Pacific Northwest Vacation tips

[BlackoutCreature]

So since I wasn't able to get to Orlando for WrestleMania this year, I decided to use my vacation time instead to take a trip I've had on the back-burner for awhile to the Pacific Northwest, specifically Seattle and Portland. I leave next week and my itinerary is still pretty open, so I welcome any tips and advice from locals or fellow travelers. My plan is to fly into Seattle on Sunday, rent a car and drive to Portland, stay there until Wednesday, then drive back to Seattle and stay there until Saturday when I fly home. Here's what I have in mind -

Portland
Voodoo Donuts
Oregon Zoo
Alder Street Food Cart Pod
Oregon Historical Society Museum
Some walking around the Pearl District

Seattle
Space Needle (of course)
Beth's Café
Pike Place Market
Seattle Aquarium
Maybe the Pacific Science Center if I have time

So I'm looking for some advice on how to fill this out. I've seen a lot of recommendations for the Columbia Center's Observation deck, is it worth it? Also I've been looking at the Bill Speidel's Underground Tour, but I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for it online. Anybody ever taken it? Any other suggestions on where to eat, shop, hang out, etc. would be appreciated.

[Stu]

That's all well and good if you want to stick to the two cities. Otherwise, take a drive to the coast. You can get to Astoria from Portland in about three hours. Then take the bridge across the Columbia River into Washington and take the backroads to Aberdeen before getting to Seattle.

About five years ago, I drove from Portland to Astoria, then down the coast a bit to Lincoln City. From there I went back inland to Salem before going back north to Portland.

Last October, I flew into Portland and drove even further south before heading west to the coast. I then drove north along the coast to Astoria. That's when I crossed the bridge into Washington. After Seattle, I took the ferries through the islands before heading even further north and ending in Vancouver, BC. Then I went all the way back to my relative's place south of Portland before flying home.

[DASH 243✅]

Of you like beer drive about 2 hours North of Seattle to Bellingham there are like 15 breweries here

[Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster]

May 1, 2017 18:20:33 GMT -5 BlackoutCreature said:

Also I've been looking at the Bill Speidel's Underground Tour, but I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for it online. Anybody ever taken it? Any other suggestions on where to eat, shop, hang out, etc. would be appreciated.

I did the underground tour last year and I would say its well worth doing.

Also two places in Seattle that I would highly recommend visiting would be Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Museum of Pop Culture.

[Limity (BLM)]

As it happens, we went to Seattle just last week ahead of a planned relocation. We went to the pier with the Ferris wheel and indoor shopping mall, Miner's Pit or something like that. It's just down from the aquarium. From there we went to the public market. It's actually four stories high, with the famous fish throwing place at the top. It would take you quite a while to see it all. From there we walked down to Pioneer Square, and did the underground tour. The tour was interesting, but the information presented was more interesting than what you will see. But it's only an hour and a half, and it looks like you're spending a few days up there.

There are water taxis to West Seattle, don't bother going, it's just a suburb.

[Dr. T is an alien]

If you like nature the Columbia river gorge is a beautiful drive, particularly the Oregon side. The Multnomah Falls truly are captivating, the view from the lookout drive is great, and if you like camping Lost Lake at the foot of Mt. Hood is along the way.

[Drillbit Taylor]

Space Needle does not feel like you get enough for your buck. And if there is clouds it feels even less worth. It is also extremely overcrowded.

[BlackoutCreature]

May 2, 2017 12:36:57 GMT -5 Drillbit Taylor said:

Space Needle does not feel like you get enough for your buck. And if there is clouds it feels even less worth. It is also extremely overcrowded.

Yeah, I figured as much. But it's like going to LA and not seeing the Hollywood Sign. Yeah, it's a pain in the ass to get to and pretty underwhelming when you do, but it's the monument the city is best known for. You feel like you wasted your trip by not checking it out.

May 1, 2017 19:59:43 GMT -5 Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster said:

May 1, 2017 18:20:33 GMT -5 BlackoutCreature said:

Also I've been looking at the Bill Speidel's Underground Tour, but I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for it online. Anybody ever taken it? Any other suggestions on where to eat, shop, hang out, etc. would be appreciated.

I did the underground tour last year and I would say its well worth doing.

Also two places in Seattle that I would highly recommend visiting would be Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Museum of Pop Culture.

I was looking at them, but I was having trouble finding the time to fit more museums into my schedule. Do you think these are more worth seeing then the Aquarium or the Columbia Center?

[pegasuswarrior]

Great Northern Hotel isn't a bad option.

[Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster]

May 2, 2017 15:32:25 GMT -5 BlackoutCreature said:

May 1, 2017 19:59:43 GMT -5 Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster said:

I did the underground tour last year and I would say its well worth doing.

Also two places in Seattle that I would highly recommend visiting would be Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Museum of Pop Culture.

I was looking at them, but I was having trouble finding the time to fit more museums into my schedule. Do you think these are more worth seeing then the Aquarium or the Columbia Center?

Can't really say as I didn't go to either the Aquarium or the Columbia Center but if your time is limited the Chihuly Garden and Glass can be done in just over hour and is right next to the Space Needle.

[BlackoutCreature]

So I got back from my trip on Saturday and thought I'd share my travel experiences with everybody. Although first of all I want to thank everybody for their advice in the first place.

So I got into Seatac on Sunday and then drove out to Portland. The drive was mostly unremarkable but I did pass by a few beautiful snow-capped mountains, looking like giant whiteheads protruding from America's oily adolescent skin. I will say this, between the rental car prices and parking prices I paid, that car was probably the biggest waste of money I had the entire trip. Driving and parking in Seattle was particularly complicated. As long as you're not leaving the cities, you can get anywhere you need to get via walking or public transportation. Once again, Seattle public transportation system is a little more complicated then Portland's, but I've mastered the New York City Subways so it's no big deal for me.

Got to Portland around 5:30PM, and decided there wasn't much I can do in terms of sight-seeing. I did walk up to Voodoo Donuts though, which has been on my places to visit list for a good decade, and their donuts were quite spectacular. My favorite was the Memphis Mania. While I was in Portland I tried another donut place called Blue Star. They were less impressive. Good donuts, don't get me wrong, but nothing I couldn't get in NYC.

I spent my evening at a barcade called Ground Kontrol. Lot of cool, old-school arcade games there. Played the original Mario Bros. for the first time in forever.

Gotta be honest, walking around Portland that night I was unimpressed. The city looked really rundown, a lot of homeless people, a lot of boarded up buildings. Just really sad. What amazed was when I went out the next morning how different the city looked. It was like they painted the entire city while I was asleep. The boarded up buildings were open for business, shops and restaurants were open, people and families were walking around. It looked beautiful. The city just had this funky, laid-back decent sized city feeling that I enjoyed.

Monday I took the MAX to the zoo. Decent enough zoo, wish I had time to explore the park more though. Came back, checked out the Alder Street Food Cart pods. Some amazing choices. The flagship of the pod seemed to be The Frying Scotsman for fish and chips, and while those were very good, the Loco Moco I got from a Hawaiian BBQ cart outshined it. Then I took a bus and streetcar down to the waterfront where I took a trip on their Tram. Great views of he city and mountains from it. That evening I went to the local mall to catch Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 and did some shopping in the Made in Oregon store (roasted hazelnuts covered in marionberry flavored chocolate, really good stuff).

Tuesday I went to the Oregon Historical Society museum. Decent enough local history museum. Gave me some good knowledge on the pioneer days. Went back to the Alder Street pods, tried a few other places, tried the Blue Star donuts I mentioned, then hit the Pearl District for some shopping and exploring.

If you like books then definitely his Powell's Bookstore. Huge and amazing place, I could've spent a week in there looking at everything. Didn't have the nerve to try to the Rare Book Room though. I think that's where they keep the Necronomicon. Spent a little more time in Ground Kontrol before returning to my hotel. Man when I got back jetlag hit me hard. I figured I'd take a quick nap around 5PM and I didn't wake up until 9:30.

Next day I left for Seattle, with a side trip to the Spin Laundry Lounge. I packed light so I needed to clean some clothes for the rest of the trip. The Lounge is a neat little Laundromat with a trendy café and a video arcade inside of it. Also they have free detergent.

When I got to Seattle my first stop was Beth's Café, a diner that I've had on my places to visit list for nearly 15 years, first hearing about it on a Food Network special. They're famous for their huge omelettes and all you can eat hashed browns. I got an omelette with chili, cheese, salsa and sour cream. And if a place offers all you can eat hashed browns and you don't get at least one refill, it's like insulting the place right to it's face. So I left fully stuffed. Stopped by a Danish bakery on the way to the hotel to get a snack for the evening though. It was ok, nothing to go out of your way for.

Once again, getting to my hotel was a pain in the neck with driving and parking. The hotel was very convenient though, just north of Pike Place Market. Seattle surprised me. I was much more urban, much more busy, much more crowded then I expected. Went to the Space Needle that evening, figured I'd get it out of the way. I actually liked it more then I expected, beautiful view up top, and it wasn't particularly crowded.

Next day I went to the Pike Place Market. If you're there I highly recommend taking the food tour of the market. A great sample selection of what they have to offer. I particularly recommend Beecher's cheese curds, the Clam Chowder at Pike Place Chowder, and any of the savory pastries from Pyrsohky Pyroshky. If Caitlyn with a C is somehow reading this, I apologize for blowing you off in the chocolate store after the tour. I didn't recognize you at first and thought you were a sales girl there and were gonna try to sell me something so I just wanted to get out as quick as I could. Didn't realize who you were until afterwards. Thanks for the tip on getting the local Root Beer.

Off the tour there was also Jack's Fish Spot, who honestly made better fish and chips then the Frying Scotsman in Portland.

Afterwards I hit the Aquarium, which was ok but not the best aquarium I've seen. I walked up the pier, which had a lot of stores and restaurants on it, although nothing stood out as too interesting, then went to Columbia Center. By the way, that far downtown and Seattle becomes VERY hilly, so be prepared to do some mountain climbing if you're traveling across the Avenues. Columbia Center was ok, a decent enough view of the city, but I didn't really think it was all that worth the money or walking.

On Friday I checked out the Pacific Science Center. It's an ok Natural History Museum, but nothing I haven't seen before. It seems very much geared for youngsters though, so if you're traveling with kids it's a good way to kill a couple of hours with them. Then I went downtown to take the Bill Speidel Underground Tour. Very fun and informative tour about Seattle's history and complex city planning. I highly recommend it. Went back to Pike Place Market for a late lunch/early dinner. It was much more crowded this day so I didn't really try anyplace new unfortunately. Planned on spending my evening at the Seattle Pinball Museum, but I was so exhausted I just decided to go back to my hotel and crash. In hindsight I regret it, but there's a similar pinball place in Manhattan, so I'm not too torn up about it.

So yeah, very fun if exhausting vacation. Cities were beautiful, weather was beautiful in Portland, iffy in Seattle. Felt like I did everything I could do in Portland. Would've liked another day in Seattle just to see if there was anything worth exploring south of Pioneer Square. Once again, the car just wasn't worth it.

[Deleted]

MoPop museum or whatever it's called in Seattle is amazing. It used to be Experience Hendrix. There are tons of Hendrix and Nirvana paraphernalia but to me the coolest part was the props from sci-fi and horror movies. There is also some video game things if you're into that. Very cool place.

Space Needle is alright, but it's pretty expensive for not much of anything.
.
If you're into celebrity graves Bruce Lee and Jimi Hendrix are both up there as well.

Seattle is a very cool place, I'll be going back in the not too distant future myself.

[DASH 243✅]

Are you going to try and eat the 12 egg omelette at beths?

[BlackoutCreature]

May 15, 2017 22:26:17 GMT -5 DASH 243✅ said:

Are you going to try and eat the 12 egg omelette at beths?

I got a six egger with an extra helping of hashed browns. Sadly I'm not in my 20's anymore, I can't pull off 12 egg omelette's anymore. Plus I had been eating a lot in the days before I got there.

[DASH 243✅]

May 15, 2017 22:29:46 GMT -5 BlackoutCreature said:

May 15, 2017 22:26:17 GMT -5 DASH 243✅ said:

Are you going to try and eat the 12 egg omelette at beths?

I got a six egger with an extra helping of hashed browns. Sadly I'm not in my 20's anymore, I can't pull off 12 egg omelette's anymore. Plus I had been eating a lot in the days before I got there.

Their hash browns are bomb

[Rican]

May 15, 2017 21:31:07 GMT -5 BlackoutCreature said:

So I got back from my trip on Saturday and thought I'd share my travel experiences with everybody. Although first of all I want to thank everybody for their advice in the first place.

So I got into Seatac on Sunday and then drove out to Portland. The drive was mostly unremarkable but I did pass by a few beautiful snow-capped mountains, looking like giant whiteheads protruding from America's oily adolescent skin. I will say this, between the rental car prices and parking prices I paid, that car was probably the biggest waste of money I had the entire trip. Driving and parking in Seattle was particularly complicated. As long as you're not leaving the cities, you can get anywhere you need to get via walking or public transportation. Once again, Seattle public transportation system is a little more complicated then Portland's, but I've mastered the New York City Subways so it's no big deal for me.

Got to Portland around 5:30PM, and decided there wasn't much I can do in terms of sight-seeing. I did walk up to Voodoo Donuts though, which has been on my places to visit list for a good decade, and their donuts were quite spectacular. My favorite was the Memphis Mania. While I was in Portland I tried another donut place called Blue Star. They were less impressive. Good donuts, don't get me wrong, but nothing I couldn't get in NYC.

I spent my evening at a barcade called Ground Kontrol. Lot of cool, old-school arcade games there. Played the original Mario Bros. for the first time in forever.

Gotta be honest, walking around Portland that night I was unimpressed. The city looked really rundown, a lot of homeless people, a lot of boarded up buildings. Just really sad. What amazed was when I went out the next morning how different the city looked. It was like they painted the entire city while I was asleep. The boarded up buildings were open for business, shops and restaurants were open, people and families were walking around. It looked beautiful. The city just had this funky, laid-back decent sized city feeling that I enjoyed.

Monday I took the MAX to the zoo. Decent enough zoo, wish I had time to explore the park more though. Came back, checked out the Alder Street Food Cart pods. Some amazing choices. The flagship of the pod seemed to be The Frying Scotsman for fish and chips, and while those were very good, the Loco Moco I got from a Hawaiian BBQ cart outshined it. Then I took a bus and streetcar down to the waterfront where I took a trip on their Tram. Great views of he city and mountains from it. That evening I went to the local mall to catch Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 and did some shopping in the Made in Oregon store (roasted hazelnuts covered in marionberry flavored chocolate, really good stuff).

Tuesday I went to the Oregon Historical Society museum. Decent enough local history museum. Gave me some good knowledge on the pioneer days. Went back to the Alder Street pods, tried a few other places, tried the Blue Star donuts I mentioned, then hit the Pearl District for some shopping and exploring.

If you like books then definitely his Powell's Bookstore. Huge and amazing place, I could've spent a week in there looking at everything. Didn't have the nerve to try to the Rare Book Room though. I think that's where they keep the Necronomicon. Spent a little more time in Ground Kontrol before returning to my hotel. Man when I got back jetlag hit me hard. I figured I'd take a quick nap around 5PM and I didn't wake up until 9:30.

Next day I left for Seattle, with a side trip to the Spin Laundry Lounge. I packed light so I needed to clean some clothes for the rest of the trip. The Lounge is a neat little Laundromat with a trendy café and a video arcade inside of it. Also they have free detergent.

When I got to Seattle my first stop was Beth's Café, a diner that I've had on my places to visit list for nearly 15 years, first hearing about it on a Food Network special. They're famous for their huge omelettes and all you can eat hashed browns. I got an omelette with chili, cheese, salsa and sour cream. And if a place offers all you can eat hashed browns and you don't get at least one refill, it's like insulting the place right to it's face. So I left fully stuffed. Stopped by a Danish bakery on the way to the hotel to get a snack for the evening though. It was ok, nothing to go out of your way for.

Once again, getting to my hotel was a pain in the neck with driving and parking. The hotel was very convenient though, just north of Pike Place Market. Seattle surprised me. I was much more urban, much more busy, much more crowded then I expected. Went to the Space Needle that evening, figured I'd get it out of the way. I actually liked it more then I expected, beautiful view up top, and it wasn't particularly crowded.

Next day I went to the Pike Place Market. If you're there I highly recommend taking the food tour of the market. A great sample selection of what they have to offer. I particularly recommend Beecher's cheese curds, the Clam Chowder at Pike Place Chowder, and any of the savory pastries from Pyrsohky Pyroshky. If Caitlyn with a C is somehow reading this, I apologize for blowing you off in the chocolate store after the tour. I didn't recognize you at first and thought you were a sales girl there and were gonna try to sell me something so I just wanted to get out as quick as I could. Didn't realize who you were until afterwards. Thanks for the tip on getting the local Root Beer.

Off the tour there was also Jack's Fish Spot, who honestly made better fish and chips then the Frying Scotsman in Portland.

Afterwards I hit the Aquarium, which was ok but not the best aquarium I've seen. I walked up the pier, which had a lot of stores and restaurants on it, although nothing stood out as too interesting, then went to Columbia Center. By the way, that far downtown and Seattle becomes VERY hilly, so be prepared to do some mountain climbing if you're traveling across the Avenues. Columbia Center was ok, a decent enough view of the city, but I didn't really think it was all that worth the money or walking.

On Friday I checked out the Pacific Science Center. It's an ok Natural History Museum, but nothing I haven't seen before. It seems very much geared for youngsters though, so if you're traveling with kids it's a good way to kill a couple of hours with them. Then I went downtown to take the Bill Speidel Underground Tour. Very fun and informative tour about Seattle's history and complex city planning. I highly recommend it. Went back to Pike Place Market for a late lunch/early dinner. It was much more crowded this day so I didn't really try anyplace new unfortunately. Planned on spending my evening at the Seattle Pinball Museum, but I was so exhausted I just decided to go back to my hotel and crash. In hindsight I regret it, but there's a similar pinball place in Manhattan, so I'm not too torn up about it.

So yeah, very fun if exhausting vacation. Cities were beautiful, weather was beautiful in Portland, iffy in Seattle. Felt like I did everything I could do in Portland. Would've liked another day in Seattle just to see if there was anything worth exploring south of Pioneer Square. Once again, the car just wasn't worth it.

Thanks for recapping your trip! I'm going to Portland at the end of July for a weekend trip and was looking for stuff to do. Then I remember this thread hah

[BlackoutCreature]

Jun 9, 2017 10:12:42 GMT -5 Rican said:

Thanks for recapping your trip! I'm going to Portland at the end of July for a weekend trip and was looking for stuff to do. Then I remember this thread hah

Well I'm glad somebody appreciated it. I'm usually reluctant to share my travel adventures as I always got the feeling most people don't find it all that interesting.

For Portland, for food just go to the Alder Street Food Cart Pod and wander around a little until you find something that looks good. It shouldn't be hard to find something. If you're just looking for someplace to hang out at in the evening then check out Ground Kontrol. Also definitely swing by Voodoo Donuts.