Chufi takes a roadtrip in the PNW

[Chufi]

(sort of crossposted with the Western Canada froum)

On September 4th, my husband and I will arrive in Seattle to start a 3-week roadtrip in British Columbia & the Pacific Northwest. Nothing is set but our plane tickets, the first couple of nights in Vancouver, and the last couple of nights on Bainbridge Island. But, even though we want to be open for anything, I have spent the last 6 months planning this trip, reading about the area, doing my homework on eGullet, and dreaming about this vacation.. so yes, we do have an itninerary mapped out.

here's the plan sofar:

arrive in Seattle, pick up the car, and drive to Vancouver. ( I posted about that part of the trip in the Vancouver forum here)

After Vancouver and the Okanagan, we enter the US again.

The rest of the trip:

Twisp/ Winthrop

North Cascades

Bellingham

Seattle (couple of days there)

Olympia

Tour the Olympic Peninsula

Port Angeles

from there, (day?) trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island

Bainbridge Island

Seattle (to fly home again).

So. I know there is a ton of info on eGullet already and believe me, I have read a lot!

Still I'd love to hear some (new) recommendations. We like to eat well while we travel, but, if possible, on a bit of a budget. Not that we can't have the occasional splurge but it has to be occasional. Even at home we aren't very glamorous people and I doubt we will bring our high heels and ties respectively, so nothing too fancy. Also, any info on foodrelated activities.. that one special winery.. chees farm.. market.. something so special that it could make us change our traveplans.. etc that you can think of, would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[lancastermike]

Cool trip, Klary. I'm from the wrong part of the US to help you with tips, but I know you will have fun. All of us USA E-Gullet folks love reading and seeing about your life and eats in Holland. Glad you are able to make this wonderful trip

[Saara]

The rest of the trip:

Twisp/ Winthrop

North Cascades

Bellingham

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Wonderful itinerary! Bring good driving shoes.

In Twisp, go to the Methow Valley Brewing/Twisp River Pub for some nice beer and good food and possibly music on the right night. In Winthrop, don't miss Topo (if it hasn't been sold yet) for very good Asian. The Rocking Horse Bakery is also good plus the mandatory ice cream cone at Sheri's. (I will be commenting more fully on these in the Winthrop thread when I have some time.)

I *live* in the North Cascades so I can guide you a bit there, and perhaps make some suggestions for Bellingham.

Right now I have to run off though. You'll have a wonderful whirlwind tour!

[kiliki]

Sounds like a great trip!

Here are some North Cascades/Methow Valley suggestions:

On Hwy. 20, 3 miles east of Rockport, look for the Cascadian Farm stand. They make wonderful ice cream and shakes (avoid the shortcake, though) from the organic berries they grow there. The espresso shakes are good, too, and they have a few salads and snacks, too.

In Winthrop, the Duck Brand Cantina serves only average Mexican food, but they do have a nice outdoor deck with a creek running underneath. I've had good breakfasts at Sun Mountain Lodge in recent years, and the view is great. It's been so long since I had dinner there I can't say if that is still good. I've heard the Topo Cafe (Asian) is good but I haven't tried it.

In Twisp, the Twisp River Pub is good if you want burgers, hot sandwiches, etc. They have many other entrees, but honestly, I don't think it is a good idea to order Thai peanut noodles and the like at a pub in Twisp. Disclaimer: I've only eaten here after hiking trips when most anything tastes good.

[Abra]

Whew, that's a lot of driving! But even though it adds more, I think you should take a little detour to LaConnor on your way down from Bellingham. It's a unique and cute little town, and there are a couple of decent places to eat there. But it's fun for an afternoon all on its own.

[mizducky]

Hi Klary--the current PNW residents have lots fresher info than I do regarding foodish destinations, but I just wanted to mention here that your arrival September 4th coincides with a major US holiday, Labor Day. All US banks and non-essential government agencies will be closed, as will random other businesses. I expect the airport-based auto rental offices will be open anyway, but it might be wise to verify that. And because of the bank closure, you might want to do something about currency exchange before you leave home. Enjoy your trip!

(Heh. Reminded of my one-and-only European trip, which had us departing from France on Bastille Day! Oops!!! )

[tighe]

A few thoughts...

Bellingham (sort of):

Just south of Bellingham is the Oyster Bar on Chuckanut Drive. Good local seafood and a nice setting. Even if you don't eat there, the Chuckanut Drive is a worthwhile scenic detour, a winding road along the water.

A little north of Bellingham is the Semiahmoo Resort, a very nice hotel in a beautiful location. There are two restaurants there, one nicer (but not fancy) and one casual, both very good as of my most recent visit a year or so ago.

Port Angeles:

I've hear there's a good French restaurant in Port Angeles, but I imagine you're not so interested in French food during your trip. If you'd like to do some wine tasting, Cameraderie Cellars makes some good Bordeaux style blends. I know the owners so if you tell me when you're planning to visit, I can let them know.

If you're looking for a place to stay, you might try the Lake Crescent Lodge. I've heard the food there is pretty good too.

La Connor:

If you take Abra's advice and stop in La Connor, the La Connor brewpub has pretty good pub food and excellent beer.

Olympic Peninsula:

If your Olympic Peninsula tour takes you through Shelton, Xinh's Clam & Oyster House is supposed to be very good.

[Chufi]

Wonderful itinerary! Bring good driving shoes.

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Whew, that's a lot of driving! 

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do you think it's too much? It's about the same distance we did 4 years ago in California and 2 years ago in New England, and both those trips were very relaxed, where we often spent a couple of days in the same place. We don't want to drive too much.

It is about half as much driving as the usual trip Dutch people take when going to the US. But, maybe I need to check distances again.

Thanks mizducky for the info about Sep. 4th. Yes, I was aware of Labor day, but I assume, like you said, that the airport will be open as well as the car rental office. Other than that, we'll just want to drive to a motel near Seattle for the night and sleep off a bit of the jetlag. I'll probably book that first night, just to be sure we have a place to stay.

And, great info everybody! keep it coming please

[GourmetLight$]

(sort of crossposted with the Western Canada froum)

On September 4th, my husband and I will arrive in Seattle to start a 3-week roadtrip in British Columbia & the Pacific Northwest. Nothing is set but our plane tickets, the first couple of nights in Vancouver, and the last couple of nights on Bainbridge Island. But, even though we want to be open for anything, I have spent the last 6 months planning this trip, reading about the area, doing my homework on eGullet, and dreaming about this vacation.. so yes, we do have an itninerary mapped out.

here's the plan sofar:

arrive in Seattle, pick up the car, and drive to Vancouver. ( I posted about that part of the trip in the Vancouver forum here)

After Vancouver and the Okanagan, we enter the US again.

The rest of the trip:

Twisp/ Winthrop

North Cascades

Bellingham

Seattle (couple of days there)

Olympia

Tour the Olympic Peninsula

Port Angeles

from there, (day?) trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island

Bainbridge Island

Seattle (to fly home again).

So. I know there is a ton of info on eGullet already and believe me, I have read a lot!

Still I'd love to hear some (new) recommendations. We like to eat well while we travel, but, if possible, on a bit of a budget. Not that we can't have the occasional splurge but it has to be occasional. Even at home we aren't very glamorous people  and I doubt we will bring our high heels and ties respectively, so nothing too fancy. Also, any info on foodrelated activities.. that one special winery.. chees farm.. market.. something so special that it could make us change our traveplans.. etc that you can think of, would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

←

Dear Klary: I do so look forward to meeting you during your trip, but implore you to drive less and enjoy more! I know that in my last trip to Europe (where I started in Amsterdam), I epitomized the "if it's Tuesday it must be Belgium" philosophy (but I finished in Bruges on a Thursday!). But I think you should cover less ground and focus on the experiences that you intend for each area. Please let us know what you want to see, and we'll help you. I do agree that a good car experience can be wonderful, but less is more on your itinerary.

Cheers,

[Chufi]

We always want a combination of city and nature. We have the cities covered with Seattle and Vancouver (3 days Vancouver, probably about 3 days in Seattle).

The trip as I have planned it in RandMcNally is about 1200 miles.

I would really like to visit the Okanagan.. I have read wonderful things about it. Going there, and then south, and then west again through North Cascades seems logical. I guess we could skip Bellingham and go straight to Seattle after North Cascades NP.

I really want to go to the Olympic Peninsula. I have read some great trip reports and seems to have such a diversity of landscapes (ocean, rainforest, mountains). I suppose that if it gets too much and we want to take it easy, we could also skip the trip to Victoria.

What we like is to visit small towns.. hang out in the local diner and watch the world go by.. go shopping in local shops and supermarkets... go hiking for a couple of hours... check out lots of restaurants to decide where we're going to eat.. sit in a coffeehouse and read the paper.

[Dave Weinstein]

Nana Carmela's, north and east of Seattle, in Monroe. Make sure you sit at the Chef's table. And bring both an appetite and an expectation that you are going to be bringing leftovers back with you.

If you wanted to do it as a day trip, spend the day in the Snoqualmie valley (Monroe is at the north end of the valley), going up to the falls, end ending up at Nana Carmela's for dinner.

(They are only open for dinner, Wednesday-Saturday)

[Abra]

And you can't miss the San Juans, and...and...I'd better PM you since I can't think of a thing to say about food here, for once!

[tamiam]

Welcome out our way Chufi. I dont think you have set up an especially difficult itinerary, because the route makes sense. But everyone travels differently, so it is just a matter of choice. If it were me, I might leave out Bellingham in favor of LaConner because they are close, LaConner is small and charming, and B'ham is not especially special. And I might not go all the way to Olympia, because surprisingly enough, you dont need to go to Olympia to get to the Olympic Peninsula.

One nice trip might be to come south from Vancouver, Take the gorgeous slow and windy Chuckanaut Drive path to La Conner, thave lunch, then backtrack just a little bit so that you can stop at beautiful Deception Pass State Park on the north end of Whidbey Island (Hwy 20), then take a ferry from Keystone to Port Townsend to spend the night. This would put you on the Olympic Peninsula much more quickly than going thru Olympia. Pt Townsend is a very pretty historic town with lots of Vistorian BBs, accomodations and shops, and is a gateway of sorts to the Olympic National Park, including Dungeness Spit, Hurricane Ridge, and some other great viewpoint stops.

On the way back, Pt Angeles has ferries up to Canada, and is also on the way to Bainbridge Island.

The Peninsula is all small towns, some economically healthier than others. We can guide you to some decent restaurants, but the quality tends to vary over time, so they can be unpredictable. Some are often good considering their out of the way location, but not "city" good, at least not consistently over time. (I'm ducking for all the folks who want ot yell at me for saying that)

There are great oyster harvesting places on the coast, 42nd Street in Long Beach is good, especially for breakfast. Once you know your route, we can probably offer more guidance.

I hope we get to meet!

[tighe]

Although it will be the wrong time of year, the Skagit Valley area around La Connor, Mt. Vernon, etc. is the second largest tulip producer in the world. Can't seem to remember where #1 is.....

[mizducky]

One nice trip might be to come south from Vancouver, Take the gorgeous slow and windy Chuckanaut Drive path to La Conner, thave lunch, then backtrack just a little bit so that you can stop at beautiful Deception Pass State Park on the north end of Whidbey Island (Hwy 20), then take a ferry from Keystone to Port Townsend to spend the night.  This would put you on the Olympic Peninsula much more quickly than going thru Olympia.  Pt Townsend is a very pretty historic town with lots of Vistorian BBs, accomodations and shops, and is a gateway of sorts to the Olympic National Park, including Dungeness Spit, Hurricane Ridge, and some other great viewpoint stops. 

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I want to second this route suggestion--especially routing through Port Townsend, which was my favorite of the little towns on the Olympic Penninsula. And if you decide to go that way, I urge you to drive a few miles south of town to the Chimicum Cafe for some fabulous American diner/coffee-shop type fare (assuming this place hasn't changed since I was last there--I used to plan my Pt. Townsend trips around stopping there for their biscuits and gravy).

[kiliki]

I agree, that's a very good route.

[hungry_moose]

Hi, if you want to visit Okanagan Valley, I recommend Kelowna BC.

The Lake is beautiful, and you can visit the Summerhill Winery. The restaurant there has cold smoked pork plate to die for! The whole area is very worth visiting, but the drive can be long.

-Moose

........

I would really like to visit the Okanagan.. I have read wonderful things about it. Going there, and then south, and then west again through North Cascades seems logical. I guess we could skip Bellingham and go straight to Seattle after North Cascades NP.

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[Daddy-A]

Although it will be the wrong time of year, the Skagit Valley area around La Connor, Mt. Vernon, etc. is the second largest tulip producer in the world.  Can't seem to remember where #1 is.....   

←

Yeah, like she hasn't seen enough tulips in her life ... living in Holland and all.

I'll focus my BC comments in the appropriate forum ... but considering the amount of area you want to cover in 3 weeks, I wouldn't chose Bellingham if it meant I was going to miss out a single day in the Okanagan or on the Olympic Penninsula for that matter.

I'd just drive through the countryside to La Conner, have lunch, and the make your way up to the border.

Don't get me wrong ... Bellingham is fine. Chuckanut is a great place to visit ... but considering the limited amount of time, it would be near the bottom of my list.

A.

[hungry_moose]

...I agree, I would skip Bellingham and Chuckanut Drive.

Alternative suggested route:

Seattle-Vancouver (Victoria if time)-Okanagan/Kelowna-down South to Winthrop/Cascade loop-back to Seattle-then, less than 4 interesting hours of driving through Astoria and down to the Oregon Coast to Cannon Beach (Seaside if time allows). Cannon Beach is a terrific/charming small beach town that you will love. If convenient, you can fly right out of Portland (PDX) afterwards.

-Moose

I'll focus my BC comments in the appropriate forum ... but considering the amount of area you want to cover in 3 weeks, I wouldn't chose Bellingham if it meant I was going to miss out a single day in the Okanagan or on the Olympic Penninsula for that matter. 

I'd just drive through the countryside to La Conner, have lunch, and the make your way up to the border.

Don't get me wrong ... Bellingham is fine.  Chuckanut is a great place to visit ... but considering the limited amount of time, it would be near the bottom of my list.

A.

←

Edited July 22, 2006 by hungry_moose (log)

[Saara]

Well, who knew that it would take me a week to go to the farmer's market.

For provisioning your day of hiking and seeing the sights in the North Cascades, I recommend a visit to the Cinnamon Twisp Bakery in Twisp. Right next door is a natural foods grocery which I didn't unfortunately get to visit last time as it was closed. Winthrop has a nice bakery as well called The Rocking Horse. I would suggest picking up a bottle of 2003 Lost River Cabernet at one of the groceries. If you get lucky, their tasting room might be open just outside of town as you head up to the mountains.

I wouldn't recommend Sun Mountain Lodge if you're budgetting at all. Breakfast starts at $16'ish and dinners seem to be averaging $35-$40/plate. The menu is viewable in the window right next to Sheri's. It's a lovely restaurant and I've always had delicious food there, but the prices have practically doubled in the past few years. However, the Buckaroo Breakfast is a good value and includes horseback riding!

Once you come down out of the mountains, skip the Buffalo Run and eat at Clark's Cabins (with all the bunnies!) in Marblemount. The food is inexpensive and it is redolent with the history of the area. It's just typical American fare, but nicely done. Naturally, it's a good time to stop for ice cream at the Cascadian Farm Stand between Marblemount and Rockport. In September they will also have organic fruit and vegetables for sale. Delicious blueberries and heirloom tomatoes!

If you make it as far as Concrete without having eaten, I recommend Annie's Pizza in the blue building next to the grocery store. If you intend to have an American pizza, Annie makes some of the best! The Cajun Grill up in town had been a bit spotty in quality when we were last eating there with any regularity. Perhaps we can "take one for the team" and go see how they're doing now. The problems were over the winter when our local restaurants are dependent on local traffic so it's possible they have improved.

As you continue west, a good place to get more groceries is the Skagit Food Co-op in downtown Mount Vernon. They have excellent selection and you don't need to be a member to shop there. You should continue west to Bow-Edison and visit the Farm to Market Bakery, Slough Food and the Breadfarm. There are several nice cafes there and Edison is a great foodie town. If you like oysters and the like Taylor Shellfish Farm has an outpost nearby in Samish Bay.

I would agree with the others that La Conner would be a treat preferable to Bellingham. I would also concur with taking the ferry from Keystone to Port Townsend to get to the peninsula. You could ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria and then come back either via Tsawwassen (BC) or Anacortes or just drive down to Bainbridge depending on when in your itinerary you visit the peninsula. The Calico Cupboard is a great spot for breakfast or lunch in either Mount Vernon, La Conner or Anacortes! Take the back roads to/from La Conner and stop at Snow Goose and the Rexville Grocery.

On the peninsula, there's a great co-op in Port Townsend and Sunny Farms just outside of Sequim in case you've run out of groceries again. (That page also has a link to some hiking in the North Olympics.)

The most important thing that you need for your journey, however, is a good atlas! Benchmark makes the best one for the state! It's the same price online as in any stores although you can have someone pick one up for you at Costco for just a bit cheaper. I'm sure that it could be arranged.

Anyway, I will probably think of more suggestions so I'll post them here when I think of them. We do lots of back road driving and camping and you'll be in many of our regular stomping grounds. Something to consider is to see if you can borrow a thermoelectric cooler for your trip. No need to buy ice and eat wet food that way. It's much cheaper than eating every meal in a restaurant and in some of the areas, you'll be wanting to picnic anyway.

Thanks for the opportunity to share some of our favorite places with you!

[Chufi]

Wow Saara, your post was well worth waiting for. Thanks for taking the time to write all that out.

I'll be studying my map again tonight..

It seems you all agree that approaching the Olympic Peninsula via Keystone is the best way. I still haven't figured out how, if we do that, we're going to fit Seattle into the trip - considering the fact that we have arranged to spend the first days of our trip in Vancouver, and the last days on Bainbridge Island. So Seattle has to be somwhere in the middle. Unless Dennis and I can agree on a bit of back-and-forth driving...

or should we.. skip Seattle???

[kistle]

if you're going to splurge one time on your trip, do it at the sooke harbour house on vancouver island. i just came back from there, and after planning on treating myself one time during my stay, i ended up eating there three nights in a row. it might be the best food i've ever had in the northwest.

[Saara]

Skip Seattle?!

No need for that! Just arrange to impose upon Abra et al for a couple of extra days and see all the Seattle that you want from the comfort of a base on Bainbridge! It's a mere 35 minute ferry ride away which you could do as a walk-on passenger, with a bicycle or with your car. You might spend a few bucks on ferry fares but you'd be saving a lot of money on hotels.

In any case, none of the distances are so great that you can't just pop down to Seattle at any time really. I'm glad that I could be of some help with your planning!

[Abra]

Saara's right, Klary. From here you're only 35 minutes into downtown Seattle, so it's easily combined into one part of the trip, and you know we're glad to have you.

[rmockler]

Vis-a-vis Pt. Townsend, an alert AND an enthusiastic recommendation:

We were there last weekend and had heard some decent talk of the Silverwater Cafe (actually a fairly large, and relatively pricey, restaurant.) While I hate to do this to all the people working hard there, I have to warn you far, far away from this place.

The menu, which at a quick (starving) window glance had looked interesting, was actually all over the place, we realized as we sat down. This turned out to be exactly the bad sign you might expect. We decided to split two entrees, in sequence, as a first and second. Both were sad indeed.

We began with the wild mushroom and leek cakes ($15.00). Thinking of something delicate and lovely we could split as a starter, we were instead startled to receive a plate piled with four, puck-sized, thick, gloppy, gray cake-things, all just thrown on top of each other in the middle of the plate. Around and over these was a "dijon cream" sauce that had long ago broken. It's really hard to describe how gross this plate looked, and in a way that screamed "no one who really cares about the food is anywhere near the kitchen, but our clientele is tourists who won't be back so who cares?" The cake-things actually tasted good, which was something given our hunger, but you get the picture.

We followed then with the "Tuscan Ribeye" ($21.50), which was similarly horrifying -- weirdly and unevenly cut, unevenly and very badly grilled, over marinated, and really just gross. In addition, at this point they were out of two of the three starch sides (which we learned in stages as we worked our way through the list.)

Service was pleasant but not professional, and we witnessed 2 different instances of waitstaff hanging around in public view eating themselves!

THAT SAID: we did have delightful cocktails and perfectly fine crab cakes at the Water Street Brewing and Ale House (home of the only outside water-side deck we could find in downtown proper) and some decent BBQ at Dos Okies for lunch.

MOST IMPORTANT: we had brunch at Sweet Laurette and Cyndee's Cafe, which was truly delightful. They also have a fine looking bistro-y dinner menu. Brunch was a leek, bacon and fontina omelette -- a REAL omelette, beautifully done -- and an extra generous few slices of gorgeous homemade polenta, which they cheerfully subbed for the potatoes and toast. Service was friendly and and articulate (though coffee service was a bit slow), the room is cozy and comfortable, and they have great coffee and espresso both. They had a sign up looking for "Cook: must have good knife skills", which is to say "someone here IS paying attention to the food."