financial restrictions put upon us by raising children.. Now that they are grown and gone, we will finally have a chance to see a little of this state and the ones nearby, and visit those kids at the same time..

I'm not sure when we will actually make this trip, but I will certainly use the choices given here as a guide. I printed this out and gave hubby a highlighter so he's got his work cut out for him.. I'm along for the ride and the picture taking :)

[havocmom]

37. I recommend you get your Hearst Castle tickets in advance

for the date you will be there. It can get pretty busy some days and since you go up via bus tours, you can't just drop in and be sure you will GET in.

Do make time that day for a picnic on the beach below the castle. There is a nice little state park there.

[SammyWinstonJack]

38. Big Sur and Monterey Seventeen mile drive. Pismo beach. Carmel by the

Sea. Geeze I miss California. :-(

[Armstead]

39. Columbia River