Need feedback on LA -PDX itinerary, please.

Hi guys, I had a lot of help here already from wonderful people, and came up with this itinerary. Please tell me what you think.

Do you think this is too tiresome and ambitious of an itinerary for someone who doesn%26#39;t like to rush? It seems from mapquest that after the first day, the drive is about 3-4 hours a day, which is great but I%26#39;m not sure it always takes the type of the road into consideration.

I would also like suggestions on what to do and see between stop points. I need to be in Portland by lunch or so on the 9th.

March 3 Driving from the LA%26#39;s South Bay to Santa Rosa. Overnight in Santa Rosa (We%26#39;re skipping the LA -SF part, as we%26#39;ve done it many times)

March 4 Safari West, The Shultz Museum Overnight in Santa Rosa

March 5 Mendocino, Fort Bragg. Overnight in Port Bragg

March 6 Drive to Eureka, through Avenue of the Giants, Overnight in Eureka

March 7 Drive to Gold Beach, go to Redwoods, overnight in Gold Beach (this is a birthday, any special suggestions?)

March 8 Drive to Florence (or?) Overnight

March 9 Drive to Portland

Thanks!

Need feedback on LA -PDX itinerary, please.

I can%26#39;t comment on the CA section but the OR part looks good. As far as accommodations, as I previously mentioned in one of your other threads, I%26#39;d go for Tu Tu Tun Lodge in Gold Beach, for sure. If you can, splurge for one of the rooms with a fireplace and a soaker tub on the balcony. It will be a great place to celebrate a birthday.

And on March 8, I%26#39;d go a bit further north to Yachats and stay at the Overleaf Lodge there. Or, there%26#39;s always the option of staying at the Heceta Head Lighthouse B%26amp;B just north of Florence if you want something a little unusual.

Need feedback on LA -PDX itinerary, please.

Thank you for all your suggestions and help, northwestwanderer . Off to see what you mean by ';a little pricey.'; ;-)

No problem--and hopefully you%26#39;ll post about your trip before I go on mine to the northern CA coast at the end of March ;-).

Looks like a nice doable itinerary. In Santa Rosa, you may want to check out the Hotel La Rose, my son enjoyed a stay there in a cottage room in the back of the property. The rates are pretty reasonable also and it gets great reviews on this and other travel sites.

In the Florence area, you may want to consider a stop at the Sea Lion Caves, great fun! Enjoy your trip! :)

I agree with northwestwanderer. There are not a lot of motel choices in Florence, and only one, Driftwood Shores, is anywhere close to the beach. Other options in Yachats include The Fireside (right next door to the Overleaf), The Adobe and the Shamrock Lodgetts. There are many others, but these are the ones I recommend due to their locations.

From Yachats heading north, there are several routes you can take to Portland (hwy 34; hwy 20; hwy 18; hwy 6). All will take 3 hrs or less.

~Den~

Thank you all. I wasn%26#39;t thinking of motels, but rather something in the middle between Tin Tin Tun and a motel... :)

And I wasn%26#39;t really asking so much for lodging ideas, as much as for things to do and see this time of year.

Also, again, do you think it%26#39;s too ambitious an itinerary? Could someone please give me realistic estimates for travel time between these points, especially if it rains? Maybe I should make it into a separate thread...

Thanks again.

It%26#39;s Tu Tu Tun ;-)! And the Overleaf fits into the in-between category.

I%26#39;m not sure I understand your question about the rain. Are you thinking you%26#39;d have to drive much slower than the speed limit? That%26#39;s not likely to be the case. Or is it something else?

Yes, northwestwanderer, that%26#39;s what I meant, that the drive would be very slow. Touche on the correction ;)

Ok, thanks for clarifying. No, I don%26#39;t think it%26#39;ll make a huge difference to your travel times. I mean, you might be going a little slower if it%26#39;s raining but not like half-speed or anything.

I looked at some of the mileages between your stops on Mapquest and I think that 3-4 hours driving time seems feasible. Along the Oregon Coast at least, you%26#39;ll probably average around 45 mph, between the slower stretches and the parts where you can go 55-60.

I would always listen to dengay and northwestwanderer :)

When we drive along the coast, I find I slow down more because of the trucks and going around all the curves and the views! It is difficult at times to drive and not try to look out at the fabulous views at the same time, so figure you will want to drive slower or pull over and look sometimes.

* Personally, it does not feel like a vacation to me if I have to get up every morning and get back in the car and get to the next place, so your itinerary does seem a bit pushed*

We live in Portland and so far, in all the rain we have been through, I never see anyone driving any slower because of the rain :)