Planning a 2 week vacation to Oregon, Washington and Vancouver
 

Need some suggestions. Planning a 2 week vacation to Oregon,Washington,and Vancouver.
Don't know which time of the year is better, two choices early-mid June or late to early Oct.?

Nite 1 - Arrive Portland stay one night. Where? And what to see and where to eat?

Drive down to wine country (a must) stay 1 night in B&B. Where? Want to see vineyards and covered bridges. Which ones? Into Photography!

Drive to Newport (hopefully stay in timeshare so can stay any amount of time up to 7 doesn't matter) want to make day trips from there.Where and how many days?

Drive up coast to see lighthouses(collect pictures etc). Which ones? What else to see what stops to make?

Stop in Astoria for one night, stay at hotel on Colmbia River (can't rember the name, hubby has info). Any suggestions on what to see and where to eat?

Continue to Seattle Washington (stay at another timeshare I hope) Want to see underground city. How many nights should be spent? What else in area and for day trips is good? If timeshare doesn't work out need place to stay.

Continue to Vancouver (stay in timeshare) if not,where? How long and what to see in or around city? Love Photography, short hiking trips (long if worth it!) and general sightseeing.

Will fly out of Vancouver back to NYC.

Heard a lot about Crater Lake, do you think we could fit it in time wise? Hubby doesn't think so :-(

Any help you experts can give me would be appreciated.

Look forward to any and all suggestions.

Thanks,
Dee

I'll take a shot at some of your Oregon questions, but don't have a clue about timeshares in Newport...

On average, early-mid June weather in Oregon is a little better than late Sep-early Oct. But it's a pretty fine line. One thing working against June is the Rose Festival, when it almost always rains. ;-) In terms of crowds, probably a little lighter in Sep-Oct.

Usual suspect in Portland are 5th Ave. Suites, Heathman, Vintage Plaza, Lucia, and the list goes on. My wife and I spent a night last weekend in the Hotel DeLuxe, so that's my first recommendation these days. LOTS of great restaurants around town. The best for PNW cuisine are places like Carlyle, Wildwood, Park Kitchen, Alberta St. Oyster Bar & Grill, and maybe Higgins.

For vineyards, we got you covered, but I'm not sure about bridges. ;-) I'd suggest Black Walnut Inn - http://www.blackwalnut-inn.com/ - as the place to stay. There are several very nice wineries nearby, including Domaine Serene, Archery Summit, Domaine Drouhin, and Torii Mor. These are all great for photography, and generally wine too, though you'll have to pawn your camera to afford a bottle at a couple of them. :-D

Here's a site for covered bridges: http://coveredbridges.stateoforegon.com/. Except for Deschutes, Jackson, and, Josephine, all the counties listed are within reach of your itinerary. ((?))

Daytrips from Newport.... Where to start? First, probably the covered bridges. After that, thinking photographically: Oregon Dunes, Haceta Head, Cape Perpetua, coastline just north of Yachats, Cascade Head, not to mention the two lighthouses in/near Newport, and its own waterfront. Somewhere in there you should fit in the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Heading north, the only other Oregon lighthouses are at Cape Meares and Tillamook Rock. You can see Cape Meares if you do the Three Capes Scenic Loop, and you'll see Tillamook Rock from Ecola State Park, just north of Cannon Beach. Do both if you've got time, but don't miss Cannon Beach. Besides Ecola St. Park, you've got Haystack Rock. Get up early, and have a wide angle lens along.

Astoria.... Climb the Astoria column, shoot the Astoria-Meglar Bridge (probably from your hotel), and maybe head out to Ft. Stevens. Then, head outta town. For your last lighthouse shots, cross the bridge and head to Cape Disappointment St. Park, near Ilwaco, WA. Two lighthouses in the park, plus the mouth of the Columbia River. Spectacular really.

Anyone else want to take it from here?

Sounds like a LOT of driving,but I live in SEattle. Don't know about time shares, but things to see should include Pike Street Market and the waterfront, maybe a boat tour to Tillicum Island to see something of our indian past, up to Snoqualmie Falls for a sight to behold, and the Seattle Art Museum has a fantastic collection of Jade, if you are interested. Go to Ivars on the waterfront for some delicious fish, maybe the acquarium, and Seattle Center to the Space needle. Can do most of this without a car. (Snoqualmie falls and Mt. Rainer excepted). Mt. Rainer may be fogged in at that time. Portland to Seattle is a 3 hour (no stops) drive.

Cottage Grove is the "Covered Bridge Capital " of Oregon ( just south of Eugene)

http://www.cottagegrove.org/geninfo.html

It is also where the movie "Animal House" was filmed

I wouldn't spend anything like 7 days in Newport if your goal is day trips. You're going to be spending a ton of extra time driving back and forth. Just say a night or two in a few different locations. Maybe two nights in Newport, two in Cannon Beach, two in Astoria?

Andrew

Beachbum,samting,&sunbum,

Thanks great information! Gives me a lot of options. Really appreciate the photo ops info.

Anyone know about the underground city in Washington?

Thanks again,
Dee

I think you are referring to the Underground Tour in Pioneer Square in Seattle?

here's a website for it:
www.undergroundtour.com

Been to these areas many times and our best weather was by far-..last week Sept. and .early Oct. (we went one year in June-rain 10 days out of 14) Honestly, it is really unpredictable..
IMO Crater Lake is too far to drive when there are so many things to see and do in the areas you outlined.
Portland.. must see Powell's bookstore--largest privately owned bookstore in US..AND just 2 blocks away is the Pearl Bakery--best in the PNW..
I agree with "andrew" about Newport..although if you like antique shops--drive 9 miles east to Toledo--
has almost as many shop as people!!
Seatle--i could spend a week in this city (and have many times)
Pike's Public Market and surrounding shops--one whole day...
Portlands Aret Museum is just 2-3 blocks from Pikes
Ride the waterfront Trolly inro Pioneer Square area-shops good restaurants
Ballard lock area really funky..have a statue of Lennin on one street corner and the Troll under the bridge..
As you can see I love Pacific Northwest rain and all..
Good luck.
Your should do a "search" on this site for "Seattle" you will even more info..