First time Northwest Road Trip

[cfullerton]

I've been scannng the posts and see that everyone is really great at trying to help out novices like me. So I'm here looking for help. My wife and I want to fly into San Francisco, rent a car and meander up to Seattle and see as much as we can. I'd like to do it in 10-14 days. We've done San Francisco and south down to Carmel. For this trip we want to spend a couple of nights in Napa, see Yosemite, Tahoe, Redwood Forest, Portland area, and finally the Seattle area. We would like to plan it to stay downtown Seattle during the 4th of July for their celebration. We're not sure about making it a round trip, especially if it makes it too rushed. I'd like for this to be as romantic and breathtaking as possible(I know I have to do my part in the romance department). We like Inns and B&Bs and love food. I'd appreciate any advice and we're pretty much open to changes to destinations in order to get in the best of the Great Northwest. By the way, we're natives of St. Augustine, Florida and can't wait to see what's out there.

Clay

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

I am in the midst of planning a similar but somewhat shorter trip for next year myself, but I can offer no better advice than to read over the posts by Judy on this neck of the woods. If you don't mind unpacking every night and repacking every morning then you can do a round-trip drive from San Francisco to Seattle and back taking the coastal route (CA-1 and US-101) on way and the inland route (I-5 and parallel roads) on the way back, or even a very elongated figure '8' with some of each on both legs. As for B&Bs, they are indeed much more romantic than motels. But they do require some forethought and are best chosen together with your wife. The best ones also offer a wealth of information on the local sights on your way to your next destination.

AZBuck

[PNW Judy]

I came in here expecting to do some writing but your link to several of my posts saved me.

Clay, I hope those give you some ideas. Please ask more questions. And if you would give us some more specific ideas of what type of things you want to see, then I'll do my best to give you some specific recommendations.

One thing that might not be covered in those other posts is the weather. You say you're coming in the summer. What month? June and even the beginning of July can still be fairly wet here. And it's not uncommon for there to be fog in the morning. Overcast skies until noon or early afternoon is also common. The best time for clear, blue skies and warmer weather usually begins about mid-July and goes through most of September.