Road Trip - Los Angeles to Seattle

walkunafraid

Firecloud wrote:

Haha that's the goal! Just need some guidance on the local wares...
Now as for Oregon, what's the better drive, the 5 through Portland or the 101 up the coast? I'd imagine the coast, but I've heard great things about Portland. Maybe that's a stop for the ride home...

I actually did the reverse of what most people do -- the 5 on the way up, the coast on the way back. Not really sure why we chose that, but it worked out alright.

Oregon rules. People are infinitely more friendly and laid back there than in California. The only time anyone I came across anybody who was even slightly rude was when I tried to pump my own gas and was informed that that's not allowed in Oregon!

Anyhow, if you have time, I'd say that the 101 is definitely the way to go. It's a beautiful, scenic drive, as opposed to the 5, which will just get you a bunch of buildings and construction.

As a city, Portland was okay, but nothing that I felt I couldn't have missed...

Corduroyboy

walkunafraid wrote:

Oregon rules. People are infinitely more friendly and laid back there than in California. The only time anyone I came across anybody who was even slightly rude was when I tried to pump my own gas and was informed that that's not allowed in Oregon!

Agreed 100%!! Same thing happened to me to. I didn't realize the gas pumping laws in Oregon and got my ass chewed from the kid pumping gas that it was against the law for me to pump gas. Really great people in Oregon, I'd move there tomorrow if I could. My wife hates the rain, I think it builds character.

Horos

Go inland in Oregon east of the Cascades. Hook up with Highway 97. Short detour to Crater Lake a must see view. As you travel north you'll get awesome views of the Cascades(The Sisters, Mt Washington, Mt Jefferson, Mt Hood and many others). You drive within 6 miles of Smith Rock a rockclimbing mecca. You'll also cross the Crooked River Canyon(gorgeous). Eventually you'll hit Interstate 84 and can head back towwards I-5 passing Multnomah(?) Falls. Just my suggestion. You'll find views you won't anywhere else (esp. Crater Lake). The Oregon Coast is great too but I would choose the High Desert nearly every time. If you just cruise up the middle on I-5 drop me a PM I'm only a few miles from it and can probably hook you up with a little help.

mensane

walkunafraid wrote:

That's one of the places we stopped at when my girlfriend and I made this trek two years ago.

It was fairly interesting, but I'm wondering how fucking AWESOME it would be to see this place when you're stoned.

Dude, I say try it and let us know how it goes!

i think if you were stoned, you would think that you only saw the cool shit BECAUSE you were stoned. i say see it sober.....it will freak you out even more.

circles down

North of Santa Barbara, south of Hearst Castle, be on the lookout for a very easy to miss turn off for the road that leads to Harmony. As soon as you turn off onto that little road you will see the scene from the 'harmony' photo in Yield. Take a second to get out, take in the nice view, snap a photo, pop in Yield and enjoy the next hour of your drive, it's great Cali scenery.

Enjoy Oregon. I've been wanting to do exactly what you're doing for a long time.

Smellyman2

Horos wrote:

Go inland in Oregon east of the Cascades. Hook up with Highway 97. Short detour to Crater Lake a must see view. As you travel north you'll get awesome views of the Cascades(The Sisters, Mt Washington, Mt Jefferson, Mt Hood and many others). You drive within 6 miles of Smith Rock a rockclimbing mecca. You'll also cross the Crooked River Canyon(gorgeous). Eventually you'll hit Interstate 84 and can head back towwards I-5 passing Multnomah(?) Falls. Just my suggestion. You'll find views you won't anywhere else (esp. Crater Lake). The Oregon Coast is great too but I would choose the High Desert nearly every time. If you just cruise up the middle on I-5 drop me a PM I'm only a few miles from it and can probably hook you up with a little help.

I agree w/ this post. The coast is nice which you can see in Cali, but central Oregon is beautiful and quite unique, Crater Lake, Mt. Bachelor, Sun River, Bend, Sisters, Mt. Hood etc. That way you can stop in Portland too which is worth a visit. TONS of Breweries and if you're into it, TONS of strip clubs too.

Firecloud

circles down wrote:

North of Santa Barbara, south of Hearst Castle, be on the lookout for a very easy to miss turn off for the road that leads to Harmony. As soon as you turn off onto that little road you will see the scene from the 'harmony' photo in Yield. Take a second to get out, take in the nice view, snap a photo, pop in Yield and enjoy the next hour of your drive, it's great Cali scenery.

Enjoy Oregon. I've been wanting to do exactly what you're doing for a long time.

Yeah I've been there a couple times and done exactly that - the Harmony sign is different now though. I've pretty much got PCH all along Big Cur, Santa Cruz, Monterey, etc locked from many trips between SD and SF over the past 6 years or so. That's why I can't wait to ride up the northern coast and see what Oregon's all about.

We're most excited for the Seattle area, and if we did the straight shot up the 5 we'd save ourselves a full day, but what's the fun in that? The goal is to see as much cool stuff as we can.

I've got to get started on some new mixes though, cause we leave on the 12th.

circles down

Your mixes should include Jack Johnson and Ben Harper. Good regional music.

Firecloud

Smellyman wrote:

I agree w/ this post. The coast is nice which you can see in Cali, but central Oregon is beautiful and quite unique, Crater Lake, Mt. Bachelor, Sun River, Bend, Sisters, Mt. Hood etc. That way you can stop in Portland too which is worth a visit. TONS of Breweries and if you're into it, TONS of strip clubs too.

My girl just got another day off work for the trip, which means that instead of a light-speed bee-line from Seattle back to LA we'll be able to take our time and check out some of what Oregon's got to offer. My entire life, people have been telling me that Oregon is the perfect place for me, so this will be a chance to see what the hell they're talking about.

So we're taking the coastal route from Fort Bragg up to Astoria (maybe even as far as Aberdeen, who knows) on the way up, but coming home we'll go another route and hit up as many of Oregon's hotspots as we can.

Any further recommendations/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Lukin66

Corduroyboy wrote:

This is a trek I've made many times and it never gets old. My suggestions.

1. Take 101 up the coast of Northern California from Ukiah through the Redwoods and visit the Smith River. Unreal part of the country. I spent 2 summers up there and never got sick of it. Just lots of weird hippies and tweekers all over the place looking to hitch hike back down to Eureka.

2. Take the 101 all the way up the Oregon Coast. If you think the California coast is beautiful, you haven't seen anything until you've seen the Oregon coast. Go on the jet boat tour up the Rogue River. It's an all day ordeal, but worth the price and well worth the time. Great spots to camp out in Newport, OR. Rogue Brewery is there too. Some of the most amazing concrete arch bridges in the country dawn the 101 on the Oregon Coast. Watch out for all the log trucks.

3. Visit Canon Beach and Astoria Oregon. You can see where the Goonies happened!

4. Drive along the Columbia River over to I-5. Again, scenic beauty at it's best.

5. Bomb up 5 to Seattle and when you are through with Seattle, take more time off and head up to British Columbia!!

6. On the way home, bomb down 5. You will be sick of scenery by then and will just want to get the hell home! Have fun and take lots of pictures. Great mountains to see going down 5.

I can do this drive in my sleep, and you have awesome suggestions. Took the words right out of my mouth....

norm

Lukin66 wrote:

I can do this drive in my sleep,

but you're not suggesting firecloud try this, are ya?

Firecloud

There's waaaaay too much to see to fall asleep at the wheel! I've been looking forward to this since I moved to California (almost ten years ago).

Are there really as few cops in Oregon as they say? I've heard there's only like 15 state troopers in all of Oregon. Sounds like paradise already.

Horos - Thanks for the offer - I might hit you up on our journey home, when we're going the country route rather than coastal.

Corduroyboy

Firecloud wrote:

There's waaaaay too much to see to fall asleep at the wheel! I've been looking forward to this since I moved to California (almost ten years ago).

Are there really as few cops in Oregon as they say? I've heard there's only like 15 state troopers in all of Oregon. Sounds like paradise already.

A few cops, all I see anywhere in Oregon are the State Troopers, and they hate California plates. Speed limits are lower in places in Oregon than they are in California. Just drive with caution. In my travels in Oregon, especially on I-5 was showing tons of cops.

Firecloud

Corduroyboy wrote:

A few cops, all I see anywhere in Oregon are the State Troopers, and they hate California plates. Speed limits are lower in places in Oregon than they are in California. Just drive with caution. In my travels in Oregon, especially on I-5 was showing tons of cops.

Thanks, that's exactly what I need to hear to keep me off the 5 - at least on the way up. Haven't had much luck with cops in the past year or two.

PJPixie

Have a safe trip! ( I just got in from NYC ) I'm exhausted......get lots of good rest!

Firecloud

Thank you! I don't expect to get much sleep at all, to be honest...

Corduroyboy

I've come to realize I'm about as excited about this trip you are going on as much as you probably are. It's just such a great part of the US and to take the time to drive it and see it in person is just awesome.

Firecloud

Corduroyboy wrote:

I've come to realize I'm about as excited about this trip you are going on as much as you probably are. It's just such a great part of the US and to take the time to drive it and see it in person is just awesome.

Thanks! We've revised the trip a little bit: We're now leaving Saturday the 19th and returning Saturday the 26th, which gives us a total of 7 days instead of the 5 we had planned. After blasting up from LA to San Francisco, we'll head over to the scenic 101 drive for the rest of the trip up. I'm not sure how the fires up there are going to effect the route, but hopefully they'll all be under control two weeks from now.

With the extra time we'll be able to check out a lot more of what the area between Northern California and Seattle has to offer, so any other recommendations are definitely welcome and appreciated, especially the following:

secluded beaches/caves
scenic side-trips (off the coastal route)
unique architectural formations
interesting parks/nature preserves
particularly noteworthy viewing points

***Seattle attractions!*** Again, we plan on doing the Pike Place Market/Puget Sound trek (I've been there before, briefly), as well as a trip to Snoqualmie Falls. But with all the channels, islands, culture and nature around, there's got to be a lot more going on.

Thanks again!

ECM

good... I-5 in N Cal is ass until you get to Oregon.....

SDHSClassof82

Evil Closet Monkey wrote:

good... I-5 in N Cal is ass until you get to Oregon.....

Yep, 'cept Shasta. I thought the central Oregon coast, Yachats, Florence, Cape Perpetua and there abouts, were gorgeous, natural beauty rivalling Big Sur. I found the stretch north from Cannon Beach pretty touristy and congested with traffic...and that was in October. That's a great idea to check out the latest fire locations. It's crazy this year.

I second the recommendation of the Olympic Peninsula. I moved here two years ago and I'm still awe-struck regularly.