Buffalo, NY to Seattle and back suggestions

If I was going to skip anything it would be Mt Rainer and Mt Saint Helens. I live at their base and believe me, they are just mountains, one with a hole. Id take Hwy 2 across and stop at Glacier. Then I'd bypass Seattle and go to Whidbey Island. If you can get reservations at Deception Pass you would really love it. I'd take the ferry to Port Townsend, staying at Fort Flagler. If time and if you have a passport or enhanced drivers licence, take a ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria for the day. Its a great place to walk around and enjoy. My next stop would be the Hoh Rain Forest and hike the trails into the Olympic heart. If you have an interest in history, check out the Lewis and Clark exhibits on either side of the Columbia River in WA and OR, staying both at Cape Disappointment and Fort Stevens State Park. Go down the Oregon Coast, Cannon Beach is a real tourist hole, but probably worth the stop and any of the State Parks are worth staying at. When you get to Tillamook, Or stop at the creamery and have a double deck ice cream cone in a chocolate dipped waffle cone. LOL. At this point, I'd go east on Hwy 6 to McMinnville, Or and would check out the Air Museum and Spruce Goose and I'm not even interested in planes, but it was a great stop and we all enjoyed it. From there I'd head to Crater Lake, and then northeast to John Day Fossil Beds and the Kam Wah Chung State Historic site. Its another hidden gem.
As you see, I've also skipped the Redwoods and you could skip McMinnville, and do the Redwoods and then Crater Lake. Happy travels.