I received a few request to do a post on our family trip to the Pacific Northwest. I’d love to share it, but first, I have a few disclamers!
First off, this post definitely runs the risk of reminding you of the time you went over to someone’s house to painstakingly look through the photos from their amazing trip to Europe. You’re bored. They are clueless. They pour you caffeine free coffee and keep filling it up. You keep drinking it because there is nothing else to do. HAHAHAHAHA! Am I the only one this has happened to?
Secondly, I love to travel, but I am not a good planner. I happily rely on my husband to do this part -ha! Plus, he’s really good at it! If you’d like to see the other trips he has planned, check out my “travel” tab under “life.”
Thirdly, for this trip, we used a travel agent. When we started to plan for this trip (and by we, I mean he), it was pretty clear that there were so many things to see and so many logistics to figure out, so he followed his friend’s recommendation and reached out to Sheri Doyle at Pacific Northwest Journeys. I highly recommended Sheri!
Fourthly, make sure you check out my Instastories highlight, PWN. The videos do the trip more justice :).
My BIGGEST DISCLAIMER is at the end of the post!
We started in Portland, OR and traveled up the coast to Seattle, WA (where we ended). Here’s what we did along the way…
First stop, Portland, OR:
We visited Powell’s City of Books, which is one of the largest bookstores in the world. It’s still my boy’s favorite thing we did on vacation, which makes my husband and I scratch our heads a little bit. Hahahahah!
Powell’s bookstore takes up an entire city block.
Second stop, Canon Beach, OR…
Home of the Goonies rock! I’d like to take credit for this creative shot, but I copied someone I saw doing it. They were cooler because they were holding the rock with just one finger.
S’mores on the beach at Surfsand.
You can see the moon and the sun!
Third stop, Astoria, OR:
There’s 164 steps to the top of Astoria Column. I made it, but I was so freaked out at the top! You can see that funny video on Instastories.
The view from the bottom of Astoria Column.
Fourth Stop, Lake Quinalt, WA:
Lake Quinalt Lodge has an amazing exterior. The interior is basic.
The swimming area at the Lake Quinalt Lodge.
Fifth Stop, Olympic National Park, WA:
The world’s largest cedar tree.
Rialto Beach, WA
Triple Falls Hike, WA
Sixth Stop Forks/Sequim, WA: 
Seventh Stop, San Juan Island:
Friday Harbor
Eighth Stop, Seattle, WA:
Shirley Temples!
The original Starbucks at Pike Place Market!
My youngest loves magic tricks!
Ok, so here’s my final disclaimer- this was a TRIP not a vacation! It was a wonderful trip, and I am so happy we did it because I had never seen the Pacific Northwest before. It is stunningly beautiful! We stayed in six different places, and by the time we got to Seattle, mama was soooooo tired! But in the end, totally worth it! Oh, and don’t worry, there was the normal travel blowups and tired kid, tired parent interactions. This is just the highlight reel. I just want to make sure I’m keeping it real over here.
