Hello girls!
So I have been doing research for our trip ALL morning! B/c we need to start to figure things out b/c the earlier we plan the cheaper, etc!
So looking at the travel time to get driving anywhere from Chicago to Washington/Cali it would be multiple days of non-stop driving. With gas prices, I think we should just take the Amtrak or a flight. Looking up sample flights to seattle, it is super cheap, as our timing is flexible. We could easily get a non-stop for $240. The train to Seattle for example, would take 2 days, and it would be between $270-$300. So I think we should just fly out to the coast and from there rent a car to take us all over? I think our biggest $$$ things will just be the flight and car rental, car rental/gas we will split 3 ways.
From there I think:
Seattle
-Space needle observation (that really famous tall thing we can go up to the top and get great views of the city!)
-Pike Place Market (famous flea market/food place/shopping center – lots of culture!)
-2 highly recommended tours – emerald scenic tour (on Mondays and Saturdays) – few hour tour by foot that takes us all over Seattle, and the pub tour (on Friday and Saturdays)!! They take us to cool bars/breweries around Seattle for a few hours
http://seattlebyfoot.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g60878-Activities-Seattle_Washington.html
Then from there I would suggest some Washington sights - http://www.worldtravelguide.net/united-states-america/washington-state
On the way to our next stop – I suggest taking in a Washinton winery to see what one is like! http://www.washingtonwine.org/explore/
Washington wine is supposed to be fabulous as well - and they are all over, so once our stops our solid we can figure out which one we would like to go to.
I would suggest we go to Mount Rainier and Mount Rainier National Park. It’s supposed to be breathtaking. It’s only like 2-3 hours away from Seattle.
http://www.visitrainier.com/pg/directions/Driving-Directions-to-Mount-Rainier-National-Park
We can hike, see the mountain – and we can *gasp* either camp or stay in a hotel or a cabin.
http://www.visitrainier.com/pg/10_summer_experiences/10-Ways-To-Experience-Mt-Rainier-This-Summer
http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm
Then possible idea – also visit Mount St. Helens on the way towards Portland. Another amazing national park and amazing caves, etc. (have to drive 50 miles off interstate but highly recommended)
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28968-d109354-Reviews-Mount_St_Helens-Washington.html
Olympic national park is another option, but that is farther west, and north of Seattle, so I do not think we could do mount rainier or mount st. Helens. But it would be closer to Portland. So we must discuss those. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g28968-i73-k3845119-l27913743-Coastal_Drive_from_Olympic_National_Park_to_Portland-Washington.html
http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/exploring-the-coast.htm
Portland
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g52024-Activities-Portland_Oregon.html
Supposed to be super hipster – but super beautiful, etc. So I’d like to do some type of tour. Walking or bike. And then go to a brewery/distillery and a super cool restaurants. Lots of suggests on trip advisor.
Then I think we should venture to Newport, Oregon. Described as a “sleepy little fishing town”
Newport, OR
It’s only about 3 hours from Portland, but it will take us back to the coast, and then we can do the coastal drive from Oregon into Cali. We will be driving right along the ocean.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g51992-Newport_Oregon-Vacations.html
In Newport we can:
-go to the Yaquina head lighthouse to see that and go walk along the beach
-whale watching or marine discovery cruise http://marinediscovery.com/SLC.html
-eat delicious seafood
Then I say we head back to Cali. We have a few options.
The drive from Newport to wine country is a 10 hour drive. However, that is not along the coast (if we do coastal it would be 12). Looking at travel guides – people usually drive about 7 hours straight down the Oregon cali coastline to Eureka, CA. That is about 7 hours - and then you drive all day down the coast. Then they drive 4 hours the next day from Eureka Sonoma/Napa.
From there, there are about a million recommended wineries and beaches!
So this is what I am thinking:
Fly out Sunday Night - June 26th, or Monday Morning – June 27th
Seattle – 2-3 days (Monday/Tuesday-ish), drive to mount rainier (2-3 hours)
Mount Rainier – 1 day (wed/thurs), drive to mount st. Helens (there is not much out there on the drive btw them, but looking at the map we drive through mid Washington – so we could find some way….guessing about 4 hours)
Mount Saint Helens – 1 day (thurs/fri) – drive to Portland (only 2 hours away)
Portland – 2 days (fri/sat/sun – drive 3 hours to Newport)
Newport – 1 day (sun/mon) drive on Monday 7 hours down the coast to Eureka
Eureka – (mon/tues) on Tuesday leave to drive the 4 hours to wine country
Napa/Sonoma (Tuesday-thurs)
Fly back to Chicago from Sacramento or San Francisco on Thursday night/Friday morning.
Looking at costs, we could also get a flight back from san fran/sacramento for about $260.
What do you guys think?!??
I think we should meet at somewhere where we can bring computers to book flights, hotels etc.
My schedule sucks for the next two weeks. I am at client in rosemont until thurs (that i think will be late hours) then I'm in Boston from thurs night-sunday night late. Then rosemont again nxt week. What about next weekend. Nina - you are the one always out of town. But the weekend of hte 27th I can meet. What do you guys think?
Or if you guys are good to go on those dates - we can at least book flights together via email in order to get the cheapest possible.
Ahhh - are there stuff you guys wanted to see?? I was just researching websites and travel sites and what not.
Let me know asap what you guys think and when you can meet!
Thanks! :)
Samantha
So I have been doing research for our trip ALL morning! B/c we need to start to figure things out b/c the earlier we plan the cheaper, etc!
So looking at the travel time to get driving anywhere from Chicago to Washington/Cali it would be multiple days of non-stop driving. With gas prices, I think we should just take the Amtrak or a flight. Looking up sample flights to seattle, it is super cheap, as our timing is flexible. We could easily get a non-stop for $240. The train to Seattle for example, would take 2 days, and it would be between $270-$300. So I think we should just fly out to the coast and from there rent a car to take us all over? I think our biggest $$$ things will just be the flight and car rental, car rental/gas we will split 3 ways.
From there I think:
Seattle
-Space needle observation (that really famous tall thing we can go up to the top and get great views of the city!)
-Pike Place Market (famous flea market/food place/shopping center – lots of culture!)
-2 highly recommended tours – emerald scenic tour (on Mondays and Saturdays) – few hour tour by foot that takes us all over Seattle, and the pub tour (on Friday and Saturdays)!! They take us to cool bars/breweries around Seattle for a few hours
http://seattlebyfoot.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g60878-Activities-Seattle_Washington.html
Then from there I would suggest some Washington sights - http://www.worldtravelguide.net/united-states-america/washington-state
On the way to our next stop – I suggest taking in a Washinton winery to see what one is like! http://www.washingtonwine.org/explore/
Washington wine is supposed to be fabulous as well - and they are all over, so once our stops our solid we can figure out which one we would like to go to.
I would suggest we go to Mount Rainier and Mount Rainier National Park. It’s supposed to be breathtaking. It’s only like 2-3 hours away from Seattle.
http://www.visitrainier.com/pg/directions/Driving-Directions-to-Mount-Rainier-National-Park
We can hike, see the mountain – and we can *gasp* either camp or stay in a hotel or a cabin.
http://www.visitrainier.com/pg/10_summer_experiences/10-Ways-To-Experience-Mt-Rainier-This-Summer
http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm
Then possible idea – also visit Mount St. Helens on the way towards Portland. Another amazing national park and amazing caves, etc. (have to drive 50 miles off interstate but highly recommended)
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28968-d109354-Reviews-Mount_St_Helens-Washington.html
Olympic national park is another option, but that is farther west, and north of Seattle, so I do not think we could do mount rainier or mount st. Helens. But it would be closer to Portland. So we must discuss those. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g28968-i73-k3845119-l27913743-Coastal_Drive_from_Olympic_National_Park_to_Portland-Washington.html
http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/exploring-the-coast.htm
Portland
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g52024-Activities-Portland_Oregon.html
Supposed to be super hipster – but super beautiful, etc. So I’d like to do some type of tour. Walking or bike. And then go to a brewery/distillery and a super cool restaurants. Lots of suggests on trip advisor.
Then I think we should venture to Newport, Oregon. Described as a “sleepy little fishing town”
Newport, OR
It’s only about 3 hours from Portland, but it will take us back to the coast, and then we can do the coastal drive from Oregon into Cali. We will be driving right along the ocean.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g51992-Newport_Oregon-Vacations.html
In Newport we can:
-go to the Yaquina head lighthouse to see that and go walk along the beach
-whale watching or marine discovery cruise http://marinediscovery.com/SLC.html
-eat delicious seafood
Then I say we head back to Cali. We have a few options.
The drive from Newport to wine country is a 10 hour drive. However, that is not along the coast (if we do coastal it would be 12). Looking at travel guides – people usually drive about 7 hours straight down the Oregon cali coastline to Eureka, CA. That is about 7 hours - and then you drive all day down the coast. Then they drive 4 hours the next day from Eureka Sonoma/Napa.
From there, there are about a million recommended wineries and beaches!
So this is what I am thinking:
Fly out Sunday Night - June 26th, or Monday Morning – June 27th
Seattle – 2-3 days (Monday/Tuesday-ish), drive to mount rainier (2-3 hours)
Mount Rainier – 1 day (wed/thurs), drive to mount st. Helens (there is not much out there on the drive btw them, but looking at the map we drive through mid Washington – so we could find some way….guessing about 4 hours)
Mount Saint Helens – 1 day (thurs/fri) – drive to Portland (only 2 hours away)
Portland – 2 days (fri/sat/sun – drive 3 hours to Newport)
Newport – 1 day (sun/mon) drive on Monday 7 hours down the coast to Eureka
Eureka – (mon/tues) on Tuesday leave to drive the 4 hours to wine country
Napa/Sonoma (Tuesday-thurs)
Fly back to Chicago from Sacramento or San Francisco on Thursday night/Friday morning.
Looking at costs, we could also get a flight back from san fran/sacramento for about $260.
What do you guys think?!??
I think we should meet at somewhere where we can bring computers to book flights, hotels etc.
My schedule sucks for the next two weeks. I am at client in rosemont until thurs (that i think will be late hours) then I'm in Boston from thurs night-sunday night late. Then rosemont again nxt week. What about next weekend. Nina - you are the one always out of town. But the weekend of hte 27th I can meet. What do you guys think?
Or if you guys are good to go on those dates - we can at least book flights together via email in order to get the cheapest possible.
Ahhh - are there stuff you guys wanted to see?? I was just researching websites and travel sites and what not.
Let me know asap what you guys think and when you can meet!
Thanks! :)
Samantha
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