It’s always nice having something to look forward to– whether it’s the weekend and a chance to relax and step away from the stress and frustration often associated with the work week or a road trip you’re planning for April/May 2010 to the west coast with your boyfriend!

The flights are booked and the hotels are semi-secured thanks to Brian’s frequent flying miles and hotel points, and I’m looking forward to handling everything in between.

Beginning with signing up for Napa Valley eNewsletters, applying for Seattle event calendar updates and following Portland’s scene on Twitter, I’m more than ready to get our budget and itinerary underway.

We begin in San Francisco and have nine days to make our way up to Seattle. We’re planning to get whatever car we can with Brian’s rental points (as much as I hate his traveling all the time, the flight/hotel/rental points are an excellent perk), and we hope to just see what happens along the way. As it turns out, we will be on our trip during Brian’s birthday, so I’m looking forward to coming up with some surprises along the way to help him celebrate away from home.

This is only my second trip out west so I’m already enlisting the help of family and friends. Have you been anywhere along our route? What are your favorite must-see’s out west?