Washington Coast Guide: Beauty, Novelty and Curiosity

Follow a picturesque adventure tour along Washington Coast's Interstate 101 and north of Seattle Interstate 5 that captures the majesty and quirkiness of the state. The exploration begins at the Oregon border with crossing the expansive Megler-Astoria Bridge into Washington. The background and commentary from each chapter is concise and insightful giving you an intimate glimpse of a West Coast region bountiful in aesthetics and generally absent of tourist herds. Ideal for the roadtrip warrior or day-tripper.

En route, your itinerary will feature:

Natural and Historic Attractions
Long Beach Peninsula
Southwestern Estuary Marshlands and Sloughs
Ocean Shores
Point No Point Beach
Crescent Lake
Rialto Beach Tree Graveyard
Cape Flattery
Shi Shi Beach and The Point of Arches
Blakely Harbor Park

Notable Bridges and Crossing Spans
Megler-Astoria Bridge
Wishkah River and Heron Street Bridge
Agate Pass Bridge
Hood Canal
Deception Pass Bridge

Tour Attractions, Artistic Works and Oddities
Raymond Iron Sculptural Cut-Outs
Aberdeen: The Floating Cadaver Fleet of Billy Gohl
Norwegian Town of Poulsbo
Japanese-American Exclusion Memorial
Sacred Stone Labyrinth and Prayer Wheel
Fort Ward Park
Port Townsend Victorian Architecture
Fort Worden
Sequim Lavender Festival
Camp Hayden
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
Fairhaven's Haunted Sycamore Building
Bellingham: Serial Killer Kenneth Bianchi's Killing Site
Haunted Old Town Café
Waterfront Tavern: Serial Killer's Hideaway Tavern

Auteur

Visual Artist, Writer and Photographer Marques Vickers is a California native presently living in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, Washington regions.

He was born in 1957 and raised in Vallejo, California. He is a 1979 Business Administration graduate from Azusa Pacific University in the Los Angeles area. Following graduation, he became the Public Relations and ultimately Executive Director of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce between 1979-84. He subsequently became the Vice President of Sales for AsTRA Tours and Travel in Westwood between 1984-86.

Following a one-year residence in Dijon, France where he studied at the University of Bourgogne, he began Marquis Enterprises in 1987. His company operations have included sports apparel exporting, travel and tour operations, wine brokering, publishing, rare book and collectibles reselling. He has established numerous e-commerce, barter exchange and art websites including MarquesV.com, ArtsInAmerica.com, InsiderSeriesBooks.com, DiscountVintages.com and WineScalper.com.

Between 2005-2009, he relocated to the Languedoc region of southern France. He concentrated on his painting and sculptural work while restoring two 19th century stone village residences. His figurative painting, photography and sculptural works have been sold and exhibited internationally since 1986. He re-established his Pacific Coast residence in 2009 and has focused his creative productivity on writing and photography.

His published works span a diverse variety of subjects including true crime, international travel, California wines, architecture, history, Southern France, Pacific Coast attractions, fiction, auctions, fine art marketing, poetry, fiction and photojournalism.

He has two daughters, Charline and Caroline who presently reside in Europe.