Fall business trip...

[ESU Warrior]

Hello fellas,
I will be in the Pacific Northwest in late November for business. Almost an entire week. I will be flying into Vancouver, and throughout the week I will be driving towards Eugene Oregon, stopping in Seattle and Portland on the way. I was wondering if you guys can give me some tips as to some sight-seeing, monuments, winery's, or anything along the way that may be worthwhile to see. I would love to see some waterfalls, the Pacific Ocean, possible redwood trees, and am debating on driving through one of your GNAC universities (Simon Fraser, Western Washington, or Western Oregon). If you guys can give me any tips for someone who lives on the East coast and has never been to the Pacific yet, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks you all!!

[IronOre]

Re: Fall business trip...

If you have time, head out to the Pacific Coast, in either WA or OR. It's pretty spectacular. Going up the Space Needle, while kind of a cliche Seattle tourist activity, is actually pretty neat, and there is a bunch of other stuff to do at the Science Center where it's at as well.

It looks like there are a couple GNAC games to choose from, in early November. WOU is hosting APU on November 9, and it's on the way to Eugene in Monmouth. That's the best game of the bunch. SFU in Burnaby has a game too, but it won't be at the college as they're finally replacing the Slippery Slope and putting in a real stadium.

[Wildcat Khan]

Re: Fall business trip...

If you are going through Portland, you may want to head east on I-84 for a short time as you want to see water falls. Multnomah falls is that way and if you go a short way farther to Hood River you can drive up around Mt. Hood to get back onto I-5 for some great views of it.

There are way too many places really to recommend, but as IronOre said the Pacific Coast is also a great way to go down 101 and traffic shouldn't be as bad come November there. The must stop place to me there is the Tilamook Cheese Factory, but there also also old WWII installations open to the public outside of Astoria Oregon and they also have Ft Clatsop there too which talks about the Lewis and Clark expedition. To see all three of these places it is also easy to drive back to I-5 towards Salem and there is also which also goes through Monmouth which is home to WOU.

The options are quite plentiful, but if you have time those are my recommended places. Multnohma Falls may be the best though as it isn't too far from Portland if you have to stick to the I-5 Corridor.

[Brandon]

Re: Fall business trip...

You should visit these coordinates:

47.008347, -120.538354

[IronOre]

Re: Fall business trip...

You should visit these coordinates:

47.008347, -120.538354

Eh, CWU only plays Southwest Baptist in November, and that's not going to be a good game...

[IronOre]

Re: Fall business trip...

If you are going through Portland, you may want to head east on I-84 for a short time as you want to see water falls. Multnomah falls is that way and if you go a short way farther to Hood River you can drive up around Mt. Hood to get back onto I-5 for some great views of it.

There are way too many places really to recommend, but as IronOre said the Pacific Coast is also a great way to go down 101 and traffic shouldn't be as bad come November there. The must stop place to me there is the Tilamook Cheese Factory, but there also also old WWII installations open to the public outside of Astoria Oregon and they also have Ft Clatsop there too which talks about the Lewis and Clark expedition. To see all three of these places it is also easy to drive back to I-5 towards Salem and there is also which also goes through Monmouth which is home to WOU.

The options are quite plentiful, but if you have time those are my recommended places. Multnohma Falls may be the best though as it isn't too far from Portland if you have to stick to the I-5 Corridor.

Old Highway 30 loop would be a good one in November. This time of year it's super crowded.

[Wildcat Khan]

Re: Fall business trip...

Old Highway 30 loop would be a good one in November. This time of year it's super crowded.

Same with here this weekend. Unlimited Hydros this weekend for Water Follies and the Columbia Cup.

[Brandon]

Re: Fall business trip...

Eh, CWU only plays Southwest Baptist in November, and that's not going to be a good game...

Use the satellite view.

[IronOre]

Re: Fall business trip...

Use the satellite view.

I did, it's Tomlinson, on the 10 yard line. Your arrow didn't end up where you wanted it too, oh troll-in-chief.

[Brandon]

Re: Fall business trip...

Yes I was having fun and it ended up exactly where I wanted it to.

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

Re: Fall business trip...

North to south:

Bellingham has a lot of good breweries (Kulshan, Aslan, Chuckanut, to name a few). When driving south out of B-Ham, I strongly suggest driving Chuckanut Drive, which goes along the coast of the sea and is one of the prettiest coastal drives in the state. There are some good oyster/seafood restaurants along that road, too. It will connect back to I-5 in the Skagit Valley. The town of La Conner is a nice little town that has a lot of shops and art galleries along a saltwater channel. Drive through the Everett area and do not stop.

In the Seattle area, Ballard is a fun district of town that has all the best breweries, bars, and restaurants. Fishermen's Terminal across the canal is a good place to visit to see the big fishing boats and for good seafood. The downtown waterfront has gone through recent makeovers and is a fun place to walk along. If the weather happens to be decent, Alki Beach in West Seattle is Seattle beach front destination with lots of restaurants. Point Defiance Park is what Tacoma has to offer, featuring water views, Fort Nisqually, and a great aquarium. Olympia has Tumwater Falls which has a salmon hatchery, so that may be a great place to visit in the fall.

While in Portland if you have time for a quick freeway side trip east up I-84 along the Columbia Gorge, there are many excellent waterfalls, salmon viewing, and fall colors. Be sure to drive down the old Columbia River Highway to go past all the best waterfalls. This is your best place to see what you sound like you really want to see. The Portland/Vancouver, WA area has countless breweries to visit. South of that, no idea.

While you will be driving along the Salish Sea/Puget Sound from Bellingham to Olympia, you are actually a bit far from the Pacific Ocean. Your best bet would be taking an overnight side trip out to the Oregon Coast from somewhere between Portland and Eugene. And there are no redwoods in Oregon. You would have to go well south of Eugene and cross into California along the coast.

[ESU Warrior]

Re: Fall business trip...

I appreciate everyone's advice! Brandon, I won't be there to see a CWU game, nor any other game. It will be after the season, so I will try to grab some PAC-12 games, or a Blazers game.

How long of a drive would it be if I was in Eugene, and drove back to Seattle?

Also, what are the recommendations for getting to Seattle from Vancouver? I have read on the internet that the train is a beautiful route, but longer as opposed to being in a car. I never went through Canadian customs, so any advice would be great!

I read that the underground Seattle tour is pretty cool. How far is the Snoqaumie falls?

In Portland, how far is Cannon beach? We will spend one night in Portland, and then head to Eugene for a ducks game. You guys have any other advice for the city of Portland? I saw there are some nice wineries near by, and I would like to get to Monmouth on that drive to visit WOU.

Thanks guys! Always rooting for the GNAC, and hopefully we can find a way to grab a couple more schools for ya all!

[Runnin' Cat]

Re: Fall business trip...

Yes I was having fun and it ended up exactly where I wanted it to.

Was it the spot Roach did his business?

[Wildcat Khan]

Re: Fall business trip...

I appreciate everyone's advice! Brandon, I won't be there to see a CWU game, nor any other game. It will be after the season, so I will try to grab some PAC-12 games, or a Blazers game.

How long of a drive would it be if I was in Eugene, and drove back to Seattle?

Also, what are the recommendations for getting to Seattle from Vancouver? I have read on the internet that the train is a beautiful route, but longer as opposed to being in a car. I never went through Canadian customs, so any advice would be great!

I read that the underground Seattle tour is pretty cool. How far is the Snoqaumie falls?

In Portland, how far is Cannon beach? We will spend one night in Portland, and then head to Eugene for a ducks game. You guys have any other advice for the city of Portland? I saw there are some nice wineries near by, and I would like to get to Monmouth on that drive to visit WOU.

Thanks guys! Always rooting for the GNAC, and hopefully we can find a way to grab a couple more schools for ya all!

With good traffic, Eugene to Seattle is about 5 hours on I-5. I'd suggest taking I-205 through Portland as it moves better than I-5 except by the airport.

For getting to Cannon Beach, US Highway 26 out of Portland is only about 90 minutes to it. It goes right through downtown Portland, so not hard to find and that is a very pretty drive out to the coast. You could also easily from there drive south to Forence and catch the state highway into Eugene. I'd highly recommend that as you'd also get to see the Oregon dunes or at least part of them if you have time if it is a night game, but Portland to Eugene is a little over 2 hours on I-5. There's also the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tilamook and seaquarium in Newport on the way down to Florence if you went that way. Also around Pacific City (very small town) there is the road back to Salem that goes through Monmouth, which would also give you a nice drive along the Northern Oregon Coast from Cannon Beach to there.

[tsull]

Re: Fall business trip...

Seattle and Portland have gone downhill as vibrant cities, in my opinion. Both have tons of homeless and the traffic in both places is incredibly bad. I'd suggest the back roads, nice small towns, ocean beaches, and waterfalls. I'm sure I'll get pushback on this, but the Northwest's two major cities were much better 20 years ago, even 30 years ago.