Coastal drive along I-5: Seattle, Portland and San Francisco
Replies: 9 - Last Post: Apr 22, 2010 11:18 PM Last Post By: siskiyou2
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Coastal drive along I-5: Seattle, Portland and San Francisco
All,Doing a coastal drive along the I-5 to Seattle, Portland and SF. Looking for your suggestions and recommendations on great roadside eats and quirky roadside attractions along the way. Thanks in advance.
1
Eat at Voodoo Donut in Downtown Portland.Stop by The Barons Den outside of Eugene and shoot a "Real Tommy Gun"!
2
Look here.4
I-5 is not even remotely a coast drive until, I believe, south of San Juan Capistrano in Southern Caifornia. It doesn't go to San Francisco. There are certainly places you could drive over to the coast and back, but you may want to take long sections of the coast routes (e.g., Hwy. 101). If you give an idea of what route you actually have in mind, people could come up with useful ideas.5
As oather have noted, I-5 between Seattle, Portland and SF does not go along the coast. Far from it actually.As for "quirky" attractions along I-5:
- Centralia, Washington: On the northbound side of the freeway, just north of Centralia, watch for the John Birch Society's billboard (can't miss it with its big caracature of Uncle Sam giving you the stink-eye). It always has some extremist blather about commies taking over the country or some such nonsense. Its usually pretty entertaining.
- Ashland, Oregon: Nice counter-culture stop and home of the Shakespearean festival - sure to see lots of grown men running around in tights.
- Portland, Oregon: Try to catch the annual Gothic Festival usually held in the Pearl District. Lots of black make-up and spendy leather goods (don't forget to eat at Hung Far Lows in Chinatown - only place open after the strip bars close, thus its name)
Can't think of any more off the top of my head.
6
If you want to drive the coast between Seattle and SF, you'll need to follow US-101 from Olympia, WA down to Leggett, CA, then pick up CA Hwy. 1. Much more interesting. Also about 50% more driving time.7
If you really do mean I-5, then a great place for a lunch stop is Granzella's at Williams, California. There will be plenty of billboards advertising it. You can eat in the restaurant, but I prefer to buy a sandwich at the deli. Get a jar or two of their great olives. You can eat the sandwich there or save it for later.8
#6 is almost correct, however, from Olympia you are NOT 101 south to Portland. 101 is northbound out of Olympia heading around the entire peninsula. It's stunning, but that's not the way directly south. You can head west to Aberdeen (or other ways south then west) and then catch 101 south. Heading around the entire peninsula is basically an added day of driving...without doing the really great stuff.9
Quirky-House of Mystery Gold Hill OregonJacksonville Oregon is a pleasant historical stop.
Crater Rock Museum in Central Point Oregon
Skip Ashland-it's just like a suburb of Berkeley.
Mt Shasta is a throw back in time. Good Italian Delis with the Italian community there.
Redding-the first In N Out Burger as you head south
