The Washington/Oregon trip has come to an end. It was a wonderful trip, with beautiful scenery, lots of laughs, great craft beer, good eats, and lots of driving and exploring. So excited to have seen a new state that I had never been to.
We both landed on Monday, August 8th in Seattle. We boarded the local public transit and headed to our hotel. We had a cool location about 3 blocks from the famous Space Needle and Seattle center. So cool! We wasted no time heading to the top for a great panoramic view of the entire city! We also rode the Monorail (built for the World's Fair) to the Westlake Mall/Downtown area to walk around and see the waterfront. We learned that Seattle is kinda sleepy on Mondays and a lot of the "touristy" spots closed early. Ate dinner in a cute little area called 5 Points and called it a night. Flying wears you out...especially for my brother who had a much longer flight and a 3 hour time change. Lucky for me...no time change and a mere 2 hr and 15 minute flight.
Tuesday we headed out in Seattle. Back up to the Space Needle one more time bc the pass we bought allowed us to go twice, so why not right? Then we headed to the Experience Music Project. They had a great exhibit on Nirvana and Kurt Cobain...my brother was/is a huge Nirvana fan so he really enjoyed this. We also briefly checked out the Science center before heading back on the monorail and out on a boat for a cruise around the Puget Sound. It gave great information and great views of the Seattle skyline. We of course also stopped by Pike Place Market. Then we grabbed the rental car and headed to Portland!
Wednesday was spent exploring Portland. The hotel we stayed at was a great location right next to the FREE light rail system (brief side note...Portland's public transit system is amazing and I wish every city would mimic it). We rode around to different neighborhoods, checked out parks, shops, a Chinese garden, food trucks/carts, the largest bookstore in the US ( I think but don't quote me on that) called Powell's Books, and just tried to see and do everything possible that we could! Portland is AWESOME! It has such a chill, granola/earthy, laidback vibe...everyone is very "green", and friendly...it kinda reminded me of Boulder or CO somewhat. If not for the harsh Winters...I'd move there!
Thursday we hit the road fairly early to drive the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway. It was so pretty with numerous hiking trails and gorgeous waterfalls...we saw the 3rd highest waterfall in the US (Multnomah Falls). Every waterfall was impressive, peaceful, and just gorgeous. We also checked out Full Sail Brewery. Portland and Oregon has some delicious brews for sure. Back to Portland by dinner time. We ventured out to West Portland (East and West divided by the river) and ate at a cute Mexican place...such a funky decor and vibe..loved it.
Friday we were off to the coast! Driving the Pacific Coast Hwy (aka HWY 101) is something I suggest everyone due at some point in their life. Whether you get to drive it all or some...I guarantee it will blow you away. Such dramatic views, cliffs, and the Pacific Ocean is breathtaking in itself. We stopped along at towns we thought were cute or view points for photos. Cannon Beach was simply adorable! It reminds me of what I imagine Martha's Vineyard or some other New England beach towns to look like...shingled buildings, no huge high rise hotels, and a downtown lined with boutiques, cute restaurants, and potted flowers lining the sidewalks....so idealistic. We stopped at a local brew house for a scrumptious BLT (well for me...my brother got some veggie burger I believe) and you guessed it...more craft beer :) Walked around some of the shops, checked out the well known Haystack Rock and then headed to the town of Seaside where we would be staying the night. Seaside was cute but not as quaint as Cannon Beach. Our hotel was right on the ocean though with a killer view so that was nice. We walked along the boardwalk, saw some beautiful homes, trekked along the beach and just enjoyed bring on the water. Did dinner and called it a rather early night as we knew Saturday would be busy driving and exploring the Olympic National Park.
Saturday we hit the road for Olympic National Park. I had heard about this from a friend of mine and she highly recommended it. We took a 4 mile hike into the rain forest, saw a great beach, saw a lake with almost turquoise clear water surrounded by the tallest mountains and evergreen trees...this park was by far some of the prettiest, most dramatic, greenest landscapes I have EVER seen. So glad we did all the driving to get there and explore. Well worth it! We then took a fairy from Bainbridge Island back over to Seattle where we would stay for our last night. It was cool to be on the ferry at night...to see the Space Needle and Seattle skyline lit up was great. We headed to the hotel and got a mere 3 hours of sleep before getting up bright and early for our 7am flights! So sad to see the trip end but I know my brother and I will look back years from now with some great memories and stories from our WA/OR adventure. I so look forward to one day in the future when my brother and I have families and can vacation and travel together. I can only imagine how fun that will be :)
No comments:
Post a Comment