dcdude

Planning to take the family to the great NW for 9 days this spring. 50/50 relocation/investment scouting and vacation. Here's my current loose plan:

- Fly to SEA
- Rent a car, drive to Portland, stay 2 nights. Want to see Beaverton, Wilsonville and Vancouver, WA
- Head north, stay 1 night in Yakima (or??)
- Further north, 1 night in Vancouver, BC (any border rental car issues?)
- Head south, 3 nights in Seattle. Want to take the ferry to Bremerton.
- Fly back to LAX

Not sure about hotels vs. B&Bs. I guess free parking is tough to come by in downtown Seattle, but I'm open to Bellevue, or should I be?

Any comments / suggestions / non-sushi restaurants (got that covered in LA) / omissions / additions?

Thanks in advance!

Leucadia

Hi Chuck,
Welcome to Seattle. Will you be working for Uncle Bill's International Employment Agency by any chance? :-)

Should not be any problem taking a rental through the boarder crossing. My buddy from SFO just came up to visit and stayed in a nice affordable hotel downtown seattle and it had free parking, and was walking distance to 2nd ave with all the cool pubs (if you're interested, PM me and ill look it up). There might be some interesting B/B in QueenAnne, that would be cool perhaps.

As for interesting places to stay during a short visit, i would not reccomend Bellevue/Redmond/Sammamish as they are all boring suburbia type scene. I actually live in Sammamish, but thats because its close to work (and im also kinda boring myself).

98_993_cab

Likewise, is Beaverton & Wilsonville work related? At the risk offending everyone living in either town , I can't think of anything the family would enjoy there (maybe shopping?). However, you could fill two days just wandering, eating, drinking & shopping your way through NW 21st/23rd & Pearl District areas of PDX. No sales tax in OR! Parking in Portland can be tight, but it's pretty safe to wallk around too. Try these links:
http://www.travelportland.com/ http://www.portlandstreetcar.org/ http://www.tillamookair.com/ http://www.omsi.edu/ http://www.mcmenamins.com/ http://www.coopermountainwine.com

No affiliation with any of them, BTW. Hope you have good trip!

SR71BLACKBIRD

Its normally not a problem as long as you let the Car Rental Company know of your intentions to cross the border and have them log it into their system.

jimhsu

Bremerton....are you perhaps with the military??

Downtown Seattle parking is hard to come by, especially all day free parking. But, there are many fine hotels downtown where you can (for a cost) leave your car all day and explore downtown by foot.

Pike Place Market is First between Pike and Pine. (see below, first picture) That's the real deal, not the Alaskan Way waterfront stores, but gotta get there before mid afternoon for the best action: it's a real live market and around 3-4pm vendors shut down to go home.

Space Needle, Experience Music Project are things to do and see if you are here for a visit.

Drive up Queen Anne Blvd. and turn left on Highland to reach Kerry Park where you can see the view of downtown and The Needle (see night-time image below, taken from Kerry Park).

Don't forget the Seattle Art Museum's new outdoor Sculpture Park (see third picture with red "Eagle" by Alexander Calder).

JohnCh

Like Leucadia, I also live in Sammamish because it is close to work and I am kind of boring (not necessarily in that order). If you are looking to live in the greater Seattle area, then the Eastside, as we call it, has many things going for it. If you are just coming through as a tourist though, then stay in Seattle. A lot more things to do and see.

-John

jimhsu

don't rule out living IN Seattle also especially if you work here: many nice neighborhoods very close to downtown (Magnolia, for example). But if you work for Uncle Bill then Eastside is your 'hood. Still thinking you might be thinking downtownish: that Bremerton comment.....

doberdog

I would spend more than one day in Vancouver. If your family wants to go skiing you can stay in the city and enjoy the food, shopping and sights but also go skiing 20 minutes from downtown. Skiing is open unit 10pm under the lights!! I would also consider a trip to Whistler (site of the 2010 Olympics) and take in the huge amount of snow they have had, plus it is one of the best ski resorts in North America.
One day in BC is not enough.

Ag02M5

Stop by Sunset Porsche. Though the good deals are only for out of state...not sure if you can pick up in person.

Spend more time in Vancouver.

Victoria B.C. is one of my favorites and can be a nice ferry trip.

Too bad it isn't in the summer. The weather is 100x better then.

RT

Edit: Saw it is in spring. Better but summer is the best.

dcdude

As usual, you guys are the best.

Sorry- better disclosure: Definitely not military and Uncle Bill, Phil and Howie don't want me either. I've got loads of marketing experience in automotive and utilities, but nothing attractive in tech, sneakers or coffee. So I might try to get something going at Freightliner, Puget Sound Energy, Northwest Natural Gas, Portland General Electric, etc. Also considering similar opportunities in Colorado, which will be my summer trip.

I'm trying to look at neighborhoods in which Newsweek claims to have the best high schools in the country. After my 'burb hunting, I promise to play at 21st/23rd & Pearl District and 2nd Ave.

I'll try to add a day to Vancouver or Victoria. My mountain is Mammoth, I know Whistler is awesome, but I'm looking to soak up the cities and (U.S.) suburbs.

luvmy356

If high schools are the primary criteria, in the Seattle area you should focus on Bellevue, which is the large burb just across the lake from Seattle. The Newsweek article had 6 of their H.S. in the top 100 (or 106).

While I don't venture to the Eastside much anymore, if I had to move which I may when the kids get older, Bellevue isn't so bad I guess, at least its the shortest trip from a suburb to civilization.

As for hotels vs B&B, unless you want to stay in a specific neighborhood near downtown, I would just stay at one of the decent hotels downtown and pay the $10-$30/day to park. There are lots of nice B&B's around, but they are sprinkled in the residential areas just outside of downtown, so you can't just roll out of bed and start exploring (unless you want to explore that particular neighborhood).

The best bang for your buck would be some of the smaller hotels near the Pike/Pine shopping area. They are just as generic as your Sheratons/Hiltons/Marriott, but smaller and a lot cheaper. The Roosevelt, or Paramount Hotel are central (i.e walk to everything, both at www.coasthotels.com) and relatively inexpensive. If you want an edgier/artsy hotel, I hear the Hotel Max is also priced well, and pretty central as well. http://www.hotelmaxseattle.com/. If you need more space/suite for a good price, family/friends of ours have also stayed at the newish Residence Inn/Lake Union (probably too far to walk to downtown, but you could take the new trolley), or Springhill Suites which is also newish, which is walkable to downtown.

H.H.Chinn

Seattle accomodations, quirky boutique, Ace Hotel on First Avenue, just north of "restaurant row". If you're hungry, look for Tom Douglas (Seattle Restauranteur) at any one of his 5 restaurants within a half mile radius. Etta's Seafood is one of my favorites.
Pike Place Market, lots of bakeries, eateries, here are a few hidden out of the way places; The Pink Door (Italian); Kell's Irish Pub; Place Pigalle(NW); Lowell's; Three Girl's Bakery; World Class Chili
Near Pioneer Square) Salumi's (Weekdays only), Il Terrazzo Carmine's
South of Downtown (SoDo): Peco's BBQ Pit
on Queen Anne Hill; Five Spot Diner (Themed American fare)
on East Madison; The Harvest Vine (Tapas)


Eastside places to stay, in Woodinville, Willows Lodge, eateries near by, Barking Frog, Herb Farm, Redhook Brewery, Chateau St. Michelle winery.

Tips for going into B.C. Canada. Have your valid U.S. Passport for ease at the border crossing, take the Truck Border crossing at Pacific instead of the main I-5 crossing at Blaine, Peace Arch. Tune into 1130 AM (Vancouver station) for border crossing wait times.

Seattle Porsche and car related tour, visit some of the local P-car repair shops, John Walker Werks,
Akers Porsche Repair, Gerber Motorsport, on the Eastside, Chris' German Auto Service, Squire's Autowerks etc.

Leucadia

Chuck,
The affordable and convenient hotel my buddy stayed at during his visit downtown was called "Sixth Avenue Inn" (yah, its on 6th avenue)

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/gx/pro...opertyID=97516

I think he had free parking as a guest, and it was definitely walking distance to 2nd ave pubs/Pike Place.

Lake Washington School district schools over here in Sammamish apparently are among the best to be had, but I have no first hand knowledge of this, only what im told.

I moved up here from SoCal too about 2 yrs ago, and just a warning, comming from LA, the Eastside (especially Bellevue/Redmond) will look and feel like Mayberry RFD to you (even when you are literally blocks away from MSFT!). Its got a slightly backward *** feeling to it and drivers seem to be in no rush to get anywhere. There are also very strange and idiotic yellow painted concrete curbs in the median of all the surface streets, apparently to prevent U-turns or dangerous left turns. Ive never seen this in any other state, absolutely bizzare.

98_993_cab

Forgot to mention NE PDX (Alberta Street & Mississippi Avenue) as well as SE PDX (Sellwood-Moreland area). Lots of food, shopping & entertainment in both.

kjr914

Due east of Portland less than an hour is the little town of Hood River. A neat little town and the outdoorsy types dream....kayaking, windsurfing, near Mt. Hood & Mt. Adams, not to mention a great brewery... Not where you might want to live, but if you are looking for reasons to move.... (such places have me nearly convinced to move up there...)