Our family is planning a two-three week vacation to Oregon and Washington. We don't know anything for sure yet. We want to ride Amtrak from NC to either Washington or Oregon and back. If anyone had advice on where to go, where to stay, what to do, etc. it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much!

There have been hundreds of posts here about Oregon and Washington. I'd start by using the search function and browsing through those posts, taking notes, and after all that, asking more specific questions. There's lots to see - however, you will need to rent a car to be able to see the highlights outside of the cities.

Amtrak will take you either to Seattle or Portland. Both places are terrific bases, with nice train stations.

My suggestions are only for summertime:

If you go from NC to Seattle, I would suggest the following (or you could do it backward!): Once in Seattle, rent a car. Explore Seattle, then drive up to Vancouver and explore. Then take the ferry with car to Victoria. From Victoria, take the ferry with car to the San Juan Islands. See a few Orcas. Friday Harbor is a nice place to stop and explore. Then back to Seattle and either drive or take Amtrak to Portland. Portland is wonderfully liveable, great little restaurants, fun things to do. Then take Amtrak back to NC.

Get from NC to Chicago and take the Empire Builder to Seattle or Portland, but I vote for Seattle.
Get a rental car and explore the Olympic Peninsula before crossing on the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoris. If you have time, drive north out of Victoria on Vancouver Island before taking another ferry to city of Vancouver and thence back to Seattle.
OR, take the California Zepher to Sacramento and catch the Coast Starlight to Portland or Seattle
OR the Southwest Chief to LA and thence the Coast Starlight up the Pacific Coast.

Have Fun!

I would go to Portland, from there you could come over to the coast, it is about a 90 minute drive. Cannon Beach or Seaside where I am would both be nice places to visit during your travels. ***kim***