amr67

We are spending our first winter in Arizona. Plan to spend 4 months there. We are 'young' retired couple (65ish!) My husband in a paraplegic in a wheel chair, but does most of the driving, and our Mazda 5 is a great accessible car for road trips. We plan to leave Vancouver Island the last week of October, and have no time constraints for the trip.
We would like to take the scenic route south of Seattle as much as possible..driving about 6 hours a day. Prefer to avoid major cities like San Fran and LA.
Would this time of year be good for #101?
Any suggestions for 'must see' areas along the way would be appreciated. Most of the chain motels have fairly accessible rooms, and are easy to access, so we tend to stay in those.
I know I can get lots of advice for Phoenix and Sun City areas ( our destination) from these blogs
Many Thanks

lincasanova

South of SF, the 17 mile drive near Carmel is a must. You pay an entrance fee, but if you consume something at the Pebble Beach Lodge, I think they return your entire entrance fee.

The coastline is beautiful and we had only a few delays on Highway one this summer.

We loved
the elephant seals on San Simeon beach.
the fruit stands and food trucks along the way
the views all day long.

We also enjoyed Cambria Pines Lodge. They had a special that included room, dinner with wine and breakfast for $99. I found a coupon on internet for that. I am sure they have even more specials off season.

amr67

linacasanova,
thanks for the info...will follow up on your suggestions.
amr

Chris_Brown

If I had the time, Hwy 1 would be the way I would go. All the way down the coast on very slow and winding roads. (You do have to go through SF but only for a couple hours tops)So much to see and do. Plenty of camping. Off season so hotels will be plentiful and cheap. Great time of year. I assume your cold hardened already. I would take 1 as far as San Louis Obispo area and make my way southeast from there.
I am pretty good at the California Hwy 1 suggestions. If you decide to go this way make another post with each specific state in mind and I will reply.

sunbum1944

Oregon coast also very beautiful - I am most familiar with the Lincoln City to Florence portion which is spectacular - also the area around Bandon ( there are some places where views are obscured by trees so you don't see a lot- like between just South of Florence to Coos Bay)

Places to stay? Depends on your budget of course - but just south of Yachats ( a very nice little coastal town) are three motels right on the ocean, the Adobe, the Fireside and the Overleaf - the Overleaf being the most expensive. The Adobe has a restaurant and bar with great views and a very nice paved path which I would think be accessible for wheelchair -

Florence, just south of there is a nice coastal town ( check out the Old Town area for shops and restaurants.)

My favorite stop along the way is the beach at Heceta Head - a nice protected cove with views of the lighthouse keepers house- great place for a picnic lunch.

Enjoy your trip - am only familiar with the Oregon coast so if you have questions about that area I would be happy to try and help.

amr67

Thanks all for this input...I'll be back in touch as we study trip in more detail. Getting pretty excited about our trip...do we need to worry about snow on the coastal route?
Sunbum...what highway would you suggest we take from Seattle to the coast...with out too much backtracking?
amr

Chris_Brown

No snow on the coast. Wind and rain. I would carry chains anyway but you won't need them. Better to have chains and not need them than.....
The weather will be very comparable to Vancouver Island in that you will have rain at the lower elevations turning to snow and ice at the higher elevations. A little bit warmer than Vancouver Island but not much. Because the road follows the ocean it never gets up above 1000 feet or so. Snow does happen but it is rare and melts quickly.

Chris_Brown

If you don't have to go to Seattle take the ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles. http://www.cohoferry.com/main/

amr67

Hmmm...sounds like a plan, Chris...will do a bit of digging on that. We live near Nanimo, so an hour and a half to get to Victoria, but would be an awesome ferry ride...Thx

Bobmrg

We are in the Bay area, having left Seattle after you posted. Hot off the griddle information! We drove the freeway down to Salem, where we stayed overnight at a Day's Inn adjacent to a Denny's and a Fred Meyer (picked up some snacks for the road and got gas).

Took hwy 20 over to the coast...passed through a couple of small towns but no construction or other delays. Hit 101 at Newport and headed south. If you are into aquaria, there is a world-class aquarium at the south end of Newport. Continued on 101 to Crescent City, Ca where we stayed at a very nice Best Western at the south end of town.

When you leave CC you are heading into the redwoods. if you take this route, about 20 miles south of CC you will see signs on the right for the Newton P. Drury Scenic Bypass...take it. You won't be able to drive at highway speeds but you will see amazing scenery. It reconnects with 101 just in time for you to watch for signs leading to The Avenue of the Giants. More ancient trees and a much longer bypass than the Drury; it too reconnects with 101.

When you reach Leggett, CA you will not find a town but an intersection with Hwy 1 past Mendocino and Fort Bragg; twisty-turny, so be warned. If that deters you, continue past Leggett to Willits, where hwy 20 takes you out to the coast. Stay on 1 until it merges with 101 and takes you over the Golden Gate Bridge. Others with better local knowledge can take over from here.

The scenery from Port Orford, OR to Brookings is eye-popping.

amr67

Bobmrg and everyone else...thanks so much for such up to date info...will study maps in ernest now and will stay in touch..
Next week we fly to Toronto to visit family...our first airplane trip since my husband's accident...
so will tackle airport travel with a wheel chair!
amr

Bobmrg

Oooops! The Avenue of the Giants is south of Eureka, not south of Crescent City. Other than that, our return trip confirmed everything I suggested.

amr67

Posted by: amr67 on Oct 21, 11 at 10:27am
Posted in: United States
Tagged: Washington
Jump to last reply
Add a Reply
Share with a Friend
Report Abuse
Print-friendly version

Continuation of post on Oct 2nd....
So, we have decided to take your suggestion, Chris, and will drive down to Victoria, stay there overnight, and take the ferry to Port Angeles. It docks at about noon.
Would it be about a 4 hour drive to Aberdeen? is that a good place to stay, or Ocean City?
Any suggestions re hotel/motel? Noticed there was a Best Western in Ocean City.
Would prefer someplace that includes light breakfast, with a restaurant nearby since my husband is in a wheel chair.
We then plan to drive about 6 hours a day down 101 to Ventura, Ca, then across to Phoenix.
Any further 'must see/do/stays' are welcome!
BTW...we had a great time in Toronto last week...our first flight since my husband's accident and wheel chair dependency. West Jet personnel were awesome...we'll be ready to travel more now!
Many thanks for all your input.
AMR

amr67

janisj on Oct 21, 11 at 3:57pm
"Continuation of post on Oct 2nd...."

I'd suggest you post these new questions to the original thread

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...un-city-az.cfm

Otherwise everyone will have to go back and read it to see what was suggested/why

Report Abuse
happytrailstoyou on Oct 21, 11 at 5:20pm
The first night you could stay in Astoria, which is about four hours from Port Angeles (and is a much more interesting place to stay than Aberdeen). There is a nice Holiday Inn Express there with rooms on the river and breakfast in the morning.

HTTY

Report Abuse
happytrailstoyou on Oct 21, 11 at 5:27pm
After Astoria, Bandon is a nice town 6 1/2 hours south. There is a BW there and Alloro is a good place for dinner.

There is a good Best Western in Garberville. It has big rooms and breakfast. Cecil's is a surprisingly good place for dinner.

Carmel is 6 hours south of Garberville, and Ventura is 5 hours south of Carmel.

Enjoy

Report Abuse
amr67 on Oct 21, 11 at 7:10pm
Thanks for the tip, janisj...new to this!

amr67

HTTY...thx so much..hard to judge time just looking at a map!
have booked the ferry...so it's a go!
AMR

Chris_Brown

I'm sure you will have a great time. Please post a trip report every couple-three days (Or as often as you can) and let us know how it is going. The weather here on the central Coast has been PRONOMINAL!

Chris_Brown

Darn you spell checker. I mean Phenomenal.

amr67

Thanks Chris....will post as we go! A quick question...you suggested going east from San Luis Obispo...our CAA triptik suggests taking Santa Paula Frwy from Ventura...any thoughts on which is preferable?...better routes from the locals?
amr

Chris_Brown

I think I would go south of Santa Barbara and take HWY 33 or HWY 150 through Ojai. Ojai is very pretty. From there you can make your way over to Santa Clarita and either HWY 15 (which will get you to Death Valley or Las Vegas and Northern Arizona.)

Or if you are really enjoying your time in CA you can either get back on to the coast through Ventura or take the HWY 215 to HWY 15 to get to San Diego. This route will avoid much of LA but traffic is heavy even out here.

From San Diego Hwy 8 will take you to Phoenix.