City Find: A Studio Stay in the Rose City

by Lauren on June 30, 2009

Newsflash! There is more to budget lodging in Portland than the Ace Hotel!

Matt Gross, the frugal travel writer for the New York Times, published his ode to the rose city in May  (Frugal Portland). Where to stay? The Ace Hotel. Sunset magazine’s travel blog dishes on bargain digs. Where to stay in PDX? The Ace Hotel. OK! We get it! We hear you! Stay at the Ace Hotel! If, that is, you can snag a room (they book out.) And, if you don’t mind sharing a bath. For $90 a night.

I’ve posted about cheap sleeps in PDX before. Yes, the Ace Hotel is on my list, too. But, I’ve got a new place to add to the mix. It’s not hip, or modern. And it’s not downtown. But it’s cheap, on a bus line, and offers real hospitality.

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The 72nd Avenue Studios came to my attention from a friend who’d stayed there years ago. You should check it out for your blog, she told me. And a few weeks ago, we finally did.

The studios (there are two of them) are in a 1914 bungalow in the Northeast neighborhood of Roseway, just off Sandy Blvd and around the corner from a shop that sells homemade donuts. Never heard of the Roseway neighborhood? I hadn’t either, and there’s not a whole lot there. Well, except for the aforementioned donuts, which I highly recommend, and the Grotto, which is actually pretty cool. But it’s just a short drive (or bus ride) to Northeast neighborhoods with pedestrian-friendly centers like Hollywood, Beaumont, or Hawthorne.pdx_studio3

We stayed in the front studio, which rents for $75 a night. The middle studio, slightly smaller and with a less-equipped kitchen, rents for $70 a night. Upon our arrival, the studios’ owner, Peggy Sullivan, greeted us warmly and gave us the basics on the neighborhood, the studio, and her lovely garden and patios, which guests are welcome to use. Peggy is a garden designer, and her hosta-framed patios and gazebo with woodburning fireplace out back are just lovely.

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Our kitchen was equipped enough with all the basics to cook meals - from a french press coffee maker to iron skillets to wine glasses and a corkscrew. We had a table and chairs to dine at, a queen bed to sleep in, two comfortable easy chairs to watch TV from (there is a dvd player), and a bathroom with shower. These studios are a great value.

Children welcome (at least ours was!) but no pets. Two-night minimum. Reserve with Peggy at 503.288.8501 or email innkeeper@72ndavenuestudios.com.

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Need a Beach? Try Manzanita

by Lauren on June 22, 2009

The Seattle Times last week featured the charming Oregon coast town of Manzanita as a laid-back, “family-friendly” destination. Always being on the lookout for those two words that I’d frankly never even noticed before last September, I decided to look into Manzanita lodging. After all, the article unequivocally states: “Manzanita turns out to be a wonderful place to take a vacation on a budget with a young family.” Also, I couldn’t help but notice that the reader comments were laden with thinly-vieled attempts to downplay the area’s beauty and charm to scare off the scores of visitors that will soon be arriving because of this article. A dead giveaway to an area’s appeal if there ever was one!manzanita

Aside from nearby camping on the low end, and a $170 inn on the high end, the authors recommend renting a vacation home in Manzanita for an affordable family getaway, suggesting  Manzanita Rental Co (recommended) or Sunset Vacation Rentals. I found some great bargains on these sites, especially Manzanita Rental Co. Remember when comparing prices on vacation rentals, include the cleaning fee that often comes in addition to the nightly rate. There may be other fees as well, so read all the fine print.

91 Idaho Street - This light-filled cottage sleeps two in one bedroom sleeping loft. Very near beach. Open floorplan with fireplace and lots of light. Outdoor patio and pets welcome. Rates: WINTER: $110/night | SUMMER: $140/night. $50 cleaning fee.

37105 Beach Street - This sleeps four, and two couples or a family of four make this a real bargain. A big deck with hot tub and view of the beach make it especially fun! There’s a large kitchen and wood stove, too. Rates: WINTER:$140/night | SUMMER: $170/night. $75 cleaning fee.

320 and 340 Edmund Street - A short walk away from the beach are two identical ramblers with open floor plans that sleep six each. Good nightly rates, but note the steep cleaning fee. Rates: WINTER: $90/night | SUMMER: $125/night. $100 cleaning fee.

Photo of Manzanita Beach from Hwy 101 by AlleyesonJenny.

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Lake Chelan is Calling

by Lauren on June 11, 2009

I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus lately. My goal is to post once a week, and it’s been three since I last posted. And although I would love to say it’s because I’ve been chillaxin in some remote corner of the Pacific Northwest with no internet access in site, that would be a lie. I’ve been at home, just feeling a bit under the weather, which has been hard, because the weather has been pretty awesome.  But it did give me a chance to catch up on some reading. And I’ve been reading about Lake Chelan.

If you look at a map of Washington state, you will notice a long sliver of water right in the north central part of the state, bordered on its west side by the Wenatchee National Forest. Lake Chelan is actually an eighty mile long glacial valley, and for most of its length lies deeper than the Grand Canyon. This fjord-like lake is fed by more than 100 Cascade glaciers, filling it with water is that crystal clear and deeply blue. Its banks rise steeply towards the glacier-capped, rugged peaks of the North Cascades, resulting in a truly dramatic landscape.kingfox

The lake’s south end, including the town of Chelan, is more developed. Just a 3-hour drive from both Seattle and Spokane, the lake’s south end offers orchards, wineries, golfing, boating, swimming, and hiking. However, a little bit of quiet is hard to find with the roar of a jet ski always in the distance. This post is about the lake’s north end, where most of the landscape is wild, and all of it is remote, with the quiet villages of Stehekin and Holden accessible only by boat.

Life slows down the minute you walk onto the Lady of the Lake boat ferry in the town of Chelan to begin your journey north on the water. (Round trip ferry rates are $34 - $39 per person. Click here for the schedule and here for a list of what you can and cannot take with you on board the vessel.)

All who have to do after that is decide where to get off the boat.

Slow down in Stehekin. The remote and picturesque town of Stehekin is reached only by boat, floatplane, horseback or hiking boot–which explains why there are only about 100 full-time residents! Come summer, though, the village is crawling with visitors, including thru-hikers that take a much-needed rest here as they make their way north on the Pacific Crest Trail.  You’ll find a few good places to stay in Stehekin, though none as cheap as the tent you could pitch along a nearby trail. My top pick is the Stehekin Mountain Cabin which sleeps seven for $90 a night. It’s a screaming deal. The best-known accommodation is the Stehekin Landing Resort, part of the North Cascades National Park complex, where you can get a very basic room in the summer high season for $112 a night. The “resort” has a restaurant and general store. Also run by the Courney Family is the Stehekin Valley Ranch, where a perfectly acceptable tent cabin and all meals runs about $95 a person (an adult person, that is–kids are cheaper).

Retreat to the Wilderness. Holden Village is a year-round Lutheran wilderness retreat center about 11 miles up into the mountains from the Lucerne landing dock. Situated on the edge of the Glacier Peak Wilderness, this retreat village has so much to do regardless of your religious denomination, from art projects to crafts to spiritual renewal to wilderness exploration. It’s a day hiker’s dream come true, with several stunning trails departing from the village into the Glacier Peak Wilderness. While at Holden, you are invited to find your own pace and pursue your own unique renewal and interests. But don’t expect to connect with the outside world - Holden has no phones or television, no cell phone reception, and limited radio. Rates are about $70 per person (cheaper for kids) and all delicious meals are included in your stay.  Holden is not a resort, it’s a community. (NOTE: The Holden Village folks also operate Holden Bed and Breakfast, a fabulous deal at $30 per person, but this is separate from the Village and instead accessible by road from the town of Chelan.)

Take a hike.chelan_lakeshore_trail_dan Looking for a totally unique way to experience Lake Chelan? Hike the lakeshore! The Chelan Lakeshore Trail is a 17.5 mile backpack, and perhaps the only trailhead in Washington state that requires a 20-mile boat ride. Begin your backpack adventure at Prince Creek and make it a 2-3 day journey to, pitching your tent at fabulous lake view campsites along the way to Stehekin,  where you will board the Lady of the Lake once again for the return trip to Chelan. It is also possible to take the boat to Moore Point and dayhike 6.8 miles to Stehekin, which some feel is the best part of the trail - you can overnight at the campground in town or stay in the lodge. Make sure to consult the boat schedule carefully! If you are up for a really unique adventure, consider a Volunteer Vacation with Washington Trails Association - they host several working vacation trips in the north Lake Chelan area each year.

Photo of the Lady of the Lake by Kingfox.

Photo of hikers along Lake Chelan by Dan..

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New Lonely Planet Guide to the Pacific Northwest! (And how you can win it - free!)

by Lauren on May 16, 2009

A good guidebook is a perfect companion for the budget traveler. In the travel guidebook world, Lonely Planet tops the list as the best shoestring guide for a whole bunch of global destinations– for pretty much anywhere in southeast Asia to hot destinations like the Czech Republic.  So when I saw one of their latest titles was for our neck of the woods, Pacific Northwest Trips, I was intrigued to see how it would stand up as a travel guide for a budget-minded local. So I asked them to mail me a copy for review, and they did. And they included an extra one for you, too. But more on that in a minute. First, about this book.  It’s been on my coffee table for the past three weeks, and I dare say, it won’t be put away anytime soon.lonely-planet

Pacific Northwest Trips isn’t much organized at all like a destination guidebook. Instead, it leads you on hundreds of journeys and experiences. I think that’s what makes it such a fantastic coffee table find for a Pacific Northwesterner. Whether you’ve got just one Saturday free to journey along Chuckanut Drive in Washington, or a whole series of Saturdays to explore the eleven destinations that comprise “Oddball Oregon” (care to tour the world’s only museum of velvet paintings, anyone?), the guide will keep you traveling locally for a long, long time.

There are 52 themed “trips” in the book. I think the themed trips are quite a nifty way to organize the 1000+ suggested places to see, eat, and sleep. The theme categories for the trips are as follows:  Iconic Trips, Routes, Food & Drink, Outdoors, History & Culture, and Offbeat. The eleven “Iconic Trips” are definitively Pacific Northwest, designed to plunge you into the heart and soul of the region, so expect to drink microbrews, gaze at totem poles, and explore an active volcano on these. Again, this book is all about experiencing your trip. The guide even includes a list of suggested songs to load onto your Ipod for the Northwest roadtrip, and includes such tunes as Elliott Smith’s “Rose Parade” and Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Posse on Broadway.”

The trip ideas have maps, driving times and directions and all offer detour ideas, places to eat and sleep, and fun things to do along the way. And, they’re totally clever. Here are a few of my favorites:

Trip #5: Whistle Stop Brewery Tour (Iconic Trip) Sure, I like coffee and wine. A lot. But it is Pacific Northwest microbrewed beer that stole my heart. This trip takes you on a tour of some of the Pacific Northwest’s best breweries by train - no designated driver necessary! Start in Eugene and make your way north with whistle stops in Portland, Centralia, Olympia, Seattle, La Conner and Vancouver. You’ll be sipping at fifteen brewpubs in all.

Trip #23: Cowboys & Kerouac: The North Cascades (Outdoors) Care to sample “Cascade Mountain oysters,” proudly served on the menu at the Buffalo Inn Restaurant in Marblemount? These “oysters” are actually deep-friend buffalo testicles. Which I will not be eating. This trip also takes you to an organic farm, one of the best campgrounds for families  in all of Washington state (Colonial Creek), and gets you to roadside views of Desolation Peak, where Jack Kerouac spent 63 days holed up in a fire lookout practicing Buddhism. Before your trip ends in Winthrop, a detour takes you up to Hart’s Pass at 6197 feet, the highest point you can drive to in Washington.

Trip #37: Prehistoric Oregon Trip (History & Culture) The painted hills and fossil beds of central Oregon are one of the coolest, most beautiful landscapes in all of the Pacific Northwest, yet many locals have never made the trip there. But you must go, because this place is spectacular!  (See my former post on this area here.) This trip begins in Clarno and ends in Mitchell, with an optional trip extension to the town of John Day. The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument comprises 22-square miles of prehistoric goodness and fabulous scenery. Great cheap sleeps are sprinkled throughout the area, with decent camping opportunities, too.

Pacific Northwest Trips goes well beyond the typical guidebook in providing road trip opportunities for exploring hidden fun and offbeat experiences.  I love the way it is organized and have been dreaming up trips ever since I got the book. Not all of the trips are practical, though. One trip, called Washington Roadside Curios, outlines a road trip past eleven funky roadside attractions, from what I call a “tacky art” residence in Ellensburg to the World’s Largest Frying Pan in Long Beach. The thing is, the trip is 690 miles long! So in practice, you may want to combine elements of several “trips” on your excursions in order to save time and gas money, or just do bits and pieces of trips.

Now, about that free book. What are your summer vacation plans? Leave a comment on this post and tell me where you are headed this summer. On May 22, I’ll select a comment at random and if it’s yours, I’ll send you a brand new copy of Lonely Planet’s Pacific Northwest Trips!

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