On July 24, 2008, we welcomed an new addition to our family

- a 2008 Limited Edition Smart Fortwo Cabrio -

.We wanted to familiarize ourselves with this new car, and do the initial break-in of 1500 kilometers as quickly as possible. What better way than take it on a trip. We chose a circle trip around the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. When we arrived back home we had travelled 1600 kilometers. Now we can drive the car without being concerned about speed or load - let the fun begin!!!

Here is a brief description in pictures and a few words of our "shakedown trip".

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Honda CR-V Touring Edition
Our Smart Car
Crosstour
At the left is the route we took. We left our home on Vancouver Island and took the ferry across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Angeles.  

 

The ferry is called the Coho and here it comes into Victoria's inner harbor.

 

 

 

Our car is patiently waiting to board, surrounded by SUVs and motor homes.
 

As we left Victoria's inner harbor, we were treated to a ballet of Victoria's mini ferries.

Once clear of the harboor we had a great view of our destination, the Olympic

Peninsula and the Olympic Mountains. Port Angeles is just a spec on the horizon.

 

 

   Once we arrived in Port Angeles and dealt with the US Border people, we were on our way. Down the Pacific coast, into the Olympic National Park, and on to our first night's stop at Ocean Shores.

   Our first stop was in the Olympic Park rain forest for a picnic lunch - and yes, you can pack enough into the Smart Fortwo.

 

 

The beach at Ocean Shores
where the Pacific Ocean is the big attraction
- but where is everybody?

 

 

Ocean Shores also has some interesting beach properties. This owner decorated their cottage with fishing floats salvaged from the beach.

 

After Ocean Shores, we continued down Highway 101 to Long Beach where they claim to have the longest beach in the world.

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Long Beach, Washington, is the site of the International Kite Festival and there were a few people out practicing, otherwise, this beach was almost deserted as well.

But the beach did attract another small car. This one makes the Smart look huge.

 

Homeward Bound

After Long Beach, we headed across the Columbia River to the old fur trading town of Astoria, Oregon, followed the south shore of the Columbia River to Interstate 5, then north to the ferry terminal at Tsawwassen.

The North shore was foggy, but the South Shore was clear.

The bridge to Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is home to the Columbia River Maritime Museum - well worth a visit if you are in the area. The bridge between Washington and Oregon is visible in the background.
From Astoria we followed the south shore of the Columbia east until we reached the bridge back to Washington. Longview is on the other side of this bridge and I-5 just a short distance.

Then it's up I-5 to British Columbia and the ferry home.
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 It's sunny on the south side of the Columbia. The north side is still shrouded in fog
Being small means getting on the ferry, even when there is very little room left.

The Harley and Smart were last on the ferry to Victoria.

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Trip Conclusions

We travelled approximately 1000 kilometers in 3 days. Total kilometers on the car at the end of this trip was just over the 1500 km mark - so the car is now officially broken in.

Definitely a fun way to travel. There is plenty of room for the driver and passenger and lots of room to pack enough for a multi day trip. We didn’t accurately track our fuel consumption – we are still breaking in the engine. Cruising down 101 was fun, especially through the Park. We had no trouble maintaining our speed, even on grades.

The only negative would be Interstate 5. The Smart would easily keep up with the traffic, and being passed or passing large vehicles was not an issue. But Interstate 5 is in terrible shape and the pavement is so rough that even large cars were being bounced from one expansion joint to the next. We would avoid this road in the future.

Will we take a longer trip in the Smart? Maybe.

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Page updated on December 24, 2016