16 October 2019

The Pacific Northwest is not the first point of call when looking for a US road trip, or even just a holiday for that matter, in fact there are probably a lot of people who don't exactly know where this region is, or which cities it represents....so let me enlighten you. The region is in the far northwest of the US (or top left if you're looking at a map) and consists of the major cities, Seattle and Portland, as well as 2 main US States, Washington State (not Washington D.C) and Oregon. I'd never visited either of these, but for some reason, had always wanted to. I'd heard good things about the area, but it's not an area that's as heavily pushed as the likes of New York, Florida or California for example. I've been lucky enough to have experienced these beautiful states for myself and can honestly say, they would be up there in my top 5 to visit again. We flew into Seattle on the direct Virgin flight from London. It's just under 10 hours in total and being in Upper Class definitely helps. The check in and security was a little slow, but when is it ever quick at Heathrow, but once through to the spectacular Virgin Clubhouse you can start to relax in the vast lounge. Breakfast is served to you rather than a buffet plus you have a full bar, fruit & granola station as well as umpteen places to sit, the lounge was busy, but there was still plenty of space to sit. In the summer (it's a bit cold in October!) there is also an outdoor terrace if you wish to watch the planes before you get on one yourself! The flight itself actually flew by (pardon the pun!), the bar on board is a great addition and gives you something else to do rather than be stuck in your seat for 10 hours. We landed in Seattle and security etc was pretty smooth, you then have to make you way to the exit once you have your lugagge via a train to the main terminal building. Something to remember if you're being picked up, it's a good 15 minutes to get from luggage collection to the terminal building. Once out, we made our way to the Car Hire collection bus and jumped on to the huge Car Hire pick up/drop off point. Check in for our Alamo car was very easy and you find your Car Hire companies area and select your own car. We were then on our way to Seattle! We checked in to the Hyatt Regency Seattle which is an excellent location right in the heart of Downtown and perfectly located for exploring or if your travelling on business. The rooms were pretty spacious and if you can afford access to the club lounge, that is definitely worth it. We had 2 days in Seattle and discovered that there's a lot to see and do, visit the famous Pike Place Public Market, one of the first Farmers Markets in the USA. We also went on to visit the world famous Seattle Space Needle, built for the 1962 Worlds Fair along with the Seattle Monorail which runs from the Needle to the heart of the city. We also took a short cruise around the Puget Sound which gives you an amazing view of the city from the water as well as running commentary about the sights your see. If you're a beer lover (like me!), then there's plenty for you too, Seattle has a number of micro breweries with a huge selection of home made brews that are only available in Seattle. Whilst Seattle is pretty famous as the home to Amazon and Starbucks, but there is so much more to Seattle than these two huge companies. We left Seattle on day 3 for a drive down to the Oregon Coast, our first stop (after getting lost and taking the wrong exit off the freeway!) was Astoria. It's a great little town just over the State line between Washington and Oregon. Astoria is famous in it's own right, there are a number of movies that have been filmed here, including The Goonies, Short Circuit and Kindergarten Cop! It's also home to another brewery, the Fort George Brewery which again has a huge selection of beers and one of the tastiest burgers I've ever had!! We continued out drive down the coast stopping at another famous movie location, Cannons Beach which was the setting for the final scenes of The Goonies! It's a huge beach that stretches for miles down the coast and a quaint little town, great for a stop en route to your final stop. Our final stop was the Salishan Resort in Gleneden Beach. It's a huge resort with a number of different activities for you to do, including Golf and a Spa. For me however, it was a little too 'old fashioned'. Before we left we were taken onto the beach for a great bike ride! If you fancy doing something different then it's definitely one for blowing the cobwebs away, a 6.4 mile ride along half of the beach (give you an idea of how huge this place is!). So, onto Portland a 2 hour drive from Gleneden Beach with a little stop en route at the Stoller Vinyard, one of the most famous vineyards. Who knew that Oregon was home to some of the tastiest wine! Their red Pinot Noir was to die for and the white Chardonnay just as good. The setting was beautiful, perfect if you wanted to do something different whilst on your road trip, and don't worry, there are a number of hotels not too far away so you can properly taste the wine! We arrived at The Sentinel Hotel in Portland ready for our 2 days exploring, the hotel is an old hotel but has been modernised perfectly to blend old and new together and location wise, it's ideal to explore. I'd heard a lot about Portland before I left and it lived up to everything, the best attraction from my point was that there is literally a Micro Brewery on pretty much every corner! As well as these, there is some great shopping (Oregon has NO sales tax so tends to be 10%-15% cheaper than most other US States! You can also visit the Portland Zoo, if you like your wildlife then the Japanese and Chinese Gardens are stunning as well as the numerous waterfalls in the Colombia Basin just outside the city. After a great 2 days exploring Portland, it was time to return home. We flew back on the direct Delta flight from Portland. The airport is extremely easy to get through and we were through security and into the Delta lounge within 10 minutes from check in. The flight home was superb, SO much legroom in Delta One (their Business Class) and the food was excellent and after 9 hours we were ready to land! It was a very busy 6 days but worth EVERY minute!! If you want to learn more about any of the places I visited, whether for business or pleasure, then just give me a call on 01763 890016 or email me at chris.darcy@travelcounsellors.com