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13 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Not Tacoma related, but I will be buying a house in Sultan, on the road to stevens pass. Further out than I would like, but I went to where the price point fit.  Preference being mountains to ocean, so we looked east instead of north. 

I'll wave next time I head up to Lake Serene or Wallace Falls or Colchuck or... It's a gorgeous area. We're actually Vrbo-ing in Gold Bar after Christmas 

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  • 2 months later...

Am doing initial planning for family trip (wife and almost 17 year old twins) to Seattle and Vancouver in June 2024.  I have run through this thread and have noted the suggested Seattle sights/activities/excursions.  Very helpful!

I'd like to book flights and lodging in the immediate future.  How many days total, excluding bookend travel days?  How many days should we stay in (or base out of) each city?  Any other essential overnight (not day trip) destinations?

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On 3/8/2024 at 11:51 AM, Tonesky said:

Am doing initial planning for family trip (wife and almost 17 year old twins) to Seattle and Vancouver in June 2024.  I have run through this thread and have noted the suggested Seattle sights/activities/excursions.  Very helpful!

I'd like to book flights and lodging in the immediate future.  How many days total, excluding bookend travel days?  How many days should we stay in (or base out of) each city?  Any other essential overnight (not day trip) destinations?

If you're coming from Texas in June I think you'll find anything short of like 90 days in WA to be too short.

Depends on a lot of things - what you're interested in, what's the standard for lodging, budget, etc. You could probably make a week work between those two cities or stretch it to a full two weeks 

The one thing I'd really highly recommend is 2-3 weeknights in Port Angeles to explore Olympic National Park, if you guys are remotely into that sort of thing. The town itself is sleepy but the Olympic Peninsula is just epic.

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Posted (edited)
12 hours ago, gmr548 said:

The one thing I'd really highly recommend is 2-3 weeknights in Port Angeles to explore Olympic National Park, if you guys are remotely into that sort of thing. The town itself is sleepy but the Olympic Peninsula is just epic.

As it turns out, Seattle and Vancouver has morphed to Seattle, Olympic National Park, and Victoria BC.  Will spend a couple of days in Seattle and then head for the Peninsula.  Still working out the details, but the current plan is to head to Quinault for two nights (Quinault first afternoon, Hoh Rain Forest and Kalaloch beaches day two), drive to Port Angeles on day three, with stops along the way at Sol Duc Falls and Lake Crescent (Spruce RR/Devil's Punchbowl), Hurricane Ridge/Hill on the fourth morning, with the afternoon still up in the air.  One possibility, is to go to a lavender farm in Sequim, but we may be a tad early on lavender bloom.  Then, the next morning, take the ferry to Victoria for one night (whale excursion, Butchart Gardens, and the Royal BC Museum), before returning to Port Angeles the sixth evening.  The next morning, before heading back to Seattle, the plan is to hit Salt Creek Recreation Area to tide pool during a strong negative (-2) low tide. 

Edited by Tonesky
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I'm staying at the Quinault Lodge later this week... Rialto on Friday, Lake Crescent and Hurricane Ridge on the way back home via the Kingston ferry on Saturday. Will report back. 

We just had perfect weather this weekend, so of course it'll be high 40s and raining for my trip to the Peninsula. 

I've referenced this before, but I always use this website for intel on hiking and logistics (via the trip reports):

https://www.wta.org/

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6 hours ago, NWBuck said:

I'm staying at the Quinault Lodge later this week... Rialto on Friday, Lake Crescent and Hurricane Ridge on the way back home via the Kingston ferry on Saturday. Will report back. 

We just had perfect weather this weekend, so of course it'll be high 40s and raining for my trip to the Peninsula. 

I've referenced this before, but I always use this website for intel on hiking and logistics (via the trip reports):

https://www.wta.org/

Thanks for the wta link, we are going back to the PNW in July to visit our daughter (yeah no chance I am following the rules), and we  are looking to spend a few days in North Cascade NP. Still looking to put together an itinerary, this will really help. 

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On 3/16/2024 at 7:38 AM, Tonesky said:

Still working out the details, but the current plan is to head to Quinault for two nights (Quinault first afternoon, Hoh Rain Forest and Kalaloch beaches day two), drive to Port Angeles on day three, with stops along the way at Sol Duc Falls and Lake Crescent (Spruce RR/Devil's Punchbowl), Hurricane Ridge/Hill on the fourth morning, with the afternoon still up in the air. 

 

On 3/17/2024 at 10:20 PM, NWBuck said:

I'm staying at the Quinault Lodge later this week... Rialto on Friday, Lake Crescent and Hurricane Ridge on the way back home via the Kingston ferry on Saturday. Will report back. 

Checking back in... 

Quinault Lodge is a beautiful property, but a little smaller than the other PNW National Park lodges I've stay at. Forget about cell phone coverage or wifi tho (not a bad thing). Dino's at the west end of the lake is good for pizza and pub food. The Internet Cafe next door is the best place for breakfast- ate there both days. We had dinner at The Salmon House as well... Good food, and slightly better prices than the Roosevelt Room on property. 

We went to Rialto for the first day... No rain, just the typical Olympic Coast mist. 

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Today, we headed north in better weather. Stopped at Kalaloch to make sure that the Tree Of Life was still clinging to this earth. 

IMG_20240323_113405.thumb.jpg.49129419994dd14c1bad285d098f59ef.jpg

We then went up to Sol Duc Falls... A bit chilly, but the only moisture was from the spray when it dripped back from the trees. 

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On the way back to the highway, it started to rain so we decided to skip the trip to the Punchbowl (choosing a great bowl of Pho in Port Angeles). From there, back to the ferry and Seattle. 

Reading through your plans, I think they are better than what we did... The trips up and down and up the 101 were a bit of a beating. 

Happy to provide any additional intel that might be helpful. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well the position in Tacoma I mentioned before ultimately fell through but my wife has verbally accepted an offer that'll be officially based in Everett, but out in the field in Snohomish County regularly (hybrid so that would be 2-3x a week, at home for the rest). They're going through the whole reference/background check song and dance before producing the full written offer, so not quite official yet but it does look like we'll be moving up there in the next 4-6 weeks. Very excited but there's a lot to get done in the interim.

Our initial inclination is to look for a place in north Seattle convenient to I-5 and rail. Greenwood, Maple Leaf, Northgate, Green Lake, Roosevelt, something like that. Any thoughts on whether that counter-commute is doable? Evidently there are some staff that live in north Seattle and say it's not bad. I definitely prefer an urban location like that but I work remotely, I'm not the one commuting. Honestly I could compromise on an inner ring suburban location like Shoreline or Mountlake Terrace as long as it's convenient to I-5 + the coming rail extension. I worry that commuting from North Seattle will suck for her despite it being a counter commute but my wife is pretty set on living in Seattle proper as a base to get to know the region better. 

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Posted (edited)

Rail currently terminates at northgate.  The advice I got when moving here was to avoid an I5 commute.  But that’s coming south in the morning so may not be relevant. 405 doesn’t look much better from my views of it at normal commute times.  

Edited by Pato del Muerto
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Hey PNW people, I have an insect question.  This nest is on our front porch and I’ve not seen this type before.  ID please?  Maybe hornet?  It’s small, around 2” diameter right now, and I never see anything around it or insects flying around the front yard. 

IMG_2775.jpeg

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15 hours ago, gmr548 said:

Well the position in Tacoma I mentioned before ultimately fell through but my wife has verbally accepted an offer that'll be officially based in Everett, but out in the field in Snohomish County regularly (hybrid so that would be 2-3x a week, at home for the rest). They're going through the whole reference/background check song and dance before producing the full written offer, so not quite official yet but it does look like we'll be moving up there in the next 4-6 weeks. Very excited but there's a lot to get done in the interim.

Our initial inclination is to look for a place in north Seattle convenient to I-5 and rail. Greenwood, Maple Leaf, Northgate, Green Lake, Roosevelt, something like that. Any thoughts on whether that counter-commute is doable? Evidently there are some staff that live in north Seattle and say it's not bad. I definitely prefer an urban location like that but I work remotely, I'm not the one commuting. Honestly I could compromise on an inner ring suburban location like Shoreline or Mountlake Terrace as long as it's convenient to I-5 + the coming rail extension. I worry that commuting from North Seattle will suck for her despite it being a counter commute but my wife is pretty set on living in Seattle proper as a base to get to know the region better. 

If you are living in the Northgate area, commuting up to Everett should be fine. Better than most Austin or DFW commutes buy a large margin! Everett area has a great ferry over to the islands as well too.

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22 hours ago, otisdog said:

Pretty sure that the Lynnwood extension opens August 30.

Just going to add this...

On 4/20/2024 at 6:44 AM, gmr548 said:

Our initial inclination is to look for a place in north Seattle convenient to I-5 and rail. Greenwood, Maple Leaf, Northgate, Green Lake, Roosevelt, something like that. Any thoughts on whether that counter-commute is doable? Evidently there are some staff that live in north Seattle and say it's not bad. I definitely prefer an urban location like that but I work remotely, I'm not the one commuting. Honestly I could compromise on an inner ring suburban location like Shoreline or Mountlake Terrace as long as it's convenient to I-5 + the coming rail extension. I worry that commuting from North Seattle will suck for her despite it being a counter commute but my wife is pretty set on living in Seattle proper as a base to get to know the region better. 

If you can get past the need to live in Seattle proper, being in Edmonds would be pretty sweet- close to Everett and a quick jaunt down to Seattle if you wanted. Bothell or Montlake Terrace (as you mentioned) might also work (Snohomish county for tax purposes).

If you were open to something more rural/small town, Snohomish is pretty nice, and I have a lot of friends who really like Woodinville (lotta wineries and such in that area).

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12 minutes ago, NWBuck said:

If you were open to something more rural/small town, Snohomish is pretty nice, and I have a lot of friends who really like Woodinville (lotta wineries and such in that area).

If you’re cool with million dollar house prices. But I guess if you are comfortable in Seattle proper, you would be. 

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Taking the family for a trip in July.  I've skimmed the whole thread and Bainbridge Ferry is recommended often.  What do you do when you get there?  We'll be on foot from downtown.  Do you just ride it over and back for the views or is there something to do/see on the Island other than grab a beer and lunch?

 

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Good question- Lots of places to eat and shop and stuff right near the Bainbridge landing area, so you could probably get away with just walking.

You might consider renting a bike if you want to tour around a bit more (https://www.bikebarnrentals.com/)... I always try to go the the Exclusion Memorial when I go over to the island (with my car): https://www.nps.gov/miin/learn/historyculture/bainbridge-island-japanese-american-exclusion-memorial.htm

Here's a few resources: 

 

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On 4/22/2024 at 4:11 PM, NWBuck said:

Just going to add this...

If you can get past the need to live in Seattle proper, being in Edmonds would be pretty sweet- close to Everett and a quick jaunt down to Seattle if you wanted. Bothell or Montlake Terrace (as you mentioned) might also work (Snohomish county for tax purposes).

If you were open to something more rural/small town, Snohomish is pretty nice, and I have a lot of friends who really like Woodinville (lotta wineries and such in that area).

Edmonds would be sweet I just haven't seen anything in our sweet spot on the affordability/desirability spectrum. Seems like good quality rentals up there are expensive even by local standards and what's affordable is very old. Don't think we want to be so far out of the city as to be in Snohomish or Woodinville. Bothell and MLT on the radar though; SIL lives in Kirkland so being convenient to them is a plus.

On 4/22/2024 at 4:24 PM, Pato del Muerto said:

If you’re cool with million dollar house prices. But I guess if you are comfortable in Seattle proper, you would be. 

Cool with them in that they're irrelevant to a rental search lol. We're definitely going to rent for 9-12 months and go from there. Categorically cannot afford a SFH in Seattle or Edmonds. If we bought in Seattle it would definitely be the condo or townhouse route.

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6 hours ago, NWBuck said:

Good question- Lots of places to eat and shop and stuff right near the Bainbridge landing area, so you could probably get away with just walking.

You might consider renting a bike if you want to tour around a bit more (https://www.bikebarnrentals.com/)... I always try to go the the Exclusion Memorial when I go over to the island (with my car): https://www.nps.gov/miin/learn/historyculture/bainbridge-island-japanese-american-exclusion-memorial.htm

Here's a few resources: 

 

I need to hit this up next time I go to the area. Also need to go to Manzanar in Cali. So stupid, but we need to remember. 

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10 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

Don't think we want to be so far out of the city as to be in Snohomish or Woodinville. 

Bothell and MLT on the radar though

Bothell and woodinville are next to each other.  Woodinville might be 5 minutes further from Seattle. 

Edited by Pato del Muerto
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5 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

Huh. The more you know. For whatever reason Woodinville was farther east in my mind. Thanks for the correction,

If anything, bothell is probably further east than you are thinking. 
 

a few weeks ago I left work in bothell around 4 pm to get to my son’s soccer game in shoreline and with traffic not too bad it took around 30 minutes.  I did notice there’s a Trader Joe’s there.  And I think a winco grocery store. 

Edited by Pato del Muerto
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