Some more considerations...

The problem with rainy weather is that in the mountains it's either foggy or snowy weather, often both. Any high-altitude locations will be prone to limited (or no) accessibility, or else accessible only with traction tires and nerves of steel. Hurricane Ridge, while gorgeous, is one such - it might be fine in April, or it might not. You won't know until you're closer to the dates, so my strong recommendation would be to maintain a degree of flexibility on top of everything else. Don't be afraid to change things up until the last minute (of course excepting set-in-stone air reservations or bookings in such hard-to-get accommodations like the Kalaloch Lodge or some such.) We shouldn't be telling NYers about winter driving conditions, especially this year, but I doubt you'd want your vacation to involve tire chains or tow trucks.

I am a self-confessed un-fan of Cannon Beach; I find the scenery okay but the town itself a bit self-conscious and twee; others may (and do) disagree. In my view, if you're planning a loop of the Olympic Peninsula and can allocate a day or two to the coastal strip, the coastal scenery to be had there is more than adequate (IMO superior, even) than that to be had on the northern Oregon coast. It's national park, so noncommercial, and in April there will be lots of drama - storms, waves, driftwood...

This doesn't fit too well with the rest of your itinerary (unless you skipped the Oregon coast altogether) but one of the most beautiful areas in the Pacific NW around that time is the rolling wheat country of the Palouse in southeastern Washington. It will be dryer and warmer (probably) than the Portland/Seattle corridor, and the colors - astonishing shades of green in the rolling hills, with red barns and white farmhouses... knocks your eyeballs out. Example (not my pic) - http://pixdaus.com/pics/1273277275mZeGWsw.jpg

You could get there by continuing east from the Columbia Gorge (to Walla Walla) then swing back to the north and over to the Puget Sound country, then do the Olympic Peninsula in reverse, ending back in Portland to drop the car and fly home.

Anyway, just some thoughts.

Oops, bad photo link. Here's another. http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/98...raphers-Choice

Thanks - We are certainly open to all suggestions and opinions. Until finding this site most of the destination ideas were suggestions of my neighbor - the only person I know who's ever spent any time in Oregon. As far as I'm concerned the more variety of landscape we get to see, the better. As long as we get a decent taste of the Pacific, we're not fixated too much on where that might be.

Also one recent change: due to surprisingly limited flight availability (i.e. at both the desired times AND price we can afford) it looks like we'll be better off arriving in Seattle and ending in Portland. Will follow above suggestions in reverse. I actually think this will work out better, as I'd like more flexibility while visiting up around Olympic. Once we get down to Portland, everything looks a bit more condensed and perhaps easier to manage time-wise.