Pacific NW Awards

I'm sorry I haven't posted until now, but if you checked out facebook you've seen the best part.  We came home Sunday Sept 11 and returned to work the next day. We missed a flight that day and got home later that we had planned.  It was a dramatic day for us, more for me, but it didn't overshadow our amazing time.  We saw so many amazing sights that I decided the best way to post would be to give awards.

Best Hotel we stayed in (keep in mind we were traveling on a budget)
The Downtown Hotel in Port Angeles, WA

This hotel was definitely affordable and had a great quaint feeling. One thing that was unique...they had some shared baths. I know it was almost a deal breaker for me too, but they let us tour before we agreed. It was the cleanest bathroom and there were four of them, so you were never waiting.  We actually stayed in a place like that in Seattle, the Moore Hotel. The great thing about both of these hotels is that they were in great locations for walking to everything you wanted.  Also, they both also had rooms that had on suite bathrooms, those rooms were all booked.  We also really liked Mt. St. Helens' Hotel, and Pacific Crown Hotel.  

Worst Hotel we stayed in...

The Hub Motel

We weren't even comfortable taking our shoes off, but the shower pressure was perfect. The sights the next day completely made up for it, but we definitely got an early start!

The best food we ate...

Andrew - One Eyed Crab in Westport, WA -he ate the seafood boil, clams, prawns, and crab legs in a seafood broth - Andrew said it was one of the best flavors he's ever had in his mouth.

Me - Seafood Chowder at same place - clam chowder with prawns and crab meat (maybe some other stuff...it was great) It was so cold on the coast (like it dipped into the high 50s and was misty) that all I wanted was soup...it totally hit the spot. We don't have a pic of the restaurant, but here's one of Westport. Just a little fishing town, that totally shut down in the evening. 

We enjoyed walking around the waterfront and looking at the boats.

We also enjoyed all of our food on this trip.  We had some great locally made hummus from 

Cannon Beach, OR and some Tillamook Cheese and icecream. We loved eating breakfast in Pike Place Market while in Seattle. We would grab starbucks and then grab these awesome fresh donuts and fresh berries. I'm definitely not a city person, but I loved the market. It was my favorite thing about Seattle.  Oh my gosh I forgot to tell you about this amazing Gelato we had in Seattle.  It was salted caramel and the lady recommended pairing it with dark chocolate...amazing and different. Also, I had the best chinese food ever at the Pike Place Chinese Cuisine.

Worst Food...

or beverage...the Chicago airport Starbucks...gross! They gave me the light syrup( I assume) and I hate sugar substitutes. 

Best View...

We saw so many amazing sites...the best was the Oneonta Gorge off of the Columbia River scenic highway outside of Portland.  It was amazing...I'm sorry none of our pictures do any of the views justice.

You had to climb over these trees, that were jammed in the gorge, to be able to walk along the river bed in the gorge. It kind of freaked me out, but was totally worth it.

Ugliest view...

A man in Seattle was walking and his pants just slid down to about his knees. He kept walk for a while before he noticed it. Fortunately his shirt covered the important stuff.

Best Beach...
It's a tie between Cannon Beach, OR and Rialto Beach, WA.
There were no ugly beaches.

 

Rialto Beach has black sand and is full of small smooth pebbles.

 

 I sat here for a while and just loved it. The waves were so big compared to South Carolina waves.

Best Park...

Again we can't complain about this area. Smith Rock State Park was amazing. On the way to Smith Rock we went from evergreens in a national forest to prairie to almost high desert.

FYI...when driving on this trip you couldn't go more than 10 minutes in Oregon without seeing campsites and state parks.  It was awesome. We definitely want to go back and camp.

Best Bridge...
Not sure if we know a name, so I'll just show you the bridge (it was close to Smith Rock State Park)

We also got to see this train pass...it was neat.

Best Waterfall...

Snoqualmie Falls, WA close seconds were Multnomah and the other one in the Columbia River scenic Highway.

I thought this would be a less overwhelming way to share some of our trip.  Again, if you haven't checked out facebook...please do. We have so many more pictures there.