Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The Pacific Northwest of the United States

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #26
    The Pacific Northwest of the United States

    Helio, it doesn't happen to be in Gualala, does it?

    That's where we got married, but well before "destination weddings" were a thing.

    Comment


      #27
      The Pacific Northwest of the United States

      No, it's in Bodega Bay, which I see you've said that you like. Hey, would you be interested in throwing on a wig...?

      Comment


        #28
        The Pacific Northwest of the United States

        Just tell them that you were psychologically scared forever by The Birds and could never possibly go there, but wish them all the best, etc.

        Comment


          #29
          The Pacific Northwest of the United States

          Maybe the birds will take care of everyone before the wedding day.

          Comment


            #30
            The Pacific Northwest of the United States

            I consider it to be a completely valid excuse, because that film seriously creeped me out, and, while Bodega has changed a lot, a number of the locations are still recognisable.

            Comment


              #31
              The Pacific Northwest of the United States

              The bride, the groom, and about 90% of the guests have to get out there from the east coast, and some of them don't like driving, so it's going to be a pain to get up there from San Francisco or Oakland. And it's the bride's third wedding. Third! Just because they want a vacation with Giants-Phillies games and wineries doesn't mean anyone else does, but it's a sibling, so there's going to be massive amounts of guilt involved.

              Comment


                #32
                The Pacific Northwest of the United States

                That's seriously annoying.

                We traveled farther than virtually anyone else for our own wedding.

                Are they doing it at the Inn on the Tides? They arrange shuttle buses to and from SFO and the city.

                Comment


                  #33
                  The Pacific Northwest of the United States

                  I don't know what's worse, dragging people out to the West Coast for a wedding, or involving a Phillies game in the celebrations.

                  Comment


                    #34
                    The Pacific Northwest of the United States

                    Heliotrope - I can raise you east coasters having their wedding in Hawaii, neither of who are from there. The bride tried to guilt-trip my wife into us going with the whole family.

                    "Oh Hai! Want to spend $8k coming to my wedding?"

                    Comment


                      #35
                      The Pacific Northwest of the United States

                      If I was paying that much to go to Hawaii, a wedding would be far down on my list of things I'd want to do while there.

                      Comment


                        #36
                        The Pacific Northwest of the United States

                        I'm paying for my (step-)sibling and his girlfriend to come to my wedding, because I feel guilty that it's so far away (600 miles) from where they live. Heliotrope, please feel free to cite me!

                        Regarding the original topic, I just learnt that the San Francisco museum of modern art is closed for refurbishment, in case you were thinking about putting it on your itinerary. I've never been further north than Sausalito, but I'd love to and hope the OP will return with some recommendations of their own.

                        Comment


                          #37
                          The Pacific Northwest of the United States

                          beak, did you ever take this trip, and if so, how did it go?

                          I went to that destination wedding last week, and for the life of me I don't see why it couldn't have been held near where the bride and groom (and I) live. To be honest, the location wasn't really appealing--cold, perpetually cloudy, nothing to do.

                          Comment


                            #38
                            The Pacific Northwest of the United States

                            I met a woman who also worked for UCLA who was going to be retiring and moving up to Bodega Bay. She doesn't know anyone there, just loves it there. Didn't seem like the best plan to me.

                            Comment


                              #39
                              The Pacific Northwest of the United States

                              I've just got back from an extended road trip along through much of this terrain (and if you thought beak/clarts's SF to Seattle and back was a lot of driving, you'd be horrified by what we did).

                              My thoughts remains pretty much as they were earlier, but I can flesh some things out a bit (Or, as we used to write at school: here's what I did on my holidays)...

                              The Central Valley of California is really quite unpleasant. I've never driven I-5 north before and it's just brutally brown, and full of really unpleasant smelling feedlots and massive almond orchards. Sacramento, which I saw for the first time, seem to be quite charming (at least while the state government isn't sitting). But it sprawls forever through largely character-free towns like Roseville and Elk Grove.

                              Tahoe is lovely, but swamped in douchey SF money which makes it less pleasant and more crowded. We stopped in Reno for an hour, and that might have been too long.

                              The drive on 395 north of Reno isn't as pretty as the southern section, but still pleasant enough and it gets you to Crater Lake which is one of the most stunning places on earth (although, like many of the national parks, it's probably a place you can really only stay amused at for a single day).

                              Bend remains a great small city which I should go and spend a week or two hanging around rather than just passing through. From Bend to Seattle it was hard to really appreciate the scenery because everything was smoked in from the mass of wildfires that have blighted the northwest this year. I was very underwhelmed by Seattle itself. It just didn't seem to have any charm, which is odd because it has all the elements of a town I should love...

                              Vancouver, though, is great. Absolutely loved Vancouver. We didn't stay there long enough, but what a charming, pleasant town in a spectacular setting. And the drive north to Whistler is also spectacular up the coast (or inlet, or fjord, whatever you want to call it). Whistler itself is, unsurprisingly, a shitty ski-resort town. But again in a stunning setting. From there, the weather turned on us, so we didn't get great views of the Canadian national parks (Revelstoke, Glacier, Yoho, Banff). Our little stop offs at Lake Louise and Banff town suggested that on sunny days they'd be really, really spectacular settings. I'm not sure about the towns themselves, though. I got a feeling that there was quite a lot off fake-British-class-and-snobbery. Lots of tea rooms, and being greeted by bagpipers, and a very ugly hotel called a "chateau" at Lake Louise...

                              Heading back south, US Glacier national park oddly has underwhelming glaciers, but great, great mountains and lakes. It felt as if the British Lake District had been stretched vertically by a factor of 2. Missoula's a bit of a nothing town, but Boise is fabulous. I really, really enjoy spending time in Boise. The scenery through Montana and Idaho is green, forested, mountainous, nice to look at but just goes on forever.

                              But not as much as the stretch from Boise southwards through western Oregon and into Nevada, which is just barren desert scrubland with no towns and nothing to look at for hundreds of miles. Almost nothing changes until the border with California at Mono Lake when suddenly the scenery gets beautiful again with the backside of the Sierra Nevada and the lovely drive down 395 from Mammoth to Ridgecrest (again blighted by smoke, this time from the Rough Fire in Fresno). All finished off, of course, with crossing the LA sprawl which is a miserable way to finish a road trip, but there's pretty much no other way home.

                              Comment


                                #40
                                The Pacific Northwest of the United States

                                Interesting to read your reactions.

                                I agree with most of them, at least to the extent I have experience.

                                That's I-5. US 99 (which it replaced) has a bit more atmosphere, but much of the Valley ms ursus grew up is effectively gone (though I would still highly recommend Route 4 from the Sierra Foothills through Stockton and the Delta).

                                Sacramento's Old Town and (especially) the Railway Museum is worth seeing, but the suburbs may even be worse than you describe, especially when it is over 100 degrees (as it often is).

                                Glacier evidently had more glaciers when it was originally laid out, but they've never been its principal draw. I agree that it is more Lake District times 2 than "Little Switzerland" (as it is sometimes marketed).

                                Vancouver is ace, though if you thought Banff was Britwhackery, it's probably best that you didn't go to Victoria. Sounds like you also should avoid the grand Canadian railway hotels, too.

                                We, on the other hand, are suckers for those, but then we are suckers for the British ones, too.

                                Comment


                                  #41
                                  The Pacific Northwest of the United States

                                  Vancouver, though, is great. Absolutely loved Vancouver. We didn't stay there long enough, but what a charming, pleasant town in a spectacular setting.

                                  Careful, some locals get upset hearing themselves referred to as a town. We are — so we've been told repeatedly — "A World Class City," whatever that might mean. Back in NASL days Curt Gowdy called Vancouver a "village" during his play-by-play of a Whitcaps game. NBC never heard the last of it.

                                  Comment

                                  Working...
                                  X