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Help with determining the "direction" of a trip to the Pacific Northwest

Help with determining the "direction" of a trip to the Pacific Northwest

Old Jul 7th, 2010, 11:59 AM
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Help with determining the "direction" of a trip to the Pacific Northwest

We (me, DH, 11yo DD and 15yo DS) are planning a last-minute trip to the Pacific Northwest at the end of this month. I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas for this trip, primarily because despite the many wonderful things I know and have heard about the area, most of the family would rather go elsewhere. For various reasons (time, money, weather, other places we've visited and will be visiting in the next year), this is where we're going.

Philosophical break to welcome any comments on how much input parents should allow kids in trip planning. Opinionated teens/pre-teens, that is.

The kids really aren't interested in outdoor stuff on this trip (primarily because we live in the Rockies, and spend most weekends hiking and biking), except for maybe some time at the beach. We had a great time last year wandering beaches on the southern coast of Maine. I'm ok with that for this trip, partly because I've visited Olympic National Park & environs before (nobody else in the family has). (And if the kids decide later that they missed out on the outdoor experiences, well, they'll have to return on their own dime.)

We all like city stuff, especially museums (really!) and culture and good food at any price level. While Portland and Seattle sound like great cities to live in, they aren't really noted for their museums. None of us are into shopping. Maybe our city time will be a laid-back time for wandering, and the kind of stuff we might think about doing in our own cities, but never seem to get to.

We'll probably start in Portland, end in Seattle, with a trip to Victoria, B.C. in the middle. We'll probably fly out of Seattle, rather than Vancouver, due to air fares.

So, sorry to ramble, but I'd love any suggestions, things to do that I haven't already read about in the guidebooks, and charming coastal towns (Oregon, Washington or Vancouver Island) that might be similar to Maine.

P.S. Both of the kids are anti-Twilight.

P.P.S. One of my reasons for wanting to go to Oregon is that it will be my 49th state - don't ask how I've managed to visit all the neigboring states, yet miss Oregon.
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Old Jul 7th, 2010, 12:12 PM
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Well maybe the kids would like Sandboarding in Florence or dune buggy riding which I think is very fun

http://www.romantic-oregon-coast.com/sandboarding.html

http://www.sandland.com/

I usually do the small dune buggy - only holds 5 I think and a driver takes you over the dunes - its very fun!!
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Old Jul 7th, 2010, 12:18 PM
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IMHO the Pacific Science Center, Museum of Flight, and Experience Music Project (if the kids are into music at all) make Seattle attractive; in Portland, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is well worth the time. If you have a car, and the kids are into history, Lewis and Clark left their mark here...there is Fort Clatsop on the Oregon side of the Columbia (just outside of Astoria) and a L&C Discovery Center in Ilwaco, Washington, on the other side.

Small seaside town? Cannon Beach, OR
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Old Jul 7th, 2010, 01:31 PM
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In addition to Bobmrg's suggestions above, you could also swing a bit further south in Oregon to McMinnville to the Evergreen Aviation Musuem, home to the Spruce Goose, a SR-71 etc.
For a taste of coast similar to Maine, consider going to Whidbey Island, a couple of old coastal forts, Casey and Eby. A couple of smaller museums of interest could include the Bellingham Railroad Museum in Bellingham and the Ft. Nisqually Living History Museum in Tacoma.
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Old Jul 7th, 2010, 01:46 PM
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Some of my best childhood/teenage vacation memories are of weeks spent on the beach at Arch Cape, five miles south of Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach might have been better, but today it's wildly popular, and at this late date, I expect you'd have trouble finding a place. Maybe not at Arch Cape, though. And it's still within easy reach of the attractions Bobmrg mentions, plus Seaside, where the kids could get a video arcade, carnival game, bumper-car fix if they needed one. Another consideration would be Manzanita.

Living here, I'm reluctant to agree, but you're right about Portland. Kids would be bored stiff here, possibly within a matter of hours. If you decide on a city vacation, I think Seattle's your best bet.

That said, my first thought upon reading your post was a multi-night whitewater rafting trip.
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Old Jul 7th, 2010, 03:38 PM
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I won't reapeat all the good suggestions already given I will add though that in Victoria the Royal BC Museum is excellent! Also a float plane tour is great. Walk through Beacon Hill Park and hit the petting zoo, the totem pole, and then the beach.
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Old Jul 7th, 2010, 04:23 PM
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Thanks for the suggestions. I'm checking out Arch Cape, Cannon Beach and Manzanita, as well as Whidbey Island. Are the locations in Oregon the kind of beaches that have rocks and tidepools, or only white sand? We're the rocky-beach types.

The sandboarding looked interesting; my kids are expert skiers (DS telemarks; DD is an Alpine racer), but have never gone to the "dark side."

The lesser-known museums, in particular, sound appealing, especially any that are the living-history types. (FYI, DD's favorite museum on our last trip to Boston was the Isabella Steward Gardner.)

I'm finding my thought processes about Portland and Seattle interesting - they are the cities the most similar to where we live (Denver). But places that are great to live in may not always be the best to visit (I'd put Denver in that category - please if you come to Denver, spend your time in the mountains). Lifestyle kinds of things factor differently into everyday life than they do to vacation (and my kids, of course think Denver is boring).
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Old Jul 7th, 2010, 07:56 PM
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Lexma90: I'm finding my thought processes about Portland and Seattle interesting - they are the cities the most similar to where we live (Denver). But places that are great to live in may not always be the best to visit (I'd put Denver in that category - please if you come to Denver, spend your time in the mountains). Lifestyle kinds of things factor differently into everyday life than they do to vacation (and my kids, of course think Denver is boring).

Hmm. I've never been to Denver, but everything I've heard about it makes it sounds like the anti-Portland (or anti-Seattle). I live in Portland and I used to live in Phoenix (which isn't Denver, I know). My joke about Phoenix is that the only reason you'd go downtown was for jury duty! (This was before all the sports downtown though).

Portland, however is just the opposite. It's a wonderful city to visit not just live. It has a lot to do in the core, and I'd recommend staying right in downtown Portland if you can. The core downtown is very walkable as are the numerous neighborhoods. (Lots of leafy strolls through neighborhoods with beautiful old homes, all over Portland.) There are gardens, waterfront parks, bridges, wonderful neighborhoods and restaurants - just a very pleasant place to wander around. The International Rose Test Garden in Portland (just west of downtown) is an essential visit in the summer - imagine a huge garden full of blooming roses, with the city and Mt. Hood visible from some vantage points. The Japanese Garden is adjacent to it. If you like to hike, you can spend hours hiking around huge Washington Park or Forrest Park - all within a 10 minute drive from the center of town.

Another essential visit is Powell's books in the Pearl District (basically downtown). It's a huge city block of just books (used and new). Definitely a top-five attraction for Portland. Also consider a visit to the Saturday Market (Sunday too!) and the farmer's market at Portland State University. The MAX train and streetcar are free to ride downtown so it's easy to get place to place though it's easy to walk too.
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Old Jul 7th, 2010, 08:28 PM
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Well, Colorado does not have:

- volcanoes. Mt St Helens might be fun
- lava tubes. Ape caves near Mt st Helens would be fun for teens (walk through a lava tube a few miles long!)
- tide pools and beach ecology
- crabbing and clamming
- deep sea fishing
- Lewis and Clark history in and around Astoria
- Maritime Museum in Astoria
- The Goonies and Kinergarten Cop nostalgia - filmed in Astoria (it is not a tumor!)
- snowboarding in July on Mt Hood
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Old Jul 8th, 2010, 07:52 AM
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Cannon Beach has Haystack Rock with tidepools at its base, but otherwise is a long, wide, sandy beach. Arch Cape might be better suited to what you're looking for, since during low tides, the few headlands between there and Cannon Beach develop some tidepools around their bases. That, plus the old roadway carved into the Hug Point headland is just cool. Manzanita's beach is generally sand also, but it's much quieter than Cannon Beach's, so better suited to beachcombing.

Since your kids are skiers, they'd probably also get a kick out of skimboarding.
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Old Jul 8th, 2010, 12:04 PM
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Thanks for the thoughts. I'm not sure that I'd call Denver the anti-Portland, and I definitely wasn't bashing Portland or Seattle. I put them in a category of cities that may have a better (more relaxed, outdoor-focused) lifestyle and vacation style than other cities that I'm familiar with and have lived in (Chicago, Boston, NYC). Great for the reasons you mentioned, lots of outdoor space, parks, that kind of thing (and lots of people making ample use of them), though Seattle and Portland sound like they have a better restaurant scene than Denver. For vacationing, more of the wandering type of place than the world-class museums type of place.

Because the entire family is big on history and art, and stuff like that, for us, cities like NYC, Chicago and Boston just fall into a different category - great for art, history and culture, but not so relaxed of a place to visit. And because we're short on those kinds of museums and related experiences in Denver, we usually vacation in places that have those things.

I have noted places mentioned, like Powells, etc. I didn't mention, but we have friends in both Portland and Seattle, and will probably be staying with them, and will have a chance to spend time in the neighborhoods of the cities.

And thanks for the specific info about the beaches. I'm now considering maybe a couple of days on Whidbey Island, or a coastal town on Vancouver Island.
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