West coast trip - need suggestions please!

UPDATE: 9/14/13

Thank you again to everyone for the suggestions! Based on your feedback we've decided to break the trip up into two city hubs. We will fly into Seattle and stay for about 4 to 5 days. Then we will fly down to San Francisco and stay for another 4 to 5 days. We will rent a car in each city and venture out to the sites and city's near by. So far we have the following on our list of must see/to do items. 

Any additional suggestions are welcome!

Seattle

• Pike Place Fish Market
• Chihuly Garden and Glass
• Olympic National Park
• A couple winery tours (just outside of Seattle)
• A foodie tour
• Visit some of the Tom Douglas restaurants 

San Francisco

• Chinatown
• Fisherman's Wharf
• Golden Gate Bridge
• Alcatraz
• Lombard Street
• Monterey Aquarium and the bay area
• Carmel
• Napa Valley - Various wine tours
• Big Sur

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Date: 9/2/13

Hello family,

For my 40th Birthday I've decided on a westcoast trip starting in Seattle washington to San Fancisco (I think). I currently live in Florida and have not spent a lot of time on the west coast. I'm in the very early planning stages and thought it would be a great idea to get suggestions from those on the west coast in the family or those who may have taken a similar trip. We will fly to Seattle and rent a car and drive down the coast.  

This is what I know so far:

WHEN: Mid June (approximately 10 days)

MUST SEE PLACES:

• Seattle, Washington 
• Portland, Oregon 
• Yosemite National Park
• Redwood National Patk
• Napa Valley, Stags Leap, other vineyards
• San Francisco

THINGS WE LIKE/ENJOY

• We are foodies! Recommend some must dine experiences
• We love wine - where are the most unique or best places to taste wine?
• Nature - We love National Parks but are not up for 10 mile hikes. I just love to stretch my photography muscles
• Arts and crafts festivals - Anything ongoing or during that time frame?
• Farmer markets
• Unique little towns with lots or character and interesting culture

So hopefully the above gives you a good idea of us. So do you know of some must see places? Or maybe a hotel or resort that we have to experience? Or maybe there is a killer restaurant we can not leave town without experiencing. I would love to hear any and all suggestions!

Thank you!

There is a ton of different options for your trip.

Starting in Seattle, there are an absolute ton of different food options depending on your price range.  Two of the larger restaurateurs in the city are Ethan Stowell and Tom Douglas.  They each have several restaurants that have lots of amazing and varied food depending on your food preference (when my girlfriend's family was in town a month or 2 ago, we ended up going to like 5 Tom Douglas restaurants in a week, they're really good).

 In regards to Seattle activities, in June the weather will most likely be good, so you can do outdoors stuff.  For day trips, the islands north of Seattle are amazing, as is Olympic National Park.  I'd go to Hurricane ridge in the olympic park - amazing views.  Closer to Seattle, you could spend time at Gasworks park on Lake Union.  Also, the Chihuly Art Exhibit is amazing, and I bet you could take incredible photos there.  Pikes Place Market down town is also a lot of fun but make sure to go there with an appetite.

Heading South, Mt Rainier National Park is really great, but out of the way.  Regardless, if its a clear day, make sure to spot Rainier Southeast of Seattle - it's impressive.

Going farther south, I would recommend going to Crater Lake.  It has great views without a hike.  You can drive around the entire rim, and if you want to go down the rim to the lakes it's about a 1 mile walk to the water.  There's also a nice lodge with lots of interesting information about the park.

Also, Ashland, Oregon is a great city to stop at just north of the California, Oregon border.  It's a very scenic town, and it has the largest annual Shakespeare festival in the US.  There are probably at least 6 if not closer to 10 plays going on in June.  If you want to do that, you should purchase your tickets now because they do sell out.  Also, because there is the high influx of tourists coming for the Shakespeare festival (hundreds of thousands over the course of the year), there are alot of really good restaurants for foodies.  I'd recommend having breakfast / brunch at Morning Glory.   

Heading into California, Mt. Lassen National Park is a little known national park but has something really interesting features.  I'd recommend a google search to look at some of the cool-looking geological sights in that national park.

Redwood National Park is also really great and you can combine it with some time on the coast.  After that you get into Wine Country and San Francisco which is also really great.   

You might want to leave out Yosemite.. :(  There has been a huge fire there and will take months to recover from. Not sure if will even be open next year. 

I grew up on Cali.... 

If you are driving Vs plane then your 10 plan will not work out too much. You need at least a couple of days travel from Portland Oregon to California.  I've driven the I 5 from Portland to Fresno quite a few times.  It takes almost 12 hours if not 14 to drive straight through.  If you decide to sleep part of the time then Redding or Red Bluff if a great place to stay and reasonable prices for hotels. 

From Redding/Red Bluff  it takes a few hours to hit SF.. SF will take a you a least 3 or 4 days to really enjoy. 

Also if you want the scenic rout to drive highway 101 is beautiful!!!!!!!! 

nice B&B all along the highway. I does take much longer because the road follows the coast instead of a straight route.

Gas will cost you a ton in Ca.. about 4-5 a gallon.   So be careful to budget for it.

The wine vineyards are always on around the hill areas of California.... I would wait to stay at a hotel and then ask them about the wine tasting routes.  They will sometimes have people who will drive you so you can take perfect advantage of the various wines.

The best time of year to really travel this area would be early May... June is very hot and so is July and August.  September it really the best time for the Siskiyous between Oregon and California.

Hope this helps some!! 

I miss that side of the world for sure..

Have a great trip. Take your time and allow for issues... You should have no problems then!!  Good luck and God Bless!

Im from Olympia Wa orignally.. I will tell you my all time favorite place to visit!!  Staircase at Lake Cushman in the Olympic National Forest.  Its probably my version of paradise.  A glacier filled lake with a trail up a waterfall.  Its not too strenuous btw. 

http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/visiting-staircase.htm

And if you like sea food.. its right off of Hoodsport which is right on the bay. Lots of good restaurants! 

If you like wolves.. There is a wolf sanctuary  located near Olympia.. its called Wolf Haven international. I've spent a lot of time there! 

http://www.wolfhaven.org/index.php

Have fun! 

Oh lord.. dont forget Pike place market if you are in Seattle.. Thats an awesome farmers market.. but Im sure you know that! 

From my understanding the fire left the valley completely alone so all the falls and scenic little hikes should all be totally fine.  Yosemite does seem like it is the most out of the way place (along with redwoods) on your trip so for time sake you may want to do that on another trip.  Seems like you have a very large trip you want to take, make sure you have enough time in each place to enjoy them.  Have a great time planning.  I know growing up my dad had as much fun planning the trip as we did on them...lol

SF isn't as exciting as people make it out to be, but there is several cool things to check out. The piers, of course, are good fun. The Golden Gate. A tour of Alcatraz is a must - try to book that in advance if you can. If you're any bit of a football fan and you've never been, hit up Candlestick Park - this is the last season it hosts the 49ers. Drive or walk Lombard Street, the windiest street in the world. Oh and check out Lucas Arts on a weekday so you can check out the props from the movies and the life-size Yoda fountain.

If you want to check out more a scenic location, go past SF to Monterrey Bay. About an hour past SF. Huge aquarium and lots of family fun.

As for eats in SF... well, it's SF. There's way too much to point out. But to make it easy on you, just follow in Guy Fieri's footsteps:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/local/search/Controller#/37.77493/-122.419416/10/?city=San%20Francisco,%20CA&show=Diners,%20Drive-ins%20and%20Dives

Oh, and there's a Tex Wasabi in Santa Rosa, which you'll probably drive through on the way to SF. Guy Fieri's "Texas-style sushi." It's a riot.

I'll echo the notion of spending some time driving south down 101. When I lived in the Bay Area years ago my wife and I would drive 101 up to Eureka whenever we could. If time isn't a factor, take hwy one for as much of your trip south as possible. Watch for otters & whales. Redwoods abound. The Lost Coast is quite neat. In Eureka proper the Lost Coast Brewpub is quite yummy.

Just south the SF bay area I loved visiting Pescadero. There's a place there called Duartes Tavern which is quite yummy. Guy F went there on an episode. There's a local grocery store there with the best artichoke garlic bread. The pigeon Point Lighthouse is nearby and great photograph opportunity.

Have fun!

 P.S. Monterey Aquarium is awesome if that's of interest. Willowcreek is home to some famous Bigfoot sitings, but off the beaten path. Do pick up a banana slug at least once. It's a moment to be remembered.

Wow so many great suggestions! Thank you everyone who has Taken the time to respond thus far.

I'll spend this coming weekend looking over everything. And thank you for the tips about distance and time. We were hoping to spend 2 to 3 days in a few main hubs and branch out and explore from there.

We may have to put off a few sites for another trip to assure we can really enjoy everything. It is after all a vacation and I don't want to stress over too much. :)

Disneyland is in Cali... Just so you know.

Oregon Zoo near Portland is not too shabby. There's also a train to the Rose Garden, which is really pretty depending on the time of year.

Tilamook cheese factory in Tilamook, Oregon!!!! YOU MUST GO THERE!!! Great cheese, fudge and ice cream. Nuff said...

Duhm... Living in this area, you'd think I'd know more cool places...

I'll let you know If I think of any.

Disneyland is a good 8 hours south of SF though. However, there is a Six Flags in Vallejo, which is about 45 minutes east of SF, if'n you are looking for an amusement park. Also, there's California's Great America amusement park in San Jose, on the south edge of SF.

Oh, if you were a Rifter, Trion Worlds is in Redwood City, a SF burb in the south bay.

updated original post with plans thus far....