I'm attending a conference in Seattle the first week of April and I plan on renting a car and touring for 2 days prior to the conference. I'm looking for suggestions on where to go and what to do - - things to see and hotel & restaurant suggestions. As you can tell, I'm just starting my research. Thanks for your help!

For a day in Port Townsend take one of the Washington State (car) ferries, although you can probably leave your car at the outbound journey as Port Townsend is a walkable town. And then, about a 2 hour ride north is beautiful Whidbey Island with many quaint towns. (Our son, daughter-in-law lives there!). If you continue north you'll be able to enter Canada and then it's a short drive to Vancouver, British Columbia. There's also the Wa. State ferries which can take you to Sidney, BC, and from there it's about a 20 minute drive into the beautiful, charming, unique city of Victoria, BC., but you'll probably require more than a w/end there. Enjoy yourself and have a safe trip!!..

Sue, what's your pleasure? Some choices:

North - Vancouver BC, about 3 hrs (southbound border delays a hassle, though). If you haven't been to Vancouver before you should give this strong consideration.

West - the Olympic Peninsula has cute towns, rain forest, wild beaches, mountains, elk in the parking lots... Accessible via ferry and road from Seattle; a loop around the peninsula is doable in two days but you won't have a lot of time for sightseeing, plus in April the weather will likely be poopy. But this is a remarkable experience and worth the effort and raincoat. Also west (by north) are the various islands, including Whidbey (Britam's right - nice place) and the San Juans. Again, though, with 2 days you'd barely get to the San Juans before you'd have to turn around, but regardless, the ferry ride to Friday Harbor or Orcas is really lovely.

South - you can get to Mt. St. Helens in about 3 hours, and it might or might not be spectacular in April (mountains/rain/fog/snow, that sort of thing.) Also south is Portland, another fabulous city for a weekend.

East - you can cross the Cascades in about 2 hours, at which point you're in Eastern Washington, where the landscape is completely different - wheatfields, red rock "old west" stuff, the Columbia River and Mt. Adams.. lots of interesting things. You can "loop" your return to Seattle via a different mountain pass - all are gorgeous.

My recommendation would frankly be either the San Juans (if you want salt water) or (better IMO) a loop south to Portland (visit Powell's Books - one of the biggest bookstores in world) then spend the night at McMenamin's Edgefield in Troutdale at the head of the Columbia Gorge. (www.mcmenamins.com) The next day, take the "old highway" east through the gorge to Goldendale, WA (stop at the Maryhill Museum overlooking the Gorge at Goldendale and see umpteen Rodin sculptures and other interesting exhibits in this unlikely place - who knew?) Return to Seattle by going north on US97 through the Yakima Indian Reservation and west across the Cascades on I-90.

You might have some early spring weather east of the mountains, including green hills and some early blossoms around Hood River (big apple and fruit growing area) - it's a lovely time of the year.

Head north to the Skagit Valley where the tulips ought to be in bloom. The fields of flowers are magnificent and there are many really nice B&Bs in the Mt. Vernon, LaConner area. If the weather is clear there are beautiful views of both Mt. Baker and the water. drive over to Anacortes, take a ferry ride.

You can take the Victoria Clipper passenger boat right from Seattle direct to the San Juan islands and save lots of time with the state ferry lines and long waits. They also go right to Victoria too.

TT

John,

About how long does it take to get through passport/customs? What is difference between into-Canada vs. into-US?

MM - we crossed over a few weeks ago and northbound (it was early morning - around 9:30 I think) we pulled right up to the Canada customs booth - two minutes maybe. Four days later (a Sunday, hence returning skiiers from Whistler to Seattle) we waited almost 3 hours. The average southbound daytime (Canada to US) wait at Blaine is reportedly around 30-45 min., but that must be averaging some awful waits (like ours) with some easy ones. I imagine one would want to avoid weekend afternoons, for example.

A few years ago, we had two days after a conference in Seattle. We left Seattle early in the morning and drove to Anacortes. From there we took the Ferry To Orcas Island - The San Juan Islands are beautiful! We stayed at Rosarios on Orcas Island - It is a mansion built by the Mayor of Seattle around the turn of the century - after he had been told he had six months to live. He lived in this mansion on a beautiful cove for another 20 or so years!! The next day we took the Ferry to Victoria Island. We visited Buchart Gardens and had High Tea. Customs tooks us a bit of time both ways - but this was the weekend after the Oklahoma bombing. We left Vicoria about 4:00pm that second day and took the Ferry to Port Townsed - GREAT LITTLE Village!! Had a lovely dinner there and then spent the night in Port Ludlow. We were able to fly out of SeaTac early the next morning. Two nights and 4 terrific spots to visit! Have a great time!

tt

Hi Sue,

You don't say where you're coming from or what 2-day period you have free.

IF you're coming from far away and have never been to the area before, I wouldn't think twice, I'd go up to Canada (Vancouver) for the two days. It's a foreign land, it's close and convenient (although if your 2 days are a weekend, you should wait and drive back very late on Sunday night or early on Monday morning to avoid much of the border delay).

Vancouver has a growth rate which has forced it to modernize rapidly where Seattle proper (for space limitations) has only grown 30,000-80,000 since 1970. Obviously the suburbs are growing like weeds but Seattle itself just can't get much bigger.

Vancouver, by contrast, is growing higher off the ground like few other cities do. The shopping, the tourist attractions, the combination of water and mountains, and the convenience of this 'foreign land' to Seattle make it the prime target for someone with 2 days to spare and a car to use.

Hope you get this, I know it's 2 weeks since you posted.