OT: PNW Trip

Big thanks to those who provided me with some great ideas as to where to visit/how to maximize our limited time out in the PNW!  Quick summary/thoughts about our family's great trip;

-  Seattle is hillier than I ever imagined.  Kind a baby version of San Fran. 

-  Ichiro is a bigger star than I thought.  We enjoyed the bb game! 

-  We loved the hiking in Olympic N.P.  Especially in the rain forest.  Wine/hot chocolate at two old Lodges (from early 1900) was very enjoyable while playing board games.   

-  What a view of Mt. Rainier we had from the window of our room at Paradise Inn.   DH and I ran the Paradise loop (4miles) - wow!!

-  Learned quite a bit by attending several Ranger-lead talk/hikes at Olympic, Mt. Rainier, Mt.St. Helen, and Crater Lake NP's.  Kids got four Jr. Ranger badges/patches.

-  We were amazed how drastic the weather changes between the OR coast and inland.  Super-windy in 40's vs. 90's!  It was chilly running in tanktop/shorts in early morning by the water, but beautiful.   

-  Portlant traffic at 4pm on Friday was.... aweful.  DH missed a few wine tastings he was looking forward to in the Wilmeatte valley.  And it almost costed us our marriage (yes, the traffic was THAT  bad).

-  The blue color of the Crater Lake was beyond what words could describe.  Would have loved swimming a bit even in the water temp in 40's, just to be in it. 

-  Going through lots of small towns - the stores/restaurants close early i.e. 9pm.  Hotel/motel check-in is not 24hrs.  A little culture shock, having lived in a big city for many years. 

-  Food is EXPENSIVE (I guess because we were in the tourist cities mainly).   

-  To our great surprise, we rarely encoutered the tourist traffic known for the summer time in the National Parks. 

Lots of hiking (+ about 20miles running) and learning, as we expected. We are planning to go Yosemite/Sequoia/Kings Canyon/Death Valley (even Joshua Tree) next summer.  I had better reserving those old Lodges/Inns from early 1900!  They are pricey but the atmosphere/history plus the convenience can't be beaten. 

Sounds like you had a good time. 

After I saw San Fran. I thought the same thing about the hills.  We definitely have lots of them around here! 

Glad you had a great time!  I echo your thoughts re: the hilliness of Seattle and surrounding climes.  You can run flat (like near the coast) or throw in some decent hills at your pleasure.

Won't be heading into WA, but I'll be cruising around OR & extreme NorCal with my GF come September.  Looking forward to Crater Lake, Mt. Hood, and the S. Oregon coast, amongst other things.

Sounds like a great trip! Seattle is such a great place to visit.

Glad you had a good time!  Sorry about the traffic - on a lot of Friday afternoons you'll find me sipping wine downtown waiting for the traffic to ease before heading home.

Any photos to share?