SD to Seattle on PCH

[kramerica]

Hi,

me and my wife are planning a 7 day trip from SD to Seattle on PCH during Christmas. Here's our plan:
Drive from SD to SF on I-5 then
SF-Eureka-Newport-Portland-Seattle on PCH
and then spend a couple days in seattle and drive back to SD on I-5.

We wanted to know if Christmas is a good time for the drive on PCH and will we encounter a lot of snow on our way?
Also, any other suggestions/places of interest en route would help us.

Thanks!

[glc]

You are missing the best part of the PCH (in my opinion) - the part between San Luis Obispo and Monterey.

[roadie]

Kramerica,
Sounds doable to me.

Yes, you'll miss the Big Sur coastline, but if you live in San Diego that could
be another trip, perhaps a long weekend.

I don't expect you'd see any snow staying along the California or Oregon
coast. I can't speak for Washington though. Rain would be quite likely though.

One cute town along the Redwood Coast is Ferndale. It's noted for
it's Victorian homes. They may be decorated for Christmas.

You'll need to drive through the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt Redwoods
State Park. If you search around RTA, you'll find more information.

The coastal towns along the Oregon Coast are all very quaint.

I enjoyed the beaches at Bandon, OR, they have some very photogenic
sea stacks.

The town of Coos Bay, Florence are also nice.

Haceta Head Lighthouse is beautiful as well.

Cannon Beach is famous for Haystack Rock.

I'm sure there are people on RTA that know more about OR and WA than
I do.

Hope this helps a little.

Have a great trip, let us know how it went.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the R.T.A forums.

I agree with roadie it looks doable and some great tips as well. Regarding the weather it's best to keep checking whats happening prior to leaving and during your journey. If you are flexible it might be that you could do the long journey to Seattle first and return by the coast if for instance it was wet/foggy on your first couple of days and then clearing. The one thing that's worth pointing out is that if you are allowing two days for Seattle to S/D they are going to be two long days. I would expect them to be over 11 hour days with 1280 miles to cover, even with a good run and conditions.

Have a great trip.

[kramerica]

HI All,

Thanks for the responses and great suggestions. We had already done the SD to SF trip on PCH so decided to skip it for this time. I really like the idea of driving up to seattle first and then driving down by the coast. We'll also check out the places Roadie suggested.

Cheers!

[Eris]

Remember Howard Hughes and his Spruce Goose - now he was a colorful character with many arrows to his bow.

The magnificent flying machine is located in McMinnville, Oregon and in the area you are travelling. Also lots of other things to see and do at the museum with refreshments also available.

Look here for detail – well worth a visit.

[roadie]

I never did see the Spruce Goose when I lived in So Cal.
Only last week did I see the Queen Mary while visiting family
in So Cal.

I guess I'll need to go to Oregon to see it now.

[kramerica]

We are planning to stay near the Space needle or Pioneer square. Any suggestions?

[glc]

What's your budget? Anyplace nice is going to be $125+ a night unless you can find something off the beaten path. Check it out at hotels.com.