Honeymoon road trip

we%26#39;ve just over a year before we get married, in England. Our plan is a two week road trip along the east coast. as i say it%26#39;s all early days but this is what we%26#39;d like to do, and we%26#39;d LOVE and advice, guidance, suggestions and tips.

* - travelling the middle 2 weeks of July

* - we%26#39;ll travel north to south

* - keeping to coastal road as much as possible

* - plan is to start in Seattle or Portland

* - ending in San Diego

* - must visit San Francisco

We%26#39;ve no idea on what we should do about the following;

* - what kinda of car

* - where to book the first night

* - should we book accommodation for each night in advance or would that hold us to too much of a time schedule

* - will there be plenty of rooms available this time of year

* - what shouldn%26#39;t we miss?

* - not that interested in LA, but would kinda like to just see the Hollywood sign

i%26#39;m sure there is a lot more we need to plan, but at least this is a start.

Mark

Honeymoon road trip

There was a similar thread posted sometime ago regarding ';must sees'; on the Oregon Coast. I%26#39;ll find it and bump it for you.

July is very busy along the Oregon Coast. I would STRONGLY urge you to make reservations about February or March.

Iff you fly into Portland, I would recommned you spend the night htere to rest up, then head to Astoria the next day.

Den

Honeymoon road trip

Think i would choose Portland over Seattle. Not sure how you are with 12 hour flights, but I don%26#39;t want to do much first day. You could drive up the Columbia Riv Gorge then back to PDX,

If you want to see Mt St Helens you could go north to there then head for Oregon coast at Astoria and start south

I suggest you stay on 101 to San Francisco. I would not take Cal-1. It is long and takes time, and you will see plenty of coast line After SF go south to Monterey then follow Cal-1 along the Big Sur. get back on 101 after Big Sur and stay on it til Oxnard then back to Cal-1 and pick a way through LA and on to San Diego, 1400 miles give or take

I would not travel the coast in July without reservations, for sure on week-ends.

thanks for all you help and tips so far, this is giving us a lot of ideas and research ideas already.

thanks

I would not skip Seattle. There are nonstop flights into Seattle, but not into Portland, if that matters to you. I would fly to Seattle, stay in downtown and see the sights at a very relaxed pace that first day. Then head out the next morning for the rest of the trip.

Here is a little blurb I have on my views of Oregon coast

Hi I retired from the Forest Service 12 years ago. I grew up near Newport and until recently had a daughter living there. We now have a time share at Depoe Bay. We get to the coast regularly.

ASTORIA. Historic place. Go up to Astor Column, walk to top if you want. See Fort Clatsop the Lewis and Clark camp, Ft Stevens where portals look out waiting for the Japanese in %26#39;41. Lots of old homes.

SEASIDE. One of Oregon%26#39;s first beach resorts. Nice beach here. Still a busy place. Broadway has arcades, shops. More for the younger crowd.

CANNON BEACH. Trendy place, nice beach, good shops, nice place to stroll around town. Costs a bit more. Downtown is off busy 101.

N TILLAMOOK CO. Several small towns, most on bays not ocean. Fun to poke around in them, more downscale than Cannon Beach. Rockaway Beach is on ocean

TILLAMOOK. Tillamook cheese is the best there is. Visit the cheese factory

S TILLAMOOK CO. Two options here 101 which is not on ocean. Or Three Capes Co Rd. Go west out of Tillamook toward Netarts, S to Pacific City back to 101 s of there. Road is a little narrow hangs on the cliff in a couple of places, but nice drive, not too busy. Sand Lake along here is dune buggy place.

NESKOWIN. Quiet place, beach is a little hard to access, but good one. Nice motel.

LINCOLN CITY. 10 miles long 1 mile wide. Town is right on beach but 101 is not. New Indian Casino n end of town has increased traffic.

DEPOE BAY. Named for Chief Depoe. Very good stop with rocky shore line. Watch the ocean here. Spouting Horn. Beverly Beach SP CG south is popular

OTTER ROCK. Devils Punch Bowl, a good place to see tide pools to north and walk the beach to south. A bit of a walk to them. This is a favorite spot of mine.

NEWPORT I grew up 7 miles w of here. So may be partial. Yaquina Head Lighthouse n of town is open, tide pools here also. Agate Beach where you turn to LH, once aptly named you could always find agates. You still can at times. The waterfront in Newport is good. Shops, deep sea fishing, lots of boats, big bridge, MO%26#39;s for chowder. Yaquina Bay SP has access to jetty and beach.

SEAL ROCK. State Park Big rocks in ocean, birds, seals?, tide pools. Another favorite stop

WALDPORT. My wife makes us stop at flea market downtown on 101. Some better buys than other beach towns.

YACHATS. Nice little spot, better for motels. but get ready for the next 20 miles. Some of the best coastline there is. Cape Perpetua, nice visitor center. On top was another WWII observation site. Heceta Head Lighthouse and House, one of most photographed places in country.. House is haunted goes the story but you can visit it anyway. Sea Lion Caves. Costs but you can see the sea lions in their cave home.

FLORENCE. It has a bayfront old town too, but not as good as Newport. Parking is better. Honeyman SP is good camp site. Near Cleawox Lake but a bit of a hike across the dunes to the ocean.

OREGON DUNES. Managed by Forest Service. They start at Florence run 40 miles along coast to Coos Bay. You have to get out of the car to see these. 101 just touches on them. Dunes Overlook is a very good site. Several small CGs

REEDSPORT. Winchester Bay is good site. You can crab here. We caught enough for 20 of us not long ago. Good stop.

NORTH BEND/COOS BAY. The city on the coast. and not really on the ocean, on the bay. Charleston to west is also a crabbing site and Sunset Bay SP good place to camp, golf nearby.

SOUTH. Now we are getting out of what I call my old stomping grounds, so a little less familiar. Though have been along route several times

BANDON Only spot from Coos Bay to Port Orford where 101 is along the ocean. Nice old town area with some good shops. Has a good fresh fish market right near the docks.

PORT ORFORD . From here 60 miles of spectacular rugged coast line and you are right on it much of the time. Cape Arago lighthouse worth a visit

GOLD BEACH. If you have time, the jet boat ride up the Rogue River is great. The shorter ride to Agness worked just fine for us, takes 5 hours or so

BROOKINGS. Has become a popular retirement place. Good weather much of year. Just north of Cal state line.

Phil in Oreg

PS Be sure to check out the many lighthouses along the Oregon Coast. You can make a good tour just visiting them.

thank you all very much, we can now start planning with all of your suggestions.

mark