Need some advice from BC Snowbirds.

For food, if you want to get it sooner than later, I would drop in to Fred Meyers in Bellingham. Easy access, enough space in one area for RVs and cheap gas. Have never had problems parking our 29' TT and truck there. It's the exit heading left (east) where the exit on the right is to the Bellingham airport. FM is pretty good on prices. Just never, ever buy food and gas at the border because they like to gouge Canadians that don't know any better.

Ever since Bill Gates moved to Seattle, the traffic has gotten really bad. When we have our TT behind us, we go 405. I think I-5 can be "sorta" okay at certain times of the day. Seems to start getting a lot busier just south of Everett.

If you aren't in a real rush, taking the ferry over to Port Townsend from Whidbey Island and then driving down the west side of Puget Sound is nice. Get back onto I-5 near Olympia or head over to the coast from there. The ferry might not be much slower anyway compared to going through Seattle and it's definitely more relaxing.

ps: I lived in Victoria and Saanich for 20 years and miss it a lot.

Z-Peller wrote:
Well, if you are REALLY averse to I-5 and Seattle/ Portland, then you could always get groceries etc in Bellingham area, then head out towards Anacortes and down Whidbey Isl and take the Port Townsend ferry, then carry on with your old route down the coast from there. Option to overnight at Deception Pass SP too.
Otherwise, as stated earlier, between 10 & 2 thru Seattle....205 bypass for Portland..

This is the way I was about to suggest.I, therefore, second the motion!!!

A very very pretty route and misses Seattle - always the best choice.

myredracer wrote:
...
Ever since Bill Gates moved to Seattle, the traffic has gotten really bad. .......

You must have a long memory. He was born in Seattle, nearly 60 yrs ago. And the roots of MS are nearly 30 yrs old.

Driving through Vancouver isn't much more fun.

paulj wrote:

myredracer wrote:
...
Ever since Bill Gates moved to Seattle, the traffic has gotten really bad. .......

You must have a long memory. He was born in Seattle, nearly 60 yrs ago. And the roots of MS are nearly 30 yrs ..

Well, true, but they also moved to the Seattle area. They started MS down in New Mexico as I recall, then moved to Seattle in about 1979

Bill Gates was from Seattle area and went to New Mexico for college.
Bill Gates SR was born in the Seattle area(Bremerton) and has lived in Seattle area much of his life.
Bill JR was born in Seattle!

Last year we crossed the border on friday, stopped at Tulalip Casino in the afternoon. We then did all our shopping( there is Costco Walmart and any store you could want close by). We got up early Sat. morning and went through the worst of it before the traffic got to bad. I thought it was probably better on a Saturday morning but maybe we just hit it lucky.