Portland to Seattle, or, Our Last Drive
The next morning, we awoke to the smell of coffee wafting through the halls of our hotel. So we went downstairs and did something we hadn’t done yet on our trip: ordered a coffee while the shop was in full swing during the morning-rush chaos. We joined the end of the line (outside the door) and waited. It only took a few minutes to reach the front, because they have two cash registers to use when needed. Anne really loves their lazy susan pastry case. We were able to see everything, and the barista was able to retrieve what we wanted with ease. Plus it looks cool.
We both got macchiatos, Anne got a croissant and I got a doughnut. Have we mentioned how good their pastries are?
After Stumptown and a bit of shopping, we headed up to The Albina Press to see what they had to offer us. It turns out, they had good coffee (Stumptown’s Hairbender again, which we each had a shot of). I personally like their $1 coffee to stay, with one free refill. They leave a pot of coffee out for self-serve, and I guess operate on the honor system after the first cup. But we were ready to leave town and head towards Seattle, so we didn’t stay long enough to see the system in action.
So up I-5 we went, stopping along the way at Paradise Cafe & Espresso Bar in Vancouver, WA. This tropically-themed coffee shop serves 49th Parallel, which is one of our friend’s favorite espressos. By this time, we weren’t really in the mood for more coffee, having sucked down several already. But I stepped up to the challenge, and had another macchiatto. Good clean shots, they were. We sat for a few minutes, and then headed back on the road.
We got to Seattle in time to go to dinner with Anne’s folks, and thus ended the driving portion of our trip. We devoted the next day to family fun and the wedding of Anne’s childhood friend (the actual impetus of this trip). The next morning, we turned in the car and I left for New York. We didn’t go to a single coffee shop the whole weekend.
from left: Anne’s mother Andrea, her Uncle Broschat, her father Bob, and Anne.
the view of the city and the car, decompressed
Anne, though, has more updates for you, so stay tuned!
Nice trip!
But… but…
Aaaaaaaa! You drove from Portland to Seattle without stopping at Lava Java!!??
(Not only a great shop, but in a surreal location in a little strip mall out in what seems like the middle of nowhere compared to Portland and Seattle.)
I know! We were really looking forward to going to Lava Java. But then we found ourselves in Seattle, and then realize we forgot.
We’ll just have to go the next time we’re in the Pacific Northwest.
hello.
i am debating whether or not i should drive from portland to seattle or just take the train.
was it a difficult drive? i’m trying to figure out how to maximize my time in seattle.
Hi Erdina,
It’s not a bad drive at all. We considered going the fun route, by avoiding the highways and driving up the Olympic Peninsula and taking in some beautiful scenery, but we had just driven 5000 miles, including spending the previous two days in the wilderness of Northern California/Southern Oregon. So we went the speedy way to get it over with.
But it’s not hard at all. Like 3-4 hours on I-5 (would have been 5-6 hours the long way). A bit boring maybe. However, the dirty hippy in me is forced to say that taking the train instead of driving is the ecologically-friendly way to go, because cars are the devil and such.