Seattle, British Columbia, OR Itinerary
 

After a lot more research and the helpful suggestions from Fodorites, particularly NWWanderer, on my previously posted itinerary, I have come up with a revised one. Please critique this one for obvious problems:

6/11—Overnight in hotel close to airport
6/12--Check into downtown hotel, explore Seattle
6/13—Explore Seattle
6/14— Bus tour on Grayline to Mt. Rainier
6/15— Check out of hotel, pick up rental car, and head to Vancouver by way of Chuckanut Drive. Check into hotel.
6/16—Explore Vancouver.
6/17— Explore Vancouver.
6/18— Check out of hotel. Ferry to Victoria. Explore and stay the night.
6/19— Whale-watching tour. Stay another night in Victoria.
6/20— Ferry from Victoria to Anacortes. Drive to Coupeville, stay the night.
6/21— Drive (and ferry) to Portland, OR, sightseeing on Whidbey along the way. Get hotel in Portland.
6/22— Explore Portland.
6/23— Drive to the Columbia River Gorge. Return to Portland.
6/24—Drive from Portland to Cannon Beach via highway 26 (more scenic) and then up coast to Seatac and check into hotel.
6/25—Return rental car, catch return flight.

Along with any other suggestions, would it be better on the 23rd to go from seeing the Columbia River Gorge to a hotel at Cannon Beach rather than returning to Portland?

This sound pretty good, except you should bear in mind that 6/21 is a Saturday and if you're thinking of taking the Keystone-Port Townsend ferry there may be very long lines (and that ferry is already on a reduced schedule.) The Clinton-Mukilteo ferry is probably a better option. Either way, you've got a pretty long drive to Portland once you're back on the mainland...I'd estimate about 4 to 5 hours.

6/24 will be a lot of driving as well; you'll be arriving at Seatac pretty late if you expect to spend any time at Cannon Beach or along the coast.

Forgot to mention that you don't have to take a ferry at all to get off of Whidbey/Fidalgo Islands, you can just drive back from Coupeville toward Anacortes (across Deception Pass bridge), then take Highway 20 east toward LaConner (also worth a stop.) Coupeville to LaConner is probably about a 90 minute journey.

BTW the movie "Practical Magic", with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, was filmed in Coupeville.

It looks pretty good. I have the same concern as azzure for that last day--that's at least 6 hours of driving plus any time you want to spend at Cannon Beach. So yes, going on to the coast on 6/23 might not be a bad idea.

Other than that--I'd go straight downtown on the 11th when you arrive rather than stay at the airport to minimize the number of times you change hotels. And I'd keep the bus tour to Rainier option open rather than commit yourselves in advance.

Could be a problem finding lodging in Cannon Beach for one night only -- in summer, some places have three day minimums. Book right away (or stay in Seaside).

Definitely agree with NWWanderer about staying downtown on the night you arrive; that will give you a headstart for the next day's sightseeing.

Thank you both for the suggestions. The reason we are staying closer to the airport the first night is that we arrive late, and the hotel where we are booked for the rest of the Seattle stay is not available on 6/11. We are staying at that particular hotel in Seattle because a family member works for the company. We just thought we would be tired and ready to stay the night somewhere close by the time we arrived, and we would have to check out the next morning anyway. I realized after I posted I should have included that fact.

I am leaving the Mt. Rainier option open.

I appreciate the suggestion about not ferrying from Whidbey to Portland. It makes sense and gives us another option to think about. I was planning on taking the Clinton/Mukilteo ferry.

I think I will head to the coast on the 23rd. Another option might be to cut one day off Vancouver and add it on to the OR coast. What do you think about that idea? Do we need two full days in Vancouver?

I wouldn't take a day away from Vancouver--2 full days is the minimum amount of time I'd recommend spending there. In addition to all there is to see and do in the city, the drive up to Whistler is spectacular so definitely think about doing that.

Oh, and mid week in June you should be ok with finding a place that will allow a one night stay in Cannon Beach.

Do you have your Vancouver (city) to Vancouver Island (Victoria) ferry tickets? You can buy them online and guarentee a trip time...ferrys get full and you have to wait sometimes...
Also recommend passports for Vancouver/Victoria...
And check into the reservation system for ferry from Victoria to Anacortes
Do you have a hotel for Vancouver (city)? Try Granville Island Hotel with a water view..you can get anywhere on the water taxis and they have a great Farmers market, walkable little ISland..