DiamondDave2005

We loved it too - we spent a long weekend there back in '97.

I must say, Vancouver is my favorite North American city to date. We stayed at the Pan Pacific hotel, and the view was so amazing, we even had dinner brought to our room instead of going out.

Oddly enough, one thing I always remember about Seattle is a fountain that was located near the Space Needle. It had an amazing array of water jets set to classical music, and people tried to dodge (or not) the water as the music played.

I've been to Seattle three times now, and never seen rain. Maybe I shouldn't tempt fate by returning

curiosnoo

Dennis,


All the suggestions have been very good, and as you are now no doubt aware there will not be enough time to do all of those suggested. The one question I would have for you is will you have transportation available for a one day trip? If you do there is one magnificent trip that you should consider. For many years I neglected making the trip to Mount Saint Helens, but finally when my granddaughter visited us I took her there. All I can say is the majesty of nature will leave an impression on you that you will not forget. If you should make the trip, I would suggest planning a full day and an immediate drive to the very top vista at Anderson Ridge. You can visit the other sites as you come back down as all are worth visiting. Again, it depends on your time restrictions and availability of transportation. I hope you have a great trip and welcome to the great Pacific Northwest.

goblueS2K

I will be renting a car...probably a Ford Focus. None of the car rental agencies seem to list an S2000. How far is Mount St. Helens from Seattle?

mikegarrison

I had a job in college as a tour guide there.

mikegarrison

Depends on what part of Saint Helens you go to, but I would say you should expect it to be an all-day trip. 1.5 hours to drive down (with no traffic, which depends mightily on the time of day), then there are a bunch of different visitor centers you can see. Some of them involve a lot of driving, because the roads from one side of the mountain don't link up with those on the other.

If you work at it, you can visit Mt Rainier and Mt Saint Helens in a single day, but if those interest you each is worth a whole day.

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/mshnvm/

curiosnoo

Mike,

I would strongly suggest that Dennis take the Toutle route. It would give him the opportunity to experience what we went through on I-5 following the eruption. It gives a great explanation of what happened along the Toutle river down to the Cowlitz, and will provide one of the better views of the Toutle valley. You are right about the time frame and I am tempted to suggest that I would provide a guided tour in my Acura CL 3.2, but it in no way provides the thrill and comfort (IMHO) that the S2 would provide for such a manginificent vista. But only two people will fit in the S2.