eSCAping Type 1

And so we head back east from Seattle for the final week of our final cross-country road trip (for now)…

Catch up on the first week here. Read all about our other two road trips here.

Day 7: Seattle

With another day to spend in Seattle, we started with breakfast at Pike Place Market.  No, not at the first original Starbucks. Rather we waited in an even longer line to get fresh Russian pastries at Piroshky Piroshky, and I would drive 2,700 miles any day just to eat here again.

Then, we walked (well, rolled) to the infamous Gum Wall. Ew.

For our last Seattle adventure, we debated between the Museum of Pop Culture, the Aquarium, or the Art Museum. For the record, the Needle was under partial construction, but boy did I make the wrong decision. 

The Museum of Pop Culture looks really exciting on the outside, but do not waste your time going here. Maybe we just had poor timing with the exhibits, but a huge room literally only playing music we had never heard of, and a floor dedicated to props from scary movies we had never seen, just wasn’t our thing. Plus, we had to track down an employee to accompany us on their off-limits elevators every time we transferred floors, so… 

I guess the Wizard of Oz props were kind of cool?

Day 8: The Pacific

To reach our next destination, we traveled slightly out of the way, down the Pacific coast. Two years earlier we had been at the southern corner of the U.S., staring at the same ocean. There was a slight 20 degree difference, but definitely an experience worth having.

We stopped at Cannon Beach, a beautiful shore featuring Haystack Rock. It also happens to be where they filmed parts of The Goonies. Truffle Shuffle aside, I recommend stopping here.

Day 9: Portland

To say Portland is unique is an understatement. It’s a city that takes its role of being “weird” very seriously. Despite our love for antique stores and the fact that we listen to albums on a record player, Cody & I did not fit in here in the slightest. I’m really glad we visited, but am surprised to say I have no strong desire to return.

Except maybe to visit Old Town again. Our first stop was the famous VooDoo Doughnuts. There are so many interesting selections, and the Bacon Maple Bar (plus people watching, of course) made the long line entirely worth it. And yes, that is a Jesus doughnut you see below – we were there on Easter…

From there, we ventured to a huge outdoor public market with a ton of handmade items for sale. Definitely worth exploring, though we didn’t buy anything. It probably would have helped if we were into art?

Luckily, we are into food, and Portland has an endless array of eating options. There were so many food truck parks all within walking distance, plus restaurants galore. We decided on a Pho restaurant whose glass-walls provided easy continuation of our people-watching experience.

We also visited a few thrift stores, but they just reaffirmed how, well, ‘normal’ I guess we really are. I’d take Asheville, NC over Portland any day. (Hence Road Trip #3.5, comin atcha soonish). 

Day 10: Driving

My original plan involved going to Portland after Yellowstone, and then north to Seattle, so that we could travel along the top of the U.S. on our way home. Mother Nature, however, had different intentions. With news of a pending snowstorm, we switched our itineraries for Washington and Oregon, so by Day 10 we literally had no plan whatsoever.

Instead of heading to North Dakota, we rerouted south instead, sticking us in the car for the entire day. Now, I know I’ve said this numerous times so it should be getting old at this point, but the best part about road trips is the freedom they give you to explore. A change of plans has NEVER been a bad thing on one of our adventures. In fact, they usually lead to some pretty awesome discoveries. 

Sure, now we’ve never been to North Dakota. And we’ll probably never go. But I really am perfectly ok with that because look at these views. We ended up in Boise, Idaho, instead.

Day 11: Salt Lake City

From Boise, we wanted to go to Grand Teton National Park, and made it as far as Pocatello when the weather sent us south again… this time to Salt Lake City, Utah!

It was such a beautiful, unexpected stop. Between the Romanesque architecture, historical Mormon statues, Gothic-styled temples, and freshly manicured gardens, you do not need any sort of plan to enjoy your time here. Having been stuck in the car, rerouted due to wind and snow, it was so nice spending the day outside in the warm sunlight. 

Plus, Bogart got to rediscover his love for In-N-Out Burgers.

Day 12: Colorado

And just like that we were back in my favorite state!  We visited the Pearl Street Mall again to eat more of their delicious Chinese Steam Buns, and then switched it up a bit by driving to the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins (with Fat Tire being my favorite beer, we couldn’t NOT go). 

I now realize that most of my initial fascination with Colorado came from it being the first instance where America had felt different to me. On Road Trip #1, Boulder was the first city where I saw mountains and felt so free. Now that we’ve been to 43 states, I’ll admit, Colorado has lost some of its grandeur and mystique. BUT I still love it and would move here in a heartbeat.

Day 13-14: Driving

To end our last cross-country road trip, we had a whole lot of driving to do and not a ton of time to do it. By backtracking our very first route, we made it home in two days without really feeling the need to stop anywhere (except at Fort Cody, of course).

Having hit only eight new states, it was still two weeks packed full of new adventures, reaffirming that road trips can always be exciting, no matter your physical abilities, or where or when you go.