Adventure in the Pacific Northwest!

We started our 16 day journey in San Francisco and spent two days exploring the fun and vibrant city. Our host took us on a sightseeing tour of the city stopping to eat burritos over-looking the iconic Golden Gate Bridge before taking off over the many steep and pot-holed roads! The following day brought fog and the heaviest rain on record in the Bay area! However, we still managed to have fun travelling on the old fashioned cable cars, lunch overlooking Union Square and of course went on the not to be missed Night Tour of Alcatraz…. and what a fantastic city for shopping too!

The following day we were up early to pick up our hire car and drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and north onto Eureka, stopping off in the beautiful Sonoma Valley for a spot of wine tasting and a drive through the Avenue of the Giants (Redwoods).

After an amazing walk through the Redwoods National Park and then crossing the border into Oregon, we spent the night in Medford before heading to Crater Lake National Park - a place of immeasurable beauty. Unable to drive around the whole perimeter (due to the snow) or take the boat trip on the lake, we were still able to marvel at its splendour from two or three vantage points before spending the night in Fort Klamath.

A long drive the following day to Portland via Mt Hood and then through the Colombia River Gorge….another amazing geological wonder… We stopped to watch the wind and kite surfers doing their tricks! We were pleasantly surprised by Portland, with a variety of restaurants and nightlife, river side festivals, cafes and parks it is a city big in entertainment yet with a small town feel. We were glad we made the time to visit.

Across the border into Washington State and after coffee at the farmers’ market in Olympia, the State capital, we drove on to Forks – with lush rain forests, magnificent coast line and vampires (home to the Twilight books & movies!) We spent a day walking through ancient forests and paddling in the freezing cold Pacific on La Push beach.

And on into Canada….we made an early start to catch the ferry across to Vancouver Island and enjoy lunch and a walk around Victoria. We caught another ferry to Tsawwassen, the gateway to the wonderful Vancouver, BC. Not forgetting the pod of Orcas off the starboard bow, it was an excursion in itself sailing through the many islands. Vancouver is home to the sea plane (we watched them take off and land from our hotel room), Stanley Park (we hired bikes and cycled around it) a stunning waterfront (we wandered along and ate ice creams!) and coffee in the Gas Lamp District.

After a stunningly beautiful drive into the mountains we arrived at the fun and buzzing resort of Whistler. Renowned as a ski resort, Whistler has made its name as a top summer destination too especially for mountain bikers. There is a wide variety of cross country bike trails, world class Bike Park, golf, rafting, zip lining and kids adventure park. It really does offer something for everyone…including glacier skiing!

Offering stunning views, the new world record-breaking PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola is a breath-taking, 4.4 km journey between the two peaks. It was quite an experience looking down on bears grazing from the chair lift on the way down…between us we saw more than 15 bears during our stay!

And finally - to Seattle….home to Frasier, the Space Needle affording magnificent views of the city and waterfront, Pikes Market and the first ever Starbucks! A fabulous end to a fabulous journey.

What were the Osmond family highlights? The Redwoods and the Whistler bears!