46 | Float a Boat for BC Fun
Dart up the Strait of Juan de Fuca aboard the Victoria Clipper (206-448-5000; clippervacations.com), which takes on passengers at Seattle’s Pier 69, and you’ll be in Victoria, BC, in time for tea. Stay at the Fairmont Empress (250-384-8111; fairmont.com) but don’t expect your scruffy Seattle ways to fly at the hotel’s famous tea service, for which reservations are required, locals dress in their Sunday best, and a tuxedoed man materializes at your table with a silver pot of tea and a five-tiered hors d’oeuvre tray. Duck out of teatime early and meander over to the Butchart Gardens, 55 acres of tranquil paths exploding with more flowers than your grandma’s bathroom wallpaper. For a more raucous time, march toward the Irish Times Pub (250-383-7775; irishtimespub.ca), which pours 30 varieties of suds—and not a tea-toting tux wearer in sight.
Travel time 2 hours, 45 minutes by boat
When to go May through September
47 | Eat Pie and Pizza in Idaho
This is no ordinary lake in the middle of nowhere in Idaho. Lake Pend Oreille, about 30 miles north of Lake Coeur d’Alene, is a geologic wonder of shocking, 1,172-foot depths and rugged mountains rising up from its 111 miles of coastline. And then it gets weird: There is a former naval base at the south end. There is a chunk of the Berlin Wall on the Hope Peninsula on the lake’s northeast side, and a replica of the Statue of the Liberty at the public dock in the charming town of Sandpoint. First-rate pie can be had by the slice at Pie Hut (208-265-2208). Hoot Owl Café (208-265-9348) is the quintessential breakfast joint with a big-haired waitress named Wanda. And the Old Icehouse Pizzeria and Bakery (208-264-5555) in Hope has great food and live music on a balcony overlooking the lake. Jump into its waters from your rustic digs at Sleep’s Cabins (208-255-2122; sleepcabins.com), or rent a waterfront condo at the Seasons at Sandpoint Resort (877-265-4420; seasonsatsandpoint.com
sandpoint.com).
Drive time 5 hours, 33 minutes
When to go July through September
48 | Go Back to School
Enjoy a whiskey and cigar in the Detention Bar, or sip fine wine in the Honors Bar. Hell, go ahead and flip off the principal on your way to drinking beer in the auditorium. Is this high school in Detroit? No, just a visit to Portland’s Kennedy School (888-249-3983; mcmenamins.com), a jewel in the Oregon-based McMenamins chain of brewpubs and renovated hotels. Built in 1915, the school was decommissioned in 1975 before Mike and Brian McMenamin scooped it up in ’97, turned the classrooms into 35 guest rooms (with chalkboards intact), and had their artists rampage through the hallways. You can indeed drink beer, eat pizza, and watch movies in the auditorium, order full meals and housemade beer in the cafeteria, soak in a hot tub or drink in any (or all) of several bars, including the new Boiler Room Bar that just opened last fall. If you can tear yourself away from the place, head to the International Rose Test Garden (rosegardenstore.org) in Washington Park for sweeping views of the city and close-up whiffs of hundreds of rosy varietals.
Drive time 2 hours, 55 minutes
When to go Year-round
49 | Enjoy life at the Top
Out ’n’ About Treesort (541-592-2208) in the Siskiyou Mountains of southwest Oregon shelters you in one of 11 unique tree houses, including the three ultimate high-rise cabins, Forestree, Pleasantree, and Treezebo, each up to 37 feet off the ground, and accessed via suspended bridge. After a night of elevated sleep, come back down to earth and explore the caverns of the nearby Oregon Caves National Monument (541-592-2100; nps.gov), and dig into Caveman Chili at the Oregon Caves Chateau Café (877-245-9022).
Drive time 7 hours, 30 minutes
When to go May through October
50 | Go East
The urban renewal fairy has turned Spokane’s dreary old downtown buildings into condos and brewpubs like Steam Plant Grill (509-777-3900; steamplantgrill.com), which has housemade beer and burgers that will haunt your taste buds for weeks. The Davenport Hotel and Tower (800-899-1482; thedavenporthotel.com) was renovated to the tune of $40 million; rooms in the original Davenport are tasteful and elegant, but if it’s nutty you crave, go to the safari-themed Davenport Tower (Warning! Stuffed tiger in the lobby!). Down a few designer cocktails in the black-leather back room of Bluefish (509-747-2111; bluefishspokane.com), or listen to the Spokane Symphony saw out some tunes at the art deco Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox (509-624-1200; foxtheaterspokane.org). Parks are big in Spokane: Manito Park (manitopark.org) is crammed with designer gardens, including a Japanese Garden, a rose garden, and a classical European garden. Riverfront Park (spokaneriverfrontpark.com) has amusement-park rides, an ice-skating rink in winter, and an awesome aerial tram ride over Spokane River Falls. Oh, and don’t forget the laptop: The whole downtown area is a Wi-Fi zone.
Drive time 4 hours, 19 minutes
When to go Year-round.
51 | Take the Nuclear Option
If you know your Washington State history, you know that the Hanford Reach area, in the center of the state, benefitted from WWII and the Cold War in unexpected ways. Back in 1943, to disguise the nuclear production in the area, the feds made 625 square miles of surrounding land off-limits to the public. Wildlife thrived. The result today is a fenceless zoo of birds, deer, coyotes, and more. See ’em firsthand on a jet-boat tour via Columbia River Journeys and River City Tours (888-486-9119; columbiariverjourneys.com). Run for cover—and wood-fired pizzas and microbrews—at the Atomic Ale Brewpub and Eatery (509-946-5465), and put head to pillow at Hampton Inn Richland (509-943-4400).
Drive time 3 hours, 30 minutes
When to go May through September
52 | Stay Exactly Where You Are
Think about it. Why do you have to go anywhere? You’re already in the coolest of any of the 51 other destinations. And regardless of what Seattle-area nabe you call home, chances are you could walk the length of a bookstore aisle and be standing in front of a great restaurant or café—or park, or library, or farmer’s market—a place to while away a Saturday or Sunday, slowly, methodically, savoring each hour. Last year, the High Priests of Travel Journalism, referring to what we’re talking about here, began employing a neologism: Staycation. We just think it’s what you do when you’re living in the best city in America.
Drive time 0
When to go Right now
Published: January 2009
