Where can we get to from Seattle (6-7 days)--help!

[Tiki]

I've been too busy at work to properly plan our upcoming spring/Easter break trip. Traveling: me, the husband, the 5 year old boy and the 14 year old girl. I was originally considering Eastern WA with the Stone Rose fossil dig as the highlight. Found out today that they don't open for digging until May!

So....any thoughts on where we could get with 6-7 days total trip time? We've done California Gold Country, the Redwoods, the Bay Area, Oregon Coast, Oregon Journey Through Time, and Richmond BC before. Not averse to seeing one of those again, but hoping for something new.

We'd be able to set out by 10am on Easter Sunday, April 1st, and in the past, we've gotten as far as Northern CA in one day's driving, with stops for picnic lunch and restaurant dinner. The kids are seasoned travelers.

I really need a trip out of town, and am just feeling unimaginative about this one. Any help appreciated!!

[AZBuck]

Since you're just looking for ideas at this point I won't go into a lot of detail, but rather just throw out a few ideas. I've also had a look at some of your previous trip planning to get an idea of what might appeal to you and yours this time.

My first suggestion would be if you have your passports in order to head northeast into the Canadian Rockies. There'd be lots of great scenery, hiking, and national parks; the odd movie location or two (Roxanne with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah was filmed in Nelson BC, and Vancouver is used for location shots in any number of TV shows and movies, Steveston BC is Storybrooke in Once Upon a Time, etc.); and even significant fossil sites (Jericho Beach in Vancouver and Muir Creek Beach in Sooke for starters). You could even take a couple of ferries with Vancouver Island in the middle to make a very nice loop back to the Seattle area.

But if you don't have your passports already, you'll have to stick to the states in which case I think your best bet is to aim for northern Idaho and western Montana with the beautiful city of Coeur d'Alene and then Glacier National Park as your bases. Again this would give you great outdoors, scenery, more than a few cowboy and high plains movie locations, and you could loop back through southern Idaho, the Snake River Valley and the Hagerman Fossil Beds.

Anyway, those are the first two 'destinations' that leapt to my mind. I hope they spark something in you or if not let us know why not and we'll see what we can do to improve upon them.

AZBuck

[Tiki]

Awesome, thank you!!
Those of us who need passports have them-The 5 year old's just expired but I think under age 18 is ok with birth certificate... gotta check that.

[DonnaR57]

When I read this, what sprang to mind was the Columbia River Gorge, if you haven't already done that.

Bear in mind that in Glacier National Park, Going to the Sun Road (the main road that crosses the park) is not yet open for the season. It rarely opens before the end of June, as plowing it begins in mid-April and continues for awhile. However, Two Medicine and Many Glacier areas, both on the eastern side of the park, are open.

I just gave this advice to my adult daughter: once you have a passport, never let it expire. It's a big hassle to get another one; not so much the renewal.


Donna

[Midwest Michael]

Awesome, thank you!!
Those of us who need passports have them-The 5 year old's just expired but I think under age 18 is ok with birth certificate... gotta check that.

That is (mostly) correct. Your 5 year old will be fine crossing the Canadian border via land with a certified birth certificate. The age cut off is 16, however, not 18. Anyone 16 or older needs a passport.

[Midwest Michael]

I just gave this advice to my adult daughter: once you have a passport, never let it expire. It's a big hassle to get another one; not so much the renewal.

For adults, you can still renew an expired passport by mail, as long as the expiration date was not more than 5 years ago.

Childrens passports (anyone under 16) are a bit different, as they are only valid for 5 years and can never be renewed by mail anyway. You also have to apply in person the first time you get an adult passport, even if you have a passport issued as a child that hasn't yet expired (i.e. people 16-20 years old).

[Tiki]

Vancouver Island is the winner. We have a boat so I think of it primarily as a boating destination, but there are apparently awesome sights inland.
Current plan: day 1 drive to Horseshoe Bay and take ferry to Nanaimo; spend night in Nanaimo
Day 2: sightsee and make our way to Courtenay; spend the next few days using Courtenay as base (found a hotel that has indoor pool with waterslide-heaven for the 5 year old)
Days 3-4: tour the island daytripping
Day 5: head to Victoria (maybe stay the night there maybe not); if no overnight, catch the Black Ball ferry to Port Angeles that day. If overnight, catch it the next day.
Day 6: return to Seattle via Port Townsend, so we can see relatives

It's weird to me to plan a trip with more than one night in any one town, but my teen griped a bit about not having a "home base". We'll see I guess!

As for passports, my eldest's expired last year, but we didn't renew as we didn't have any travel plans. In the meantime, she turned 18, so had to go in person to renew/get a passport anyway. I'm taking her to Montreal (by plane) in a couple of weeks, so we paid the extra to expedite it. It really is faster-came in 12 days!