DH & I have 8 days in mid August for travel to Washington. We’ve never been to the PNW and thought we’d start in Seattle. I want to see Chihuly museum, but the more I research the more confused I get. Where to from there? Would prefer to have a couple lodging bases during the trip and venture out from there. DH will do the driving so want to limit the driving to a couple of days of 2 hours + behind the wheel, so he can enjoy the area too.
We’re in our 60’s, and like to really slow down on vacation. I appreciate time to sit and read a book in some great scenery. We like museums, interesting architecture, fresh air, light hiking, waterfalls, walking neighborhoods, beer.
Help needed in deciding how to fill our time. We’re open to any suggestions, itineraries. TIA

Based on your stated interests, with the Columbia River Gorge and spectacular Oregon coastline both within two hours' drive, I think Portland might be a better fit for you.

You could easily spend the 8 days in Seattle and the surrounding areas. August is one of our best months weather-wise.

Museums: Seattle Art Museum, Asian branch of Seattle Art Museum at Volunteer Park, the Frye Museum, Burke Museum at the University, Wing Luke in International district.

Stay at this cool B&B on Capitol Hill near Volunteer Park:
https://www.sbmansion.com/ That's your walking neighborhood (it's only a couple miles from downtown)

Architecture: http://seattlearchitecture.org/
Runs wonderful tours of all sorts

Within ~2 hours drive go to Whidbey Island and stay overnight here: http://www.captainwhidbey.com/

Waterfall: http://www.snoqualmiefalls.com/ with an overnight at Salish Lodge & Spa:
https://www.salishlodge.com/

Two hours driving limits you quite a bit.

Less than two hours driving will take you to Anacortes, from which ferries depart to the San Juan Islands. My favorite is Orcas Island. It is beautiful, and it is a great place to do the kinds of things you like to do: http://orcasislandchamber.com/images...de-for-Web.pdf

You also might enjoy one of the options offered by Clipper Vacations, such a a trip to Victoria, BC: http://www.clippervacations.com

HTtY

I should have mentioned that FaceinTheCrowd has a very good suggestion. Using Portland as a base you could visit two great attractions of the NW that require less than two hours of driving: The Columbia River Gorge and the Oregon Coast.

In Washington, Ocean Shores is a three hour drive from Seattle whereas in Oregon, Cannon Beach is less than a two hour drive from Portland.

Ocean views in Oregon are more dramatic than they are in Washington, and, as a result, there are more and better lodging and dining options there than in Washington.

HTtY

The problem - if you can call it that - with the Pacific NW is that there are so many wonderful places that focusing on one or two will prompt cries of "But you're missing this" or "Oh, no - this is where you should go."

The Oregon option - Columbia Gorge, Hood River "fruit loop," Mts. Hood and Adams, with maybe a day or two out at the coast - would be my choice given the OP's indicated preferences. Hood River is beer (and increasingly, wine) central, the Maryhill Museum and Stonehenge is a fun and funky day trip - Rodin in the sagebrush; the view of Mt. Hood from Lost Lake is amazing, and a trip down the Columbia to Cape Disappointment and Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach (reached by the awesome bridge over the mouth of the great river) is marvelous, following the likely warm-to-hot temperatures in Portland at that time of year. (In the summer Portland is notably hotter than Seattle owing to its inland location.)

But I could also say that a day or two in Seattle (expensive and crowded during cruise season) followed by some time on, say, Whidbey Island and the northern Olympic Peninsula - would be equally terrific. Olympic National Park - from Hurricane Ridge in the north, around to Marymere Falls, the fabulous beaches near La Push, and the Hoh Valley rain forest - has it all: stunning scenery, unique environments... And towns along the way, like Langley and Coupeville on Whidbey Island, or Victorian Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula, offer terrific lodging, opportunities for laying around, whale watching... They could do a day trip to Victoria BC from Port Angeles as foot passengers, visit farmers markets on Whidbey, visit the fabulous BC Provincial museum in Victoria.

Sorry to confuse the matter, but that's the nature of the summer in the northwest - too many things to do, too little time.

Wow! Thank you for all of the suggestions, I'm going to do some additional research and decide if it's Portland or Seattle. I will be back once I have a tentative itinerary put together. Thanks again!