Must do on the west coast?

[April]

On the 18th of June, my family and I are flying out to Seattle Washington, and driving down through to San Francisco before driving back to Colorado. We are going to Mt St Helens, going to look at the space needle, definitely going to the beach, going to tour Alcatraz, and hiking in the Redwood forest. But we haven't really planned anything else, and are looking into other things on the way.

what are your must see things in Washington, Oregon and north California? I figure we have about 8 days before we have to start driving back

[bhskittykatt]

If you are in Seattle, I HIGHLY recommend the underground tour! I've been on it twice and own two of Bill Speidel's books. http://www.undergroundtour.com/

What part of St. Helens are you going to? You can check out the Ape Caves there. http://www.mountsthelens.com/ape-caves.html

If you pass through Astoria, OR, T Paul's has the absolute BEST strawberry lemonade you will EVER experience. My favorite lunch spot that I wish I could teleport to my town: http://www.tpaulsurbancafe.com/home.html

[notalwaysright]

Olympic National Park is super pretty... Temperate rain forest! Mt Rainier, also.

Pike Place Market. Touristy, but fun.

Cannon Beach, Oregon.

I'll let everyone else continue. The rest of the places I know are small, since my family isn't much for crowds. So we'd go to places like Westport, WA and Sand Lake, OR. Both of which are small and not "destinations" of any sort.

[Aragarthiel]

I absolutely LOVE San Francisco. If you can, make plans for dinner at the Mona Lisa in Little Italy (they have AMAZING lasagna), and there's a fortune cookie factory somewhere in Chinatown that you can go visit, but you might have to ask one of the locals exactly where it is (it's so small and off on a side street so it's easy to miss). Then there's the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum that I'm pretty sure is still there, and the Dr. Seuss museum and Ghiradelli store all in the same general area. I also recommend the Winchester Mystery House in nearby San Jose, if you're into scary stuff like that.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Olympic National Park is super pretty... Temperate rain forest! Mt Rainier, also.

These would be my picks.

Driving down the Oregon coast is nice scenery, but a lot of tourist-trap places that aren't really worth checking out.

[April]

I want to go to the Winchester Mystery house!! I'm going to mark that down as a "have to" haha.

You guys are awesome! I'm printing this out to take to my husband.

[Elspeth]

Leavenworth in Washington is very cool. If you drive down the Oregon Coast, stop by Tillamook Cheese Factory, there is an Air Museum in an old blimp hanger there. Then down in Lincoln City is the Spruce Goose at another air museum.

[wolfie]

Don't know what airline you'll be flying, but I'm curious whether the bar located between the security checkpoint and the American Airlines gates (last saw it before 9/11) still has the sign near the door telling people they aren't allowed to bring firearms inside.

[XCashier]

Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco is a nice place, especially if you like seafood. Pity you aren't going a little further south than San Francisco; the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a great place to visit.

If you drive down the Oregon Coast, stop by Tillamook Cheese Factory, there is an Air Museum in an old blimp hanger there.

And some amazingly good ice cream in the Factory.

[Aragarthiel]

Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco is a nice place, especially if you like seafood. Pity you aren't going a little further south than San Francisco; the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a great place to visit.

I've been to both of those places. I'm not a huge fan of seafood (I swear I've dissected more for science class than I've eaten), so Fisherman's Wharf was a bit boring for me, but Monterey Bay was fantastic. I lost my third disposable camera there during that vacation- the first was at the top of the Stratosphere in Vegas, and the second was lost at my aunt's house in San Jose.

[April]

oooh I found "Loved to Death" which was on the show Oddities in San Fran. That makes me excited! I think someone else mentioned Fisherman's Wharf, maybe my Mom? and Voodoo Donuts as well

[April]

pretty sure I can't afford anything here though...http://www.lovedtodeath.com/collections/antiques