After a good flight, immigration was a bit chaotic, and took about an hour to clear.
The tour manager, Patrick Twomey, and Michael, our driver up to Seattle, were waiting for us, and quickly had us at the hotel. The Hotel Zephyr is very close to Fisherman's Wharf, the room was very good, apart from the length of the hair dryer lead, everybody had a tale about trying to use it. The hotel is being renovated so reception was very small and only one lift working, but generally, not a problem.
The second morning, we had a very good city tour, covering Market Street, Chinatown and the Presidio. The first stop was Twin Peaks, for an overview of the city, before a brief tour of Golden Gate Park. The second stop was at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge, where it is possible to walk on to the Bridge. We drove back through the former army base, The Presidio, which despite being a National Park, has homes, offices and a Walt Disney museum. In the afternoon, there was an optional cruise around the Bay. I took the cable car from Hyde Street to Union Square, and returned by Streetcar from Market Street, as the cable car was very busy. One day transit passes are available from Walgreens, two blocks from the hotel.
In the evening, there was a champagne reception, at the end of Pier 39, overlooking Alcatraz and the Bay. There was an optional meal at a fish restaurant, although other options were available.
The following day, we set off over the Golden Gate Bridge north towards Eureka, following Route 101. After driving through Marin and Sonoma counties, we had a break at Healdsburg, a pleasant little town with a variety of shops and cafes.
In the afternoon, we drove north stopping at One Tree House, where as the name implies, the house was carved out of one tree. There are other carvings of bears and a cougar.
Back on the road, we had a stop in a redwood forest, for a brief walk to the Founders Tree, several trees nearby were big enough to walk inside. Overnight was at motel, on the outskirts of Eureka, a small former fishing village.
Friday morning took us to the Carson House, a Victorian mansion, for a photo opportunity, before entering the Redwood National Park. We stopped twice, for short walks, once on Big Tree Trail, and the other time for a view of the rugged coast. Lunch was at Crescent City, and after entering Oregon, we had a wine tasting near Cave Junction. Overnight was at Rogue River, a few minutes from Grant's Pass.
The next morning, we took a two hour drive to Crater Lake, only half the loop drive was open, as it had snowed the day before. It was a bit grey, and further up, the lake was not visible, but, the trees looked attractive in the snow. We returned to the Park Lodge for a very funny talk from a Park Ranger, and, during that, the skies cleared, allowing us to see the lake in all its glory. On the way back, a few of us went into Grant's Pass for an hour or so.
Sunday morning saw us back on the coast, stopping to look at the height of the sand dunes, and getting caught in a parade, in Florence. We followed the coast to Newport, a small fishing village, where we had a crabbing demonstration, on a smaller version of Pier 39 complete with sea lions. On the way to the hotel, we stopped to take photos of a lighthouse.
The Elizabeth Inn is perched above a wide beach, each room had a sea view, a log fire and ceiling fan. There was a beer and wine tasting, before toasting marshmallows on the beach. When we returned there were freshly booked cookies in reception. (There was clam chowder at 5 pm there)
On Monday, we continued north to Cape Kiwanda, a small town where Dory boats still fish from. Dramatic scenery and the pub was open at 9.30.
More dramatic scenery at Cape Lookout, and again at the Cape Meares lighthouse where there is an Octopus tree. The coach surprised a wandering coyote, before it rushed into the trees. Lunch was at Tillamook,at a cheese factory which has tours, shops and a café.
We arrived in Portland about 4 pm, and had a short city tour before reaching the hotel. Near the hotel, was the Lloyd Center, a shopping mall with an ice rink and a few eating places.
Tuesday, an optional trip to the Columbia Gorge. We entered the Gorge through Troutdale, the first two stops were Women's Forum State Park and Vista House, where there was a visitors center, but it was too misty to see much. As we headed down to Multnomah Falls, the sky brightened, the Falls were spectacular, and had a couple of walking trails. The weather improved as we went to the Bonneville Dam, one of 8 dams on the Columbia River, in the USA, there are more in Canada. An enterprising seal found an easy meal at a nearby fish farm.
After lunch at Hood River, we headed for Mount Hood, which glistened in the sunshine,but, by the time we reached it, it was covered by mist and raining heavily.
On the Wednesday, we crossed into Washington, and stopped at Mount St. Helens Visitor Center, where there were models and a film, about the eruption, the 35th anniversary was two days earlier. Again, the volcano was covered in mist.
After a stop at Olympia, the state capitol, we arrived at Pike's Market, in Seattle, for lunch, there are lots of stalls, both food and souvenirs, in the Market. Close by were the original Starbucks, Hard Rock Café and Target. Later we drove around Elliott Bay, to Salties, for a view of Seattle's skyline.
As a result of a fire, we were delayed enough to be caught in the rush hour, so it took an hour to get to Lynnwood, and our hotel. The hotel provides a free dinner Monday to Friday, and there is a big mall within walking distance. Every room was a suite, big enough to throw a party in.
Thursday was a free day, the bus to take us downtown was delayed by an hour, those who wanted the Space Needle were dropped there, and the rest dropped at the Klondike National Historic Park, which details the story of the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada's Yukon. Those who went to the Klondike NHP walked to the Sky Line, in the Columbia Tower, for a view over the city, only $9 for over 55s.
In the afternoon, there was an hour long cruise around Elliott Bay, seeing the skyline from the water.
On Friday, we crossed the border into Canada, and after dropping the luggage, there was a city tour. We had a couple of stops in Stanley Park, the first was at the totem poles, and the second at Prospect Point, where we saw the Lion's Gate Bridge, and a friendly raccoon posed for photos.
There was an optional trip to Capillano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain, on the Saturday, about half the group went as the rest had been there previously.
I met up with cousins and went to several other attractions:-
The Aquarium in Stanley Park is very good, including exhibits on British Columbia's coast and an Amazon rainforest.
Victoria, British Columbia's capital, can be reached by bus and ferry. I went to the Royal BC Museum, others took the hop on, hop off bus tour.
For shopping, Robson is the main street, and Gas Town for souvenirs, nearby is the RCMP store.
If you are not totem poled out, a bus from the hotel goes to the University of British Columbia's Anthropology Museum shows a variety of carvings.
Overall, this was a great tour, plenty of wildlife to see, eagles and other birds of prey, deer, elk, squirrels, a coyote, a raccoon and sea lions. Although this was a Travelsphere tour, there were 8 singles and 7 couples, and everybody got on well. About a third stayed on for the extra 2 nights. Patrick was a very good tour manager, had lots of suggestions, and if there was something anybody wanted to see, did his best to accommodate their request.
The only disappointment I had, was that when I queried the Seattle hotel change, with Travelsphere, I was told that the new hotel was just over a mile from the previous hotel, when I had told them that it was over an hour away from downtown by public transit. Having been there, I can understand why the hotel was at Lynnwood, but, I feel that Travelsphere should have been more honest.
Keith
