Trip report from fabulous Washington/Oregon
 

After much changing of my itinerary we just returned from one of our best trips ever. Heres a brief summary.
Flew into Seattle from JFK good flight on Jet Blue. Got picked up from Cedarbrook Lodge. I have to say this hotel was definetely a hidden gem. The grounds and building are so lovely and are set in a quiet residential area. The staff is so warm and friendly it does not even feel like you are staying in a hotel. I decided to rent our car from downtown Seattle to save the extra 30 percent for renting directly from airport. Cedarbrook offers rides to light rail which is very easy to handle to get in and out of Seattle. First night did Pikes Market and caught a beautiful sunset along the pier next to it. Next day did Space Needle and Sculpture garden before picking up rental car from Hilton downtown. The bell captain there gave us great advice on places to visit along the rest of our journey. That night we did Savor Seattle Food tour which was alot of fun and gave us a great feel for the wonderful restaurants there. Ended that night with cocktails outside by the fireplace at Cedarbrook. They offer a lovely breakfast which we enjoyed before heading over to Port Angeles. We took the ferry from Bainbridge to Whidbey Island getting to experience a Washington ferry ride. Visited the island and walked along the water there. Found our way to Collette's Bed And Breakfast in Port Angeles, another excellent experience. We visited Working Girl winerey while waiting to check in. Collettes was one of the nicest B@B we ever stayed at. Our room (lavender room) had a fireplace that was open on both sides including the bathroom that had a jacuzzi for two. The grounds were superbly gardened with a great few of ocean. Innkeepers Karen and Richard were unbelieveable. Visited Dungeness Spit that night than great dinner at Michaels. Before dinner Collettes offers a fabulous wine sort of happy hour with excellent food and great company. Next day drove to Hoh rainforest and hiked the shorter trails on way back hiked to waterfall.
Crescent Lake on the way was also a nice stop. Our next destination was Youngberg Hill B@B in Mcminnville. Although a 5 hour drive we stopped in Portland and relaxed at rose garden and japenese garden. Youngberg was atop a hill overlooking the vineyard. Attempted bike ride but hills got the better of us so surrendered to drinking wine while overlooking the valley. Dinner that night at Joe Roses, an old house with a mushroom menu. Even had a mushroom martini. Next day toured 3 vineyards then all the wine starting tasting the same so returned to B@B with our wine cheese and bread and enjoyed a lovely sunset overlooking the vineyard. Our next stop was Cannon Beach had reservation at Sea Sprite at Haystack Rock (suite 1A) when we got there asked if they had any upgrades available we were given a room at their other hotel at the Estuary for that first night because it was booked for Sat. What a great room and fantastic view over the estuary and ocean with a lovely gas fireplace. Walked through town that night but earlier went to Ecola State Park and saw one of the most beautiful acts of nature of I ever seen. The view of the ocean from there is hard to describe. My husband and I love the ocean but to see it in the raw form that the Pacific ocean provides was awesome. Next day got our first rain of the whole trip but it was cool seeing the storm brew in the ocean. My husband who loves to fish bought a fishing pole from a little gas station and gave a go at catching a salmon by the hatchery. By this time the rain was coming down pretty hard although he didn't actually catch one he did get to see a guy hook a salmon right next to him. Last night in Cannon Beach we went back to the Haystack Rock Sea Sprite and stayed in a what was actually a lovely room although not the size of the Estuary still painted very brightly with a little bay window that you could get a glimpse of the ocean. Very clean. Sadly headed back to Seattle to stay our last night at Cedarbrook Lodge and one last visit to Pike Market and sushi in Seattle before heading back to New Jersey next morning. Although it was a hard trip to plan because there was so many places we wanted to see, we far exceeded our expectations. Not only is this a beautiful part of the country but we met so many nice people who welcomed us. We got to see everything we enjoy and each place offered a different experience. Got some great pictures but most of memories that will stay forever.

Ok report, hard to read with no spacing. You went from Hoh Rainforest to McMinville, Or in one sentence. What happened in between? "Crescent Lake on the way was also a nice stop." Crescent Lake is in the Oregon Cascades no where near those two place(?) Oregon is better than WA, I agree.

Isn't Crescent Lake on the Washington Peninsula? Somewhere between Forks and Port Angeles?

Thanks for writing a trip report.

Did you stop at Ruby Beach below Forks? Did you stop off at Long Beach, WA? Oregon beaches are glorious but Washington State has a few hidden gems as well.

No We didn't stop at Long Beach. There is just so many things to see in both states. We will definetly be back soon to see all the things we missed. Sorry I didn't write it more clearly I was trying to get down as much as I could while it was still fresh in my mind.

Crescent Lake is on the Olympic Peninsula between Port Angeles and Hoh Rainforest on 101. You ride right along the edge of the lake.

There is a Crescent Lake here in OR as well, but the OP was definitely talking about the one in WA.

claytoj1--I think you meant the Joel Palmer House for the mushroom heavy menu:) Which vineyards did you tour?

Sounds like you had a great time! We also very much enjoyed our meal at Joel Palmer House in Dayton. ***kim*** ((#))

Sounds like you had a nice time, we just got back from a Portland - Seattle - San Juan Island vacation, we also stayed at the Cedarbrook lodge the night before our 7:25 AM flight back East, totally agree with you, it's a hidden treasure. The restaurant was excellent too.

We visited Lange, Palmer Ashe and Aramenta vineyards. Out of those we really enjoyed our time at Aramenta, it's been family run for years and the tasting was inside of a barn. We stayed there quite a while because we enjoyed the owner Darlene and fortunately we were the only ones there. As it turned out the innkeeper at Youngberg Inn is married to a son of the Darlene and Ed Looney who own Aramenta. She was so nice she even gave us a taste of sturgeon she had smoked the day before. We learned alot more than we ever knew about wines but realize there is so much more to know.

Giggle.... I'm thinking that was Penner-Ash, claytoj1. Top of a hill; great view? As mms said, Palmer is the guy who has the restaurant with all the mushrooms on the menu. We first stopped at Aramenta a few years ago after learning that Brick House, just down the road from there, was charging $25 for tastings. Have been back a few times since then, but not to Brick House!

Anyway, thanks for the report. I'm curious about the Sea Sprite on the estuary. How far is that from the actual beach? We stayed at the cottage at Sea Sprite Haystack a month or so ago. Liked it, but would prefer something closer to town, provided it's got a nice view and good beach access.

Yeah i seem to keep getting the names of places a little jumbled. Sea Sprite on the Estuary is really on the beach you walk out back and as you walk to left you are on the beach looking down toward Haystack Rock. We walked on the beach then went up into town and ended up at Sleepy Monk coffee shop which was the best latte I ever had not to mention the scone. You can actually walk into town if you know where that park is with the statue of the whale at the end of town the Sea Sprite Estuary is just sort of behind it. You can access town either by walking on beach or just go out front and turn the corner and you are downtown.

Thanks! I knew about where the Sea Sprite on the Estuary was, just wasn't sure if it was far enough up that little river to be off the beach.

I like Aramenta too. Grochau used to make his wine there and shared some space before he started a new venture in downtown Portland, making it an urban winery. The folks at Aramenta are very nice. It is nice to see them get more word of mouth since they are pretty small:)

There is no ferry from Bainbridge to Whidbey Island...seems you have your islands confused. Probably you meant the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island.

Another small quibble...it's Lake Crescent in Olympic NP, not Crescent Lake.

I was just trying to share how much fun we had on our first visit to Oregon and Washington but as some of the responses state I didn't space correctly and I obviously spelled several names incorrectly. Guess I was in a hurry to get down my thoughts. Sorry !

Nice report.
You should come see us in southern Oregon next time. We are so forgotten down here...lucky we have Crater Lake. LOL

Claytoj1, it's ok, some people on this forum read a lot of posts and are adamant about speling and spacing!:) Reely liked yur report, proper gramar and readability just make it more phun to reed. Glad you had a great trip to the PNW - come back now ya hear!