The I5 is a very boring drive from San Diego through the middle of California. The 101 is a much more scenic drive with many short or long stops you can make along the way.
2 Likes
I absolutely second that. We have done the drive from Seattle to San Diego and back three times, and doing that stretch of I5 once was enough. The 101 is the way to go but it can be slooooowww… if you get stuck behind a slowly moving RV.
I second visiting Cannon Beach. Absolutely beautiful.
Also, if you reach Olympia, Seattle is only an hour or so away. I would not stop there and would keep on driving.
1 Like
We just got back from flying to San Diego for our daughter’s college graduation. My last time travelling/flying was when I helped move her into an off campus apartment just seven weeks before the pandemic shut everything down her junior year.
Flying from BWI to San Diego on early Thursday morning direct flight -airport looked like pre-pandemic times in terms of number of people flying, except everyone was wearing masks. Full flight on SWA - every seat taken.
Hotel experience was interesting. We stayed at an upscale hotel downtown. We had to opt in to daily cleaning service, but we chose not to. However, I’m not sure whether it was due to a shortage of workers or what - there was constantly trash left outside hotel rooms. Someone left a dirty diaper inside a clear bag outside their door one morning that was still there the next day! Others left piles of takeout debris on a table near the elevators that remained there the entire weekend (it was finally gone yesterday). The hotel restaurant and its Starbucks were both still closed. There was a little market that was open for takeaway, premade items. The pool was open, as was the poolside bar/grill but with much more limited hours. Nothing at all was open past 5pm Sunday. Not a big deal to us as we prefer to eat elsewhere.
Signs by the elevators asked for no more than two people or one family group per elevator. We never saw anyone until Friday evening when the weekenders arrived. There was a long line by the elevators (of which there were 6 servicing the high rise) that night. Fortunately that was the only time we dealt with that. Despite a mask mandate, we did see quite a few people not wearing masks in public spaces, but the majority were abiding by the rules.
Aside from masks, San Diego seemed almost back to normal when compared to all of our previous trips. Lots of people along the Embarcadero, at Sunset Cliffs, walking around Pacific Beach, Coronado, shopping at the local mall in Fashion Valley. Restaurants were full - some taking social distancing more seriously than others.
Returning home on Monday afternoon, another direct flight on SWA. Unlike BWI, the San Diego airport had every other seat in the gate area blocked off so they couldn’t be used. This seemed totally ridiculous as this meant nearly everyone (their gates are tiny to begin with) was standing and crowding around the walkways with nowhere else to go. Meanwhile, all of this people are about to sit next to each other on a full airplane, but they can’t sit next to each other in the terminal at the gate? This may have worked during the height of the pandemic, but stupid now. It caused less social distancing by forcing people to stand and crowd around.
All in all, we had a wonderful trip and being fully vaccinated, we felt comfortable traveling and were very grateful our daughter’s college was able to host an outdoor, in person graduation. We were fortunate it was a gorgeous morning - sunny, breezy and 70 degrees for the ceremony. In fact, the weather was fantastic the entire trip!
5 Likes
I’ve been on both I5 and 101 between San Jose and LA so I do agree the 5 is boooring. But heading over to 101 would add a couple extra hours of driving without scenic stops. You’d really need a couple of days to take advantage of all that would offer. We plan to stop in Redding the first night and that’s over 10 hours direct.
Hmm - Redding to Cannon Beach is 8 hours so we would get there late afternoon. Sunset will be very late. The coastal route from there to Olympia is 3 1/2 hours without stops. but…hmmm…if we head over to the coastal route at Portland and stay the night in Astoria, then it’s about 3 to 4 hours on into Seattle depending on how close we stay to the ocean. Now there’s an idea…
3 Likes
Where did you end up dining, and getting a cake for the party? If you went to Sunset Cliffs, you could have popped by to say hi LOL; we’re on the way there.
I have to +1 to a stop at Cannon Beach. We had a wonderful long weekend there. The beach view was just magical - and I’ve seen a lot of beaches! Low tide also fun to wander and see ocean life.
I know you talked about going on to Astoria potentially for the night but we stayed here at Cannon Beach and it was very close to the beach and super comfortable and the rooms nicely equipped and roomy. https://innatcannonbeach.com/
2 Likes
I looked at Astoria because they have a Hilton property that gets good reviews… We’ve built up tons of Hhonors points via our Hilton Am Ex and plan to stay free everywhere. Gas will be bad enough…
Another vote for Cannon Beach. We really like it there. We spent the night in Astoria too. We walked around there some, but I don’t remember anything specific. I do remember the bridge from Astoria to Washington looking pretty scary.
1 Like
Also agree with Cannon Beach - we stayed the night at the Inn at Haystack Rock - while not luxury, it was clean, and incredibly walkable - a block to the beach with about a mile walk to the rock (which is a must do, to see starfish, tide pools and more) and on the way back walk on the main drag (Hemlock St) where there are cafes and a brew pub or two - it’s a lovely area - https://www.innathaystackrock.com/
2 Likes
On Interstate 5, north of Yreka, there is a nice roadside rest area. It’s along the Klamath River. Good place for a leg stretch.
When I really want to take the scenic route to Oregon, I take 395. Love the eastern Sierra.
3 Likes
Also a huge fan of the eastern Sierra!
1 Like
If you have online access to the Washington Post, they ran a funny travel story over the weekend. The title was “30 Observations From My First Vaccinated Flight”. A travel writer flew for the first time in over a year and was reminded of everything she hated and did not miss about flying. Some of the accompanying sketches are just as funny.
2 Likes
Doesn’t the 101 have a big (BIG) hole in it at Big Sur? I think the detour is more than a few hours.
That’s State Hwy 1 and it reopened in April. https://goodtimes.sc/santa-cruz-news/highway-1-big-sur-reopens-after-debris-flow-washout/
Interstate 101 was always ok.
Do watch 101 in Norcal, if you veer over to Humboldt County to see the Redwoods and then head north, there is a major closure on 101 south of Crescent City, something like closed 9-5 with allowing a single lane of traffic 11-12 and 2-3
We’re set; skipping 101 because we just don’t have the time to do it justice. We’ll stop at Redding the first night. Then the next day we’ll see when we reach Portland - it will be late afternoon but maybe time to do a half hour tour around the city. (@TatinG - we’ll keep an eye out for that rest stop in California! ) Then west to Cannon Beach where we’ll take a walk, get dinner, and watch sunset. That county is currently at high risk so we will be cautious. On up to Astoria for the night then on to Seattle in the morning. Son is now stoked to drive that bridge! I’ve been over the Mackinac Bridge but this looks pretty exciting.
Husband does not want to make any sightseeing stops on the way back 
.
3 Likes
101 is not an Interstate Highway. It is part of the US Highways that predated the Interstate Highways.
Oh, ok, but it does go inter states!
1 Like
Returned from our trip to the Big Island a few days ago. Flew Alaska Air. No incidents on either flight. Folks seemed to comply with mask requirements. Negative test results upload etc. is still required to skip quarantine even if you are fully vaccinated (this is lifted only for inter island travel for those who got their shots in Hawaii). Big Island tests everyone upon arrival, but a vaccination card lets you through without being swabbed. Our flights were completely packed. The hotel where we stayed was not so packed, but the neighboring, very fancy hotels were all sold out. Lots of businesses are still shattered, and the restaurants that were open operated at 1/2 capacity. Some activities are open; there was a catamaran sailing 3x daily from the beach. Seemed to be very popular, but again, likely limited capacity. Alamo had plenty of cars to pick from when we arrived… but the prices were $$ (we used Costco to reserve our car). Speaking of masks, they were required inside and while walking through pool area, but not at the beach. Saw only one visibly defiant anti-masker during the entire trip - a dude walking maskless through SeaTac wearing a wifebeater that had “unmask the truth” printed on it. Lol. Glad the dude was not on our flight! 
5 Likes
We’ve been really enjoying our 1000 Islands trip. I just posted some pics on the Pictures to Share thread. Everything about this trip has been practically perfect based upon things we like (beauty, family, combo of doing things and relaxation, lack of crowds - though that might change once “the season” hits - we’re early).
2 Likes