The Great Northern Route in Everett, Washington

Everett

Busy Everett (pop. 111,262) 30 mi (48 km) north of downtown Seattle via the I-5 freeway (or the older, funkier Hwy-99, at the west end of transcontinental US-2), is a thoroughly blue-collar place that feels a lot farther from Seattle’s high-tech flash than the mere half hour it is. A heavy industry center economically dependent on two of the largest livelihoods in the Pacific Northwest—wood products and aircraft manufacturing—Everett has a few large turn-of-the-20th-century mansions overlooking the all-business waterfront, home port to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the ship on which George W. Bush made his “Mission Accomplished” speech during the Iraq War. The old-fashioned downtown, a half-mile (0.8 km) west of I-5 around Hewitt and Colby Avenues, has some neat antiques and junk shops, plus a dozen or so roughneck bars and taverns around the Historic Everett Theatre (2911 Colby Ave.). For milk shakes or great fish ’n’ chips, stop by Ray’s Drive-In (1401 Broadway, 425/252-3411), less than two miles north of downtown.

Everett’s one big tourist draw is the huge Boeing assembly plant on the southwest edge of town, well-marked from I-5 exit 189, at the west end of Hwy-526. The factory, where they make some of the world’s biggest planes—747s and 787 Dreamliners—is worth a look if only for the 11-story quarter-mile-long building, the largest in the world by volume. The on-site Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing Tour (800/464-1476, 8am-7pm daily summer, $27) offers tours that leave on the hour 9am-5pm in summer.

US-2 leaves Everett on Hewitt Avenue, which crosses I-5 then takes a historic old drawbridge over the Snohomish River before winding for a half-dozen miles (9.6 km) across low-lying fields toward the town of Snohomish.

Snohomish

Though they’re spreading fast, Seattle’s suburbs haven’t yet reached the tidy Victorian town of Snohomish (pop. 10,185), a century-old former logging center that lines the north bank of the Snohomish River, 25 mi (40 km) upstream from Puget Sound. Six blocks of well-preserved warehouses and commercial buildings stand along 1st Street, across the river from a whining old sawmill, while the blocks above hold dozens of charming homes and quite a few impressively steepled churches. One of these old homes has been restored and now houses the Blackman House Museum (118 Ave. B, 360/568-5235, noon-3pm Sat.-Sun. by donation). The museum features period-style furnishings and displays on the town’s early history. The range of antiques shops, taverns, and cafés in the historic center has made Snohomish a popular day trip from Seattle. Pastry fans come here for the fantastic apple, pecan, cherry, and other slices available at the Snohomish Pie Company (915 1st St., 360/568-3589), while beer-drinkers converge upon Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse (1114 1st St., 360/568-5820), on the river. Snohomish has maintained an admirable balance of history and commerce and is well worth a short stop if you’re passing by.

Around Snohomish, the old US-2 road has been replaced by a four-lane freeway that loops around to the north, so follow signs for the “Historic Center.”