San Diego to Seattle
 

Family trip with 2 boys, 16 & 21
We have about 10 days.
Want to know the MUST SEE stops plus any kooky/crazy/fun places to explore.

What month? Driving your own car, flying and renting a car or taking the Coast Starlight as far as Portland and going from there?
Do a forum search to find dozens of fun places to go in Oregon and Washington.

You might check with the two boys and see what they want to do.

So many choices.

There are so many amazing "family" places to go. It is of course hard with a 21 and a 16 year old, but hopefully they will both enjoy getting away with the family. I would recommend stopping in San Francisco for sure, there is always tons of things to do there, the 16 year old, if he can drive, might have fun driving down Lombard St with all 8 of the tightest turns I've ever driven, it's a short-time thing, but really is a lot of fun. Just north is the city is Sausalito and Tiburon which are great little stops on the way North.
Also in San Francisco is the Bay, the Golden Gate, the Piers, gardens, sporting facilities, and lots of cool shops all around the city. Also, on the California coast are cool places such as Monterey Bay, Santa Monica, Stinson Beach, Capitola, and Half Moon Bay.
Moving North into Oregon, depending on places that you have been before, Crater Lake is an amazing place to stop, hike, drive, or just do the look out. If you're not stuck on staying along the coast, Bend, Oregon is a must see. Surrounded by mountains and deserts, it is a beautiful place to go with lots of activities for adults and teenagers. Sisters and Redmond, both about 20-30 minutes outside Bend are neat little places to go that only require a couple hours in each place as they are so small.
If you do stick to a coastal route, Florence, Newport, Lincoln City, Depot Bay, and Pacific City are all awesome places to stop. Depending on the time of year they offer different neat activities such as Whale watching, and most days you will see all sorts of neat ocean critters along the coast. In Lincoln city there is a nice little beach that we like to call Kite Beach, where you can fly the most colorful kites you can find, which if fun for any age. There is also a Casino, in which your 21 year old could try out his luck!
A place along the Oregon coast that I would definitely recommend is Astoria, where the Goonies movie was filmed. It's a neat little part of history for Oregon and a cool coastal town to visit.
I haven't traveled much to Washington, but in Seattle the place that you must visit is Pike's Market (http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/). It boasts some of the best local food and cool knick knacks, plus you can watch men throwing fish, find apples that are bigger than your hand, and they even offer tastings and classes. It is a neat place that will take up almost an entire day exploring and taking in all the local culture.
I hope you and your family enjoy the trip! It sounds like a great family get away.

Thank you so much for your input. We are traveling end of June - July, this summer. Flying into San Diego & renting car.
Looking for off the beaten track ideas.

Also! Portland is a must stop. The city is just filled with fun places to go, Voodoo Donuts (24 hour funky donut shop), China Town, and tons of cool breweries/restaurants of almost any kind to try!

From San Diego north - the drive along the California Coast is beautiful - but not sure if two teen age boys will appreciate that as much as you.

You could just zip from San Diego up to LA (2 hours) and spend a night or two there seeing Hollywood, etc - and then take I-5 up to SF - faster than going via the Coast.

From SF - suggest you head up I-5 to Redding (3 hrs)-and then over to the Coast - checking out the Redwoods south of Crescent City and then overnighting just across the Oregon border at Gold Beach. Next AM - take the jet boat ride up the Rogue River - and google for the different companies. Mike's is one?

From there - you can decide if you want to head over toward Ashland (great little college town) and on to Crater Lake (maybe stay at quaint/rustic Diamond Lake Lodge0) and up the center of the state via hiway 97 - thru Bend (check out the two cute little lakes east of Bend - Paulina and? - great little cabins too :) ) - and then to Mt. Hood, etc - and check out classic Timberline Lodge.

OR go up the beautiful Oregon Coast, but again, not sure how much the lads will appreciate the coastal scenery.

http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/

Here's my kooky/off the beaten path idea, the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.

Great suggestions! Thank you

And here in SD - plenty of things to do - including taking the lads to the beach, maybe even getting them a surf lesson or two.