Seattle - help with itinerary

Old May 21st, 2012, 05:55 AM
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Seattle - help with itinerary

Hi Everyone,
My husband, 7 month old son and I will be flying to Seattle next month. We plan to drive up to Vancouver for 3 full days and drive back to Seattle and spend 5 full days there. I am trying to decide if we should use one of those 5 days to take a ferry to Victoria or take a drive to Mount Ranier. I am not sure if we can do much at Mount Ranier with an infant. Which do you suggest, if either? Any other suggestions will be appreciated!

Thank you!
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Old May 21st, 2012, 06:08 AM
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Have you considered going to Victoria from Vancouver and then from Victoria to Port Angeles, on the Olympic Peninsula?

From Port Angeles you could visit Lake Crescent, Marymere Falls, Hurricane Ridge, and other Olympic National Park Attractions.

A visit to Mt. Rainier on a clear day is a treat even with an infant on board. Viewing the mountain up close is an unforgettable experience.

Another of my favorite short trips from Seattle is San Juan Island. This article about it appeared in yesterday's "Seattle Times": http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...nisland20.html

HTTY
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Old May 21st, 2012, 08:53 AM
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Hope your planning on taking the Sea-To-Sky Rocky Mountaineer up to Whistler on one of those days in Vancouver. You could drive but the train offers some spectacular views on a clear and sunny day. Of course the car might be more convenient with a 6 month old.
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Old May 21st, 2012, 09:34 AM
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Thank you so much! Now I don't know what to do. We could change the number of days we are in either city. There is so much that I want to see. I wish we were going to be around longer than 9 days. Please tell me what you would absolutely do if you had 9 days. We want some time to explore each city too. And please remember, we will have a baby with us.
Thank you so much for your help!
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Old May 21st, 2012, 05:34 PM
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(sigh) 9 days is plenty, when you keep your thoughts from sprawling out beyond those two destinations.

I kinda think I'd position the Vancouver days in the middle of the trip, for while Seattle (here) has plenty to offer, it can easily be fully appreciated in a pair of 2-ish-day blocks bookending a trip to Vancouver.

Vancouver is awesome, and you could fill 3 days with a baby and never even leave the metro area. I would advise a trip up to Grouse Mountain. (drive a few miles outside of downtown Vancouver, to the foot of a mountain, and then take a gondola up the side of the mountain 3000 feet, where wintery chills can greet you).

Seattle's light rail has become so convenient for the airport that MAYBE you can spare the considerable expense involved with renting at the airport AND having to pay to park the car overnight at a downtown hotel.

I'm sure there must be a pratfall that a non-parent like me doesn't consider, but even using Priceline.com for a downtown hotel in Seattle would be most economical and seemingly without a great risk. (does math: "two parents, one 7-month-old... even if you get ONE big bed, it wouldn't be horrific")

And yeah, I'm sure you have a decent amount of luggage relating to the baby and all, and there is a decent walk from the airport to the link rail. (but it is a direct path, and convenient other than its mere length) The train lets you off under 3rd avenue in downtown Seattle.

Part two of such a scenario would involve picking up your rental car at a downtown location (Budget, Hertz, Alamo, National and Avis are all convenient to mid-town) on the morning you're to leave for Vancouver. The costs/TAXES when renting AWAY from the airport are much less.

In 4-ish days you would return the car to the same, central Seattle spot, and then have another Priceline reservation (??) lined-up for the last couple of nights of your Seattle stay.

(oh, IF there was some nearby-to-Seattle spot for which you wanted a car, you'd maybe drive there beFORE you left for Vancouver)

RE: border: Everybody (adults at least) must have a passport... and I strongly advise NOT passing through the border northbound on Friday evening, or after 10 or 11am on Saturday. Also, the lines coming BACK to the USA are usually very long, and it is most wise to keep yourself occupied IN Vancouver and then leave for the border after 8pm.

June brings the longest days of the year, so it doesn't get dark until nearly 10pm in Vancouver late in the month, so that may help in the way of inspiring you to leave late, baby and all.

As to Mount Rainier... while it is impressive, and while I myself went there last summer ("10 feet" of snow in late June @ 'Paradise')... I just wonder if, when with a baby, Vancouver's less time-consuming option of Grouse Mountain might afford some of the scenery you might wish to witness.

I just... don't know whether Mount Rainier is right

Hope some of this helps.
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Old May 25th, 2012, 05:58 PM
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Old May 26th, 2012, 04:51 PM
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I am going to respectfully disagree with NWM. Mt. Rainier is Mt. Rainier! I went last summer and still can't stop dreaming about it. The drive up to the Paradise visitor center is easy, and the trails around it are simple and will give you the kinds of family photos you'll enlarge and plaster all over your house. You could do an overnight right there at the Paradise Lodge, and it would give you easy, short hikes with your infant, a great look at Rainier up close (waterfalls! glaciers!) and photos you just won't believe.

These seattle people are so nonplussed by Rainier anymore : )
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Old May 26th, 2012, 04:55 PM
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I should add: whehn I say "hikes," I mean "paved-with-asphalt" type of hikes. Many of the criss-cross paths around the Paradise visitors center are paved and you will even see strollers there. It is a VERY popular place on summer weekends. This may work well for you with your baby.
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