Our final days in the USA before Canada combined three completely different stops. We followed traces of Kurt Cobain in Aberdeen, spent two nights on the Olympic Peninsula and finished at Boeing in Everett, where the airplanes we had used throughout our world trip were suddenly the attraction themselves.
The route led us from the Oregon Coast into Washington. Port Angeles became our base for two nights before we continued north past Seattle and Everett towards Vancouver.
Following Kurt Cobain through Aberdeen
Aberdeen was not an accidental stop for us. We came for Kurt Cobain and for the places still connected with his story: his childhood home, the memorial at Cobain Landing and the town sign carrying the words “Come As You Are”. This was never going to be a polished museum visit. The locations were ordinary houses, a small riverside place and a sign beside the road.
That was exactly what made the detour interesting. The traces were still part of the town rather than gathered into one attraction. We found the individual places, took our photographs and left Aberdeen with a much better sense of how small the surroundings behind such a large music story actually were.
Two nights on the Olympic Peninsula
From Aberdeen we continued towards Port Angeles. The Olympic Peninsula replaced Oregon’s open coast with forest, mountains and low cloud. We had two nights in town, which gave us a full day for the national park instead of treating the peninsula as another long drive north.
Spring was still very visible in the mountains. Snow remained on the higher ridges, while cloud moved through the valleys and repeatedly changed the view. One moment there was a line of peaks behind us; a little later the road disappeared into fog. We did not need a dramatic hiking programme for the landscape to work.
Fog, water and the road north
The photographs from the day move between wide mountain views, a completely foggy road and quiet water near the forest. That is probably the most honest version of our Olympic visit. It was not one famous viewpoint under perfect blue sky, but several different versions of the peninsula within a few hours.
When we left Port Angeles, Canada was already the next country on our route. There was still one stop in Washington that had been on our list: the Boeing production site in Everett.
Why we wanted to see Boeing in Everett
As world travellers, we naturally had a special affection for aviation. Our hobby required us to fly a lot, and after more than six months of airports we wanted to see how the aircraft were actually built. Boeing’s Future of Flight tour fitted perfectly into the route towards Vancouver.
The production site is in Everett, around 30 miles north of Seattle and only a few miles from Interstate 5. It can be visited as a half-day trip from Seattle. We stopped on the way to Canada, and parking at the site was free.
The 90-minute factory tour
We booked the tickets online. It was important to choose the correct location because Boeing also operated another visitor facility elsewhere in the USA. At the tour centre our tickets were printed for us before the group entered the production area.
Cameras, mobile phones, bags, food and drinks were not permitted on the guided tour. Everything had to remain in the car or in the free lockers near the entrance. The tour itself lasted around 90 minutes and led through the enormous assembly buildings. During the week visitors could watch employees working on the aircraft. At weekends the production lines stood still, although the dimensions of the halls and airplanes were impressive enough on their own.
Engines, exhibits and one official photograph
After the factory tour we walked through the exhibition without a guide. There were engines from GE and Rolls-Royce, aircraft sections and displays explaining some of the physics behind flying. A flight simulator was available for USD 8 per person, but it was not included in the tour.
Because our own cameras were not allowed inside the factory, the tour photograph was provided on site. It placed us in front of the assembly hall and became the only image from that part of the visit. Outside the restricted area we could take our own photographs again.
From Everett across the border
After Boeing we continued to Vancouver, where our first Canadian accommodation was already waiting. Washington had started with the Pacific road trip and ended with another border crossing, but Aberdeen, Olympic and Everett made it much more than the distance between Oregon and Canada.