Summer Excursion Part 2: ...and Hiking Boots

After staying in Westport, California, we headed north and spent the rest of our vacation in the beautiful redwood forests.










Along the drive we took a few scenic detours.  The first was a drive through tree park.  I think the name speaks for itself (it's a tourist trap, but you have to do it - along with the cheesy gift shop).










Then, instead of following the main highway, we took a longer segment called the Avenue of the Giants.  It was lined on both sides by large redwoods.  At the time we thought they were huge, until we got further into the old growth areas and saw some of the true giants.  But is was still a beautiful drive.  That day we also hiked a few short trails just to get warmed up.

During our stay, we occupied a lovely little hotel nestled in between the Redwood National Park and the state parks, or in other words, the middle of nowhere (in a nice, secluded, away from distractions of the world kind of way).  Directly across from our hotel was a tourist attraction called the Trees of Mystery.

Besides having a gift shop, trails, and a gondola ride through the trees, it is also home to Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe.  During the day, Paul is voiced by a hidden person and talks with the children who come to harass him.

Along with the national park, we also visited the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  Our first full day in the redwoods, we visited the National Park Visitor's Center to get a better idea of which trails we wanted to make sure to hike (and procure a mug to add to our cabinet, which we do on each vacation, even though the cabinet is already overflowing).

The Visitor's Center was right on the beach, so we sat out on the sand to eat lunch.

After lunch, we hiked about a 3 mile trail, along which we saw lots of trees (of course), frogs, snails, and finally a banana slug.  I am not putting a picture, because, well it's a slug, but the name is pretty descriptive - if you are curious, you can google it.  :-)

I won't bore you with all the different trails we hiked (however, Ben assures me that he will), but we went about 6-7 miles each day, and each trail was spectacular in its own way.  At the end of one was a waterfall that Ben got some amazing photos of.

Another included a section called Fern Canyon, which was where part of the Jurasic Park series was filmed.













Off of one of the trails (actually, in a location undisclosed to the public), we were able to find the "Grove of Titans," which is home to the largest redwoods currently known - thanks to Ben and his nerdy ways.

Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted in the evenings after hiking.  But we were able to relax and just enjoy the surroundings, like the breathtaking sunsets.

This part of our trip really did feel like an escape.  Being surrounded by 2000 year old giants makes you feel almost as if you have been transported back in time, and forget the fast paced, technology filled world outside.

And there is nothing like the extraordinary beauty and grandeur of nature to make you contemplate the majesty and glory of God, understood through his creation.  I wish the photos (although they are wonderful) could convey how spectacular it was.



P.S. - In case anyone is interested, below is a picture of one of my favorite souvenirs.  I found them in a sock store on Pier 39 in San Francisco.

Summer Excursion Part 1: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...

...and shuttles, and buses, and ferries, and streetcars, and...well you get the idea.

This year we spent our summer vacation in California, and utilized just about every mode of transportation our explorations would allow!

First we flew into Los Angeles.  We didn't really spend any time there but landed in LA so that we could take a train, the Coastal Starlight, along the beautiful coastline up to San Francisco.  The trip took most of the day and was sooooo relaxing - a great way to unwind and start a vacation.  We had seats in one car where we could relax, read, or sleep.  Then there were dining cars for meals and an observation car with windows that allowed us to take in more of the view.

We spent the next day in San Francisco.  Apparently it was unseasonably cool and rainy the day we were there so we spent a lot of time walking around in the rain.  Although, I'll take that any day compared to the 90 - 100 degree days we were missing in Austin!

While in San Francisco, we pretty much did all the touristy things.  We didn't rent a car for that day and enjoyed touring the city via ferry, streetcar and just walking around.

First on the list was a visit to Alkatraz: the cellhouse audio tour was really well done.  It included a lot of stories told by former prisoners and guards.  The island and prison were really neat to see (lots of opportunities for photography).  I think Ben spent most of the tour taking pictures!

Then we walked through the shops and saw the sea lions on Pier 39 (http://www.pier39.com/), and ate delicious sourdough bread at Boudin Bakery (http://www.boudinbakery.com/).  We also spent time at Fisherman's Wharf.  And most importantly, we  visited Ghirardelli Square.  Once the site of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Manufactory, it now has several Ghirardelli shops and soda fountains - they give samples when you walk in.  I couldn't resist, so we bought a large bag of chocolates...one of each flavor available.  :-)

We also saw the famous, Lombard Street and watched numerous cars wind down it carefully.  It must be irritating to actually live on that street because of all the tourists.

We only had one day in San Francisco, but before we left Monday morning, we stopped by Alamo Square Park.  It is the site of the beautiful Victorian houses, the "Painted Ladies," featured in the Full House intro (for all of you who grew up watching that show like I did, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EL65KLdEHE&feature=youtu.be&t)!

Our route out of the city took us across the Golden Gate Bridge.

From there we took the "scenic route" along the coast to our next destination, which I sure would have been beautiful if we could have seen it.  It was so foggy that we could only see about 20 feet in front of the car and couldn't even tell that we were right next to the ocean!

We stopped midway to the Redwoods in a little town called Westport.  We stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast with a balcony that overlooked the ocean.  We actually hit a week that wasn't busy and had the entire house to ourselves - with its personal chef, massage chair, and sauna.

After our relaxing stay, it was time to head to the Redwoods, but I'll post about later (this post is getting too long, and I have to wait for Ben to edit all the pictures I want to include!).

Stay tuned...more exciting stuff to come!