Summertime and the livin’s easy, according to the band Sublime, and as students, we can look forward to the end of the year. But summertime comes with its own version of stress, such as planning road trips, going to the beach, hanging out at the beach, going to water parks, wakeboarding or white water rafting.
It’s hard to fit in all the things summer has to offer in such a few short weeks, even more so if you find yourself needing to work to make some cash during the summer. Still wanting to do all those things? The solution is quite simple: go on a road trip.
Unless you are rolling in money, know people or have some other desire (completely normal) you probably want to stay on the West Coast, that way you can get the most bang for your buck. Not because the West Coast is where it’s at, but because you are probably cramped for time if you work, or money if you don’t work, and by staying on the West Coast you can get to everything without having to drive through those abysmally boring states like Idaho, Wyoming, Kansas—you get the picture.
Now that we have established some parameters for this trip, where should we go? Here are some places worth stopping by.
1. Crater Lake: You can’t live or have lived in Oregon without seeing Crater Lake. It’s a volcano that popped its top then filled up with water. Weird.
2. Shasta: I’m not sure if I am talking about the lake, the mountain or maybe even the town, or all three. Either way, when I have been passing through Northern California I make sure I am awake for this part of the trip. And that’s even if I don’t get out of the car.
3. Huntington Beach, Calif.: I just don’t feel like I can write this piece and not include Huntington Beach. The surfer haven will have something for you to do even if you aren’t into surfing.
4. Pike Place Market, Seattle, Wash.: This place is similar to PSU’s Saturday farmer’s market, but has way more going on. Check out some of the restaurants or purchase some of the freshest fish around and go cook it up.
5. Space Needle/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum/Science Fiction Museum, Seattle, Wash.: These places are all within a three-minute walk of each other and the combination is sure to offer something for everyone. They were built by rich billionaires as a sort of hobby or soul project, and you know they don’t skimp.
6. Bush Gardens, Vancouver, Canada: This place has every kind of flower you can imagine and probably some you can’t even imagine. Also, if you are underage in America (the drinking age is 19 in Canada) then this is your place to get liquored up on this trip.
7. San Diego, Calif.: The zoo here is out of this world, and that’s just one attraction. San Diego is just a cool city. Go there.
8. Tijuana, Baja California (aka Mexico): Have you heard of someone going there and not having a story to tell? Just make sure you don’t go alone.
9. Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 101): This isn’t really a destination, just a route. I-5 is a boring drive, so take the scenic route.
10. South Sister, Ore.: If you are into hiking, this is the third tallest mountain in Oregon and you can walk to the top without a guide.
There are plenty of other places worth visiting and checking out, but these are places that I have been or am planning on going this summer that stick out in my mind. They are all worth seeing.
Please don’t stay home and let this summer pass you by, otherwise when we meet and have a conversation about what we did over the summer, I’ll probably leave that conversation thinking you are as boring as frying a dozen eggs, one at a time, on the sidewalk in California, which you can’t even do because you stayed home. Lame.