Get your fun on

Woe betide any UW student caught unaware by the approach of March.

It signifies many things at this campus: shifting weather, major due dates, gargantuan research papers, days spent studying in Odegaard, final exams and the impending end of the quarter. It gets even worse than that when you figure in such necessary ancillary activities as campus clubs and off-campus jobs.

It is fitting, then, that the very month that concludes winter quarter is concluded by spring break. Those intrepid few who emerge from the other end of the academic gauntlet more or less unscathed are rewarded with an entire week of licentious lunacy otherwise only experienced during Mardi Gras.

At this point, we come to the question on everyone’s mind: What’s the best way to kick back and celebrate the coming of spring and the going of winter? There is no doubt in my mind that you’ve already considered a long list of possible destinations and activities. What I’m almost certain you have not yet thought of, however, is with whom you should enjoy the break. Surely you aren’t the only one who could use a vacation, after all. May I suggest your car?

Nothing in Seattle is more deserving of pity than the average automobile. There it sits parked at the side of the road, completely open to the elements year round. Denied even the most rudimentary maintenance, the average Seattleite automobile is forced to spend all of its days sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, unwashed, un-primped, un-pampered and unloved. It deserves just as much of a break as you do.

Taking your car on vacation serves a number of practical purposes as well. Knowing what sort of transport you’ll have on your trip defines how many friends you’ll have along, how much luggage you can take with you, and how far you can go.

The second you mention to your partners in crime that they will be embarking on a road trip this spring break, the very first thing to spring to their minds will be a mental montage of every picture of Route 66 they’ve ever seen on television and in movies. Sadly, Route 66 is quite far away from Seattle, so that’s out. However, few realize that the West Coast has its own version of Route 66, one to rival it in scenic portent if not fame. To find it, one must look to the west.

If you pull out a map book and take a look at the Olympic Peninsula, you will find that a single road seems to outline the rim of it all. Sometimes referred to as the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway, Highway 101 circles around and through the natural majesty of the Olympic Peninsula before shooting south as far as the East Los Angeles Interchange, the busiest freeway interchange in the country. It is to the north and south what Route 66 was to the east and west.

Those who have tried it before will tell you that the single most important thing to get right when planning a road trip is your choice of car. Ideally, the car should be a convertible in order to make the most of the (theoretically) heavenly weather and the scenic wealth Route 101 has to offer. It should be comfortable enough for long drives, have enough space for all your luggage, handle well enough to take advantage of the twisty bits you’ll come across, and get good enough gas mileage to do the journey without consuming the entirety of your budget via fuel stops.

The most direct route to get to the Olympic Peninsula is by ferry, and the best ferry to take is the Edmonds-Kingston ferry. Twelve dollars and 30 minutes lands you in Kingston, where you immediately hop on to the 104 and drive to the 101. Once on Route 101, where you go depends on how far you wish to drive.

Driving from Seattle via this route, Port Angeles is two and a half hours away. Port Angeles is the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula, and is also the only ferry stop in Washington that goes directly to Canada. The bit of the 101 that goes between the Edmonds-Kingston ferry and Port Angeles stays within range of the Puget Sound much of the way, providing a spectacular if not somewhat familiar view until the road turns westward to get to Port Angeles.

Going from there to Beaver (the next largest town on Route 101) adds another hour to the trip; the road from here pulls away from the coast and instead meanders through the northernmost part of the absolutely spectacular Olympic National Park. Beaver itself is a rather small yet attractive town, sitting on the edge of aptly named Lake Pleasant. The road turns south from here, offering the beautiful park views on the left and incredible ocean scenery on the right as you pass through the larger town of Forks.

After passing through Forks, the road once again meanders through largely open wilderness, cracked with rivers and creeks that look like the crow’s feet on an old woman smiling at the sight of visitors. The best is yet to come, however, as the road turns sharply west and hits what is arguably the most incredible part of the Washington segment of the road: a stretch of pavement less than a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean, in the center of a strip of beachfront incorporated into Olympic National Park.

Truly, it is one of those places that you must see before you die. Even among the natural beauty that makes up the Pacific Northwest, this length of road shines. For those who need a bit more convincing to embark upon such a trip for spring break, know this: From Seattle, the entire trip can be done in a little less than five hours.