The trip that started it all. Boeing factory, Amtrak through Oregon, a Fiat 500 on Route 66, redwoods, and Alcatraz.
permalink nebrivOriginally published on onlyonewaytofindout.travel
The trip that started it all!
Length: Eight Days
Cost: Lodging: $561 Rental Cars: $307 Train Tickets: $124 (Most) Major Meals: $345 Attractions/Tours: $144
Approximate Total Cost: $1481 or $740 per person.
Of Note: This blog entry was posted 4 years after the trip, some locations, of course, may have changed significantly. Unfortunately, as this was one of our first trips the documentation wasn’t as good, ultimately one of the driving reasons for creating this blog. The sequences of events and details have been sourced from our shared Google Photos album and Google Keep.
We started off our trip on Delta 2231 out of JFK and on the way to Detroit for a quick layover and then back up into the air on Delta 1651 to finally reach Seattle, WA. We arrived in the early evening so the first goal was to get out of the airport and pick up our rental car.
After picking up the car we headed straight to our airport hotel to crash early and start the next day… We ordered some pretty terrible local pizza delivery and caught up on the local news. Unfortunately upon crawling into our beds and rehashing the upcoming trip the all important question came up. “Where are we staying tomorrow?” which lead to frantic schedule checking ultimately leading to the horrific discovery of nowhere!
After some quick searching we found that there were very few places that weren’t completely booked. Eventually one of us stumbled on The University Place and we quickly booked it.
Up nice and early we grabbed a quick breakfast at the buffet and jumped in the car. Off to the Boeing factory! Tossing in the directions into Google Maps lead to the realization that Seattle traffic is no joke. Luckily we were able to navigate around the majority of it and take in some the cityscapes.
We made it to Everett in good time, just after the Future of Flight museum opened. Our first stop of course was the factory floor tour which of course we were unable to take pictures during. It’s fairly well known that the Boeing assembly building is the largest building in the world (by volume) but its hard to fully grasp what that actually means. Once there in the building you finally get to put the pieces together. Huge is an understatement! It was pretty inspiring seeing the vehicles that carry us to work, family and vacations simply being pieced together.
The rest of the museum was a pretty standard. There were plane segments, models and a full 747-800 vertical stabilizer!
Numerous examples of the components required to achieve flight were on display including a cutaway of a jet engine and examples of aerodynamic design.
We of course had to stop at the observation deck where we found the Dreamlifter (Boeing’s cargo plane used to transport large aircraft components around the world) and numerous planes fresh out of the plant performing various tests.
Just as we were leaving the museum we were treated to a Saudia airlines coming into for landing.
After getting back to downtown Seattle and dropping of our rental car we explored the waterfront area and took in some of the tourist attractions - mainly just trying to understand what all the fuss about fish throwing was.
And soon it was time for the next segment of our trip…
Gotta love their sense of humor!
We had an evening Amtrak train out of Seattle and down to Portland, OR. It started out great at first, we were impressed by the automatic doors, screens displaying location and speed, and the comfortable seats. Eventually the cabin became very stuffy and warm so we got up and walked around a bit.
Upon our arrival in Portland, OR we took a cab to the hotel and grabbed dinner and drinks with some friends.
The next morning we took their advice and headed out Slappy Cakes for some DIY pancakes.
After breakfast we explored downtown and got acquainted with the local mass transit system - the streetcar!
Soon it was time to continue on and we headed back to the train station to catch our ride further south.
We hopped on the train, stashed our bags and quickly found the observation car… easily the highlight of this train ride!
Eventually one of the conductors came through and asked us if we wanted to make dinner reservations. It kind of caught us off guard - we had no idea we could get an actual dinner on the train. Since there were only two of us we ended up having a shared table with Jay and Julie. We got to talking and found that Jay was a very big train enthusiast who for one of his birthdays booked an entire train car as well actors to dress up as period correct conductors and invited his friends to come on a themed trip. Needless to say we had a great time and the food was quite good for what it was! Ultimately the dinner costs 40 dollars per person, however for people who book the roomettes, all the meals are included.
A few hours later (and a power outage on the train… its a long story…) we arrived at our destination, Klamath Falls, Oregon.
By this time it had started lightly snowing and there was certainly more to come.
We walked a few blocks to our lodging for the night, Maverick Motel, a recently refurbished motel. It was exactly as one would expect for a small town in the Pacific Northwest.
Day four started off with a walk through the town center. We stopped at a cafe/bakery, grabbed a bagel and coffee, and caught up on the local gossip with the USPS postman.
Eventually we moved on and trekked down to the Enterprise to pick up our car. The lot was filled new Subaru wagons eagerly waiting to be taken out into the fresh snow. After much back and forth, waiving of insurance, fees and trying to get an upgrade (for our one way car rental… yeah right!) we finally got our car!
Yep… not what we were expecting either…
This poor little car didn’t even have a chance. We quickly stuffed our bags and luggage into the trunk, and somehow managed to cram ourselves into the front seats.
Fueled up and hammer down we took off and headed for our next destination, California! Opting for the use of paper maps, a rough route was planned along route 66 and continuing further south - with of course some fairly major pit stops along the way to check out the sites.
The first detour led us to what appeared to be a park, water reservoir, and hydroelectric dam! Of course we had to check it out.
On second thought… maybe we’ll stash the car at the top of the hill and walk the rest of the way…
Good thing we stopped! Back on the road again, we wound around the mountains of Southern Oregon, slowly making our way down into the valleys. Ultimately we hopped onto one of the main highway and crossed into California. 796 Exits! Good thing we aren’t going to Mexico!
Pealing off the highway and back into the wandering rivers and deep valleys we started to get pretty hungry. I’m not sure what prompted us to stop at this place, maybe it was the rustic (some may say rundown) exterior, the rusted out pickup trucks parked out front, or the wood smoke coming out the chimney, but we stopped and sat down in the eating area.
We took a quick glance at the menu, but we had both made up our minds almost immediately. Patty melts! The woman running the restaurant came over, took our orders, and we proceeded to wait. And wait…
And wait…
There was some amount of commotion as she sourced all the ingredients from various places in the store and outside. A few logs were tossed in the wood stove and soon we could hear the sizzling of our food on the cook-top.
Finally! We dug in and thoroughly enjoyed the sandwiches.
Back on the winding roads, we navigated through landslides, many bridges, and small towns. After another few hours of driving and a quick stop at the grocery store, we finally got to our AirBNB. For this night we picked a small cabin in the middle of seemingly nowhere. Our hosts operated numerous cabins along the river, along with multiple gardens and solar panels.
We got to work unpacking, playing with the local dogs, and checking out the rushing river a few hundred away. On the table, for dinner, we tossed together some pasta and sausage, snacked on some cheese and crackers, and washed it down with some local beers.
It rained through the night and into the morning. Our hosts came by and dropped off some kiwis they grew in the garden which we had for breakfast. We asked for some advice on the best route to take to our next destination, and I’m really glad we did! We got a great tip about taking the Avenue of the Giants, a road that cuts through the Humboldt Redwoods State Park!
After getting the trusty Fiat 500 packed up in the rain we were back on the road. Our next stop was Point Arena via the redwoods and Eureka, an estimated 5-6 hours drive, by far the longest distance so far. Ultimately we ended up underestimating the number of times we wanted to stop and check out the sites. This was one of our biggest takeaways that we continue to apply to all of our trips, we are very cognizant of the total trip time between destinations, as well as the possible attractions in between.
Not an hour into the drive we were already off track and exploring side roads following one of the craziest river I’ve ever seen. The amount of water and the speed of which it was flowing was unreal, combined with the absolutely stunning emerald color.
Afterwards we actually settled back into the drive and made some significant progress. For the most part we stuck to backwards snaking our way further south, however at times we jumped on some main roads to cut up and over some of the last large mountains of the trip. It was all down hill from here!
We crossed through Eureka and stopped to stretch our legs. After grabbing quick bite to eat, wandering the town a bit and checking out the local bookstore we were back on the road.
We finally reached what we considered the main attraction for the day! The redwoods!
We immediately pulled off at the first trail head we saw and jumped out of the car. Looking up we saw the tallest, straightest both of us have ever seen. Even thinking back on it now, its surreal to imagine such trees actually still exist. Even then its even more unimaginable that people harvested these trees by hand with saws and axes, it must be incredible to watch of them come crashing down.
Hiking up through the short trail, the rain kept up to a light drizzle and we were weaving up, down and around the trunks of the redwoods. At points, we could stand at the base of a tree, look up and see raindrops fall from a branch, count the seconds, hold our hands out and catch them in them in our palms.
Our entire trek through this state park I couldn’t help but feel like I was in the next “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” movie. The scale just didn’t make sense.
Occasionally we’d run into massive downed trees that had to be climbed up and over. In some cases, they were utilized as part of the path requiring you to walk along the trunk some ways.
Down the road we reached the museum where the history of the area is explained through the use of old photos and texts. It was interesting to learn how the nearby towns dealt with these trees as well as what it meant to their economy.
We also learned about the flood of 1964, also known as the 100-year flood or 1000 year flood. Seeing the photos and high-water marks in the museum and along the road was almost paralyzing to think about. It’s shocking to think that at some points where we stood, the water would have been 6 feet over our heads. Once again we were hit by the overwhelming scale of it all.
You can’t drive through a redwood forest…without actually driving through a redwood. We paid our entrance fee and waited in line. And then as simple as that, we drove through a tree! This is one of the few remaining (three total including this one) drive-through trees.
By this point, it started to get late so we had to set back off leaving the world of incomprehensible scale, and entering the world of endlessness. The Pacific Ocean. The road we took brought us right to famous Highway 1… Really - after hours of driving up and down through the winding valleys it dumped us right on the Pacific Coast where we stopped to see the sunset.
Pushing on, we followed Highway 1 in and around the scenic coastline. It cut in and out, along sheer cliffs and down around beaches. We were nearing the day’s drive with only another hour or so of driving; we were certainly feeling it! Finally we reached Point Arena, stopped to get some groceries for the night and following day.
Pulling into our Airbnb at just as the last light left the sky we realized we were in for yet another adventure. We had to park our car down the driveway aways and use the supplied wagon to haul our bags to our off the grid cabin.
Creaking open the door and tossing in our bags we quickly lit a fire for some light to unpack by.
After unpacking and getting set up for the night we headed back out to the kitchen cabin and got to work. The Airbnb had plenty of pots and pans, plates and utensils to use. To cook with, there was a little propane burner and a couple of lighters. We had a great time cooking up a feast.
With full stomachs and a clean kitchen, we headed back to our cabin. Not quite ready for sleep yet we hung around outside to look at the stars. The rain clouds had dissipated and left a crystal clear sky. Eventually, we called it a night, I stoked the fire and crawled into bed and Benjamin climbed the ladder to his loft.
Waking to natural sunlight and birds chirping has got to be one of the best ways to drag yourself out of a bed. Looking out the window, it was clear the day was going to be a good one.
We started collecting our belongings and packing up, and then we whipped up a quick breakfast made from leftovers and some eggs. After eating, we took a walk down some of the trails to explore and stretch our legs before setting off back on the road. We met our hosts for the first time after getting back from the walk and they gave us an awesome tip about a nearby Russian (yup those Russians!) fort that was on our route down to San Francisco. Luckily today’s drive was planned to only be about 3 hours, which afforded us plenty of time to check out the coastline along the way.
On the road agaaainn! But not for long as we came upon the Point Arena Lighthouse and obviously had to stop for a few pictures and to take in the sites.
It was certainly my first time seeing cliffs and the waves break against them like this. It was pretty impressive.
The Russian fort, Fort Ross, was about an hours drive on Highway 1 south of Point Area. The fort itself was relatively small, it was built in 1812 as a trading hub for Russian settlers. We were both shocked and had no idea there were Russian settlers on the West coast in the 1800s. Now it’s maintained by the Fort Ross Conservancy, and cost us $8 dollars to get in.
We walked around for about forty-five minutes and called it good. It was starting to get a little warm out and we wanted to make some more progress on the road. Continuing on down Highway 1 we reached Point Reyes where we detoured once again out on to the peninsula. The drive out was a little confusing, especially navigating solely with a paper map. we made a few backward turns and eventually found the tourist traffic out to the point.
The trek out didn’t really seem worth it. We never really were able to reach the lighthouse as you had to take a shuttle bus and deal with parking our car.
We stopped at a beach to check out the waves, which based on the numerous warning signs, were pretty rowdy.
By this point, the clouds were starting to close in and we were getting hungry. We headed back inland in search of some food. After vetoing a few places, we didn’t have to go too far to find simple and easy food. We stopped in Olema at Due West. It was a decent meal and certainly got the job done.
We finally crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge at night, barely noticing it, and reached our next Airbnb in the Parkside neighborhood of San Francisco. We parked our little Fiat on the street, grabbed our bags and headed inside.
The Airbnb was good enough. There were two beds, a little kitchenette and a bathroom and everything was clean. It was certainly dated and big change from the places we had been staying out the previous two nights.
After unpacking we headed out to see what was around. We stumbled upon a little bar, grabbed a few drinks, and then went up the block to grab a slice of pizza. We called it a night and headed back to the Airbnb.
The main goals for the day were to get the rental car returned (back at SFO), understand the public transportation system, and explore the downtown area. I had previously been to San Francisco for a few days during a job interview and Benjamin had never been, so we planned on knocking out a few of the major tourist attractions.
We set out in the trusty Fiat for the last time and battled some light traffic on the way out to the airport. We dropped off the car and the agent was mildly amused that we hauled it all the way down from Oregon and ended up giving us a free “upgrade” ticket. It was a very simple green ticket, which I think one of us still has to this day.
Not knowing what to do with ourselves; we took the Airtrain around the loop to do a little airport sightseeing. It was time to stop messing around, so we got off at the BART station and struggled to figure out exactly what the best deal would be for us ticket wise. We gave up and went to one of the tourist information booths and asked for advice. The woman there basically told us that there was a tourist book that would be perfect for us. Evidentally it was refillable and good for the BART, trolleys, and everything.
With our newly acquired rapid transit tickets we hopped on the train to head back into the city. The ride was pleasant enough, it didn’t take too long at all and was not crowded. We jumped off downtown and wandered around the city. Eventually we made our way to Pier 39 and the “entrance” for Alcatraz.
Having never been to it, we checked out the tickets and got in line. After waiting for about a half hour we boarded the ferry to head out to the island. The ride was enjoyable and offered some decent views of the bay. I appreciated the live view of the electrical power usage on the ferry. It was pretty cool to see it change based off of where we were in the trip.
We reached the island and disembarked. We opted to skip the tours and just explore on our own. We grabbed a map and set off checking out the various buildings. It was pretty sobering seeing the living quarters and inmate cells. We had picked up the free audio tour which gave some great background information and set the scene for each room we walked through.
We entered a cell block just as they were operating the door opening and closing mechanism. Talk about a chilling sound! Seeing the mechanical linkages all operate together was very cool. Exit through the gift shop and onto the ferry, we headed back to the city.
Next up we decided to tackle the trolley system! We waited at the end of one of the lines and scoped out how it all worked. Gathering our courage up we showed our “tourist tickets” and jumped onboard. And… by onboard I mean the side runners and hung off the rails! We quickly found out that sometimes the trolleys get very close nearby traffic and bus mirrors are right at head level. Heads up!
Watching the driver operate the brakes and cable grabber was pretty cool.