We did a 8 day/7 Night Road Trip along the West Coast in early October. We're fairly active and enjoy nature, and are foodies/craft beer lovers. My boyfriend also is an aspiring photographer. We flew into San Fransisco, spent 2 days/2 nights there, then rented a car and continued upward to the Humbolt Redwoods (we had planned on Mt.Ranier but we were traveling during the Government shutdown). We'd end our trip in Seattle and flew home from there.

Day 1:
- CALIFORNIA -

Took the BART from the airport to the Montgomery stop in Union Square. BART was relatively easy to use. My only tip is to make sure each person buys their own ticket (unlike Chicago where you can put $20 on a card and use it for multiple fares).

- Chinatown (very cool atmosphere, shops, street entertainers)
- Embarcadero Center (Financial District, cool outdoor shopping mall)
- Ferry Market (Great place to get a snack)

Day 2:
- Sears Fine Food for breakfast (Union Square). Get Joanie's Special Omelet.
-Cable car ride to Fisherman's Wharf. (We enjoyed ourselves, and didn't see why it got such negative reviews as a tourist trap) for Sea lions on Pier 39 and Musee Mecanique on Pier 45...one of the world's largest privately owned collection of coin-operated antique arcade machines. You just can't pass that up.
-Muni to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was spectacular (and very windy/brisk! bring a coat). We walked a couple of the paths to get different vantage point but you also get some great views of the city.

Day 3:
- Avenue of the Giants - Do Not Miss. One of the rare places you'll hear pure silence. It's almost magical.
- Dinner at Lost Coast Brewery
- Stayed at Eureka Inn...very friendly service. Decent.cheap rooms

Day 4:
Patrick Point Park (so cool...we only planned on stopping by but ended up being here for a few hours..yes hours). Agate Beach and Wedding Rock were the highlights.

-OREGON -
When I posted a topic before our trip, I received a comment that the best ocean views from Highway 101 are from Brookings to Port Orford and from Florence to Depoe Bay. They were not lying. It was almost life-changing how beautiful it is.
-Rogue Brewers on the Bay (luckily there is more than one location; the restaurant is listed online as closing at 9 but it actually closes at 8! The store is open 'til 9)
-Hallmark Inn (Newport - another poster's recommendation). My one regret is not taking more time here...but I have a feeling we'll be back.

Day 5:
- Cannon Beach
- Pig n' Pancake (We went solely for the name. But the pancakes were good and their bacon was great)

- WASHINGTON -
- Checked into Sorrento Hotel (it was not centrally located but we were VERY impressed. We really enjoyed our stay/breakfasts/bed/complimentary welcome glass of beer/wine, etc, etc.)

Day 6:
- Pike Place Market Tour - We had a lot of fun but in complete honesty I think the mix of different foods did not agree with my body. Cool way to get insider scoop on the Market though.
- Kerry Park (great view, drive there unless you want to hike up 60 degree hills)
- Chihuly Glass and Garden - Do not miss
- Space Needle

Day 7:
- Pine Box - Converted from Funeral home to bar. If that's not interesting, I don't know what is.
- Gasworks Park - Do not miss. Need a car to get out here but you'll never see anything like this.
- Canlis - Do not miss. Worth every penny. Everyday I think of the day I'll come back here again.


Let me know if you have any questions, be happy to help. We're also planning on doing the Southbound trip from SanFran to San Diego hopefully by the end of the year so let us know if you have any tips!

Thanks, very timely as we are contemplating a possible Oregon coast, Northern California redwood drive in the Fall.

I've always wanted to go to Canlis but never had the chance, maybe one day. I'll try to time it conveniently with a Seahawks, Mariners weekend!

Thanks for the report. Oregon and Washington are on my "to do" list. Hope to make it there soon and will keep your TR on my read before you go list.

Glad you enjoyed your time out here In the summer, Rogue is open later, so maybe their website needs to mention that. Anyway, that is one of our usual haunts They do a big garage sale over Labor Day each year, so a great time to go stock up on beer, lol! Maybe that is when you should come back

Had to laugh about the Kerry Park comment. Our DD lives near there and so walks all over those hills. Gasworks has been one of our favorites for years.

good naration.. i enjoyed reading