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Vancouver to Cannon Beach is only about 350 miles, so that it can be driven relatively easily in a single day, especially if you take a couple of 'time outs' from driving and let your child (and you) get some needed fresh air and exercise. Maybe two or three from: Wenburg Park before plunging into the Seatle-Tacoma traffic, the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center if you're taking I-5 as far south as Longview. Willapa National Wildlife Refuge if you head for the coast from Olympia, and Fort Clatsop whichever way you go.

If you really want to break this drive up into two days, then I'd suggest that you look at somewhere around the southern or western suburbs of Olympia so that you will have done the great bulk of your urban driving and will be in a position to drive out of town the next morning without having to worry about rush hour traffic.

You might also want to consider an entirely different route if you and your child are not already jaded with ferries. You could take the ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, and then a second ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles, WA, spend some time in Olympic National Park, and then take US-101 all the way down to Cannon Beach. Obviously this would also work in reverse if you chose to do this on the way home.

AZBuck