If you want to hit holiday traffic just right at that Tacoma-to-Olympia bottleneck on your way to Portland the day before Thanksgiving, plan to reach Tacoma by, oh, 4:30 a.m. (Kiddos won’t mind a 3 a.m. wake-up call, right?)
If that gives you the heebie-jeebies, you could also pay to skip the traffic and stress and take the Amtrak Cascades, which runs between Seattle and Portland. Amtrak Cascades adds two trips each Nov. 26 and Nov. 30 to handle extra travelers.
Tempting… For a family of four, though, that’d be about $366 to avoid traffic (and take in spectacular views and build family memories, but still). Hmm.
If it sounds good to you, this is a best-done-yesterday proposition; many trains are already filled. Details at www.amtrakcascades.com.
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