On the road for great views - and coffee - in Washington and Oregon

Road trips can last a week, a month or longer. There's the Alcan trip, the cross-country drive or the coastal sojourn. But for me, this road trip was a long weekend with three destinations around the Pacific Northwest.

These were new roads for me, so I built in a little extra time to take pictures and get to know the territory.

After arriving in Seattle, I picked up a car and headed east to Spokane (279 miles). It was not a seamless transition, though. The traffic was terrible and my Google Maps navigator suggested an alternative route through downtown Renton. That led straight to the driveway of a large Starbucks coffee shop. I accepted the barista's suggestion to add one more shot to my coffee (did I look tired?) and traced my way through Cougar Mountain up to Interstate 90. The "normal" route up Interstate 5 or Interstate 405 would have added an hour or more to the trip.

It was smooth sailing up to Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 94. The thick forests on the western slope gave way to the high plains on the eastern side of the mountains. Some of the best views of the Cascades were in the rear-view mirror as I made my way southeast to Ellensburg and then to my first crossing of the Columbia River. The river is backed up behind the Wanapum Dam to form Wanapum Lake. Just after the bridge, there's a pullout where you can get some beautiful photos of the bridge and the lake.

The wide-open prairie is completely different than western Washington. Here, there are windmills and sagebrush, along with big-format farms growing corn, wheat and other crops. The freeway makes a turn to the northeast after the bridge. As I got closer to Spokane, the crops gave way to pine trees on either side of the freeway.

This was my second visit to Spokane to see family and check out the sights. Here are three new favorites:

1. Coeur Coffee Shop: Located near the Spokane River on the city's north side (701 N. Monroe St.), this is a lovely cafe for any coffee snob. They roast their own beans and offer "single origin" pours, along with a nice selection of pastries. If you can't find this coffee shop (it's hard to miss), there's another wonderful cafe with delicious artisan coffee right up the street: Indaba Coffee (1425 W. Broadway). It's a little bigger — and seems to be more popular with the locals.

2. Manito Park: This 90-acre park in the "South Hill" area of Spokane is one of the city's crown jewels. There's a beautiful rose garden, a greenhouse conservatory, a traditional Japanese garden, manicured lawns, a lilac garden and several playgrounds.

3. No-Li Brewhouse: Located on the banks of the Spokane River (1003 E. Trent Ave.), the No-Li Brewhouse was awarded the "Brewery of the Year" last year by the Washington Beer Awards. They offer a wide selection of their brews on tap, including the Born and Raised IPA. I felt obligated to sample that, along with a delicious hamburger, best enjoyed in one of the big chairs they have set out by the river.

The next leg of the trip was a long one: 400 miles from Spokane to Salem, Oregon. After retracing some of my tracks on I-90, I cut south on U.S. Highway 395 through the Tri-Cities area (Kennewick, Pasco and Richland), all nestled on the Columbia River. There's a big bridge over the river after passing through Pasco. Then, there was another Starbucks in Kennewick to provide a delicious triple-shot americano. After Kennewick, it was back on the Interstate: first Interstate 82 south to Umatilla, Oregon. From there, we took a right-hand turn on Interstate 84 to drive along the Columbia Gorge to Portland.

This was my first trip along the gorge — and it's a beautiful drive, punctuated by four big dams along the river: the McNary Dam, the John Day Dam, The Dalles Dam and the giant Bonneville Dam. These are the last four of a total of 14 dams on the Columbia River. All around the dams are the power plants to harvest the hydroelectric energy, locks to accommodate ships, warehouses for grain and crops to export and other industries like aluminum plants that need access to lots of water and energy.

Going west near Umatilla, the Columbia carves through the rolling hills. But around The Dalles the cliffs on either side become more pronounced and the wind started blowing at a good clip. The wind is why areas around The Dalles and Hood River, Oregon, are dubbed the "wind-surfing capital of the world." The lakes behind the dams provide plenty of open space for windsurfers to whip back and forth along the river. Of course, they must be wary of the big tugs and barges that are moving freight up and down the river.

Closer to Portland, the gorge is spectacular. There are several large waterfalls, including Multnomah Falls, which offer beautiful trails and dramatic vistas of the gorge and the river.

Reaching the outskirts of Portland, we headed south on I-205 to avoid downtown Portland and picked up Interstate 5 headed south to Salem. I-5 is one of the most boring roads in the world. Still, it's the most direct route to my favorite destinations.

Salem, Oregon, is the state's capital city. Aside from the business of state government, I've discovered a couple of local favorites and now have adopted them as my own:

1. The Governor's Cup: This is one of my dad's favorite haunts — and I love it, too. It's located just a couple of blocks from the state Capitol building (471 Court St. NE). The coffee is good. They roast their own — in fact, there's a big roaster in the middle of the cafe. But the stand-out artwork is the selection of bicycles on the wall.

2. Gerry Frank's Konditorei at 310 Kearney St., SE: I've had lunch here a couple of times — but the cakes are worth writing home about. The chocolate cake is about 10 layers of cake and cream and all sorts of baked-in-goodness. The coconut cake is a family favorite. When I'm visiting my dad in Salem, then continuing to see family in Eugene, my job is to stop by Gerry's and get some dessert. If you get the chance to visit with Gerry at the shop, he's quite a celebrity. He's a columnist with the Portland Oregonian and an author of travel guides in Oregon and New York.

3. The Drunken Cook: This family-style Italian restaurant (1555 12th St., SE) is my favorite place to eat in Salem. Owner-chef Massimo Brofferio holds forth at this eatery in a small strip mall. On the wall are decorations from the home: an ironing board, fabric and knickknacks. "We want to give this a comfortable feel, like you're having dinner in our home," he said. The featured selections include a glass of wine or soft drink, plus a soup or salad. The main courses are delicious. My dad had the ravioli. I had some sort of pasta with pork strips. My son had macaroni and cheese, which he declared to be "the best in the world."

The next morning, our final leg of the road trip was from Salem to Seattle on I-5. Alaska Airlines once referred to this drive as "The Slog." It's all part of the road trip experience, of course.

We stopped short of Seattle to drop off the car at the airport and ride the light rail into town. This saved a day's charge on my rental car, and I avoided the spendy overnight parking fee.

It was a glorious day in Seattle, and we took time to visit a few of my favorite sights:

1. The Olympic Sculpture Park: Honestly, we rode the Monorail from Westlake Center to the Space Needle, but the line was too long. So we took off walking toward the water and strolled through the sculpture park, all the way down to the beach. This is a wonderful way to spend an hour or two, especially on a pretty day. You can see the Olympic Mountains across the water. Turn around and you can see the Space Needle. Mount Rainier was visible to the south and the ferries went back and forth to Bainbridge Island. Nice.

2. We walked down the waterfront, past the Victoria Clipper, the Edgewater Hotel and the Seattle Aquarium. Next to Argosy Cruises' terminal is the Seattle Great Wheel. This is a nice place for photos. It's a great view from above!

3. Pike Place Market. You can spend all day at the market checking out the fresh produce, the beer at Pike's Brewing or the gift shops. It's a climb to get up the steps from the waterfront, but you build up an appetite, that's for sure.

After 800 miles in about four days, that's enough road-tripping for me this month! But the sights were interesting, the coffee was good and everyone was well-fed along the way.

Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. You can follow him on Twitter (@alaskatravelGRM) and alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.