Still Along the Coast

7/27

Brotherly love along the coast

The family at the Pacific Ocean in California

As if the freezing temperature wasn't enough to dissuade us from swimming

                We were able to sleep in this morning, and breakfast was hash browns and egg mcmuffin or egg, cheese and Canadian bacon breakfast sandwiches on English muffins, much to everyone’s delight.  It was made even better by the fact that we didn’t crawl out of our tents until 9am.  The first sight that greeted our eyes in the morning light was the massive redwoods towering over us as we lay down; with sunlight glittering down through the branches it is hard to not feel tiny.   Once the tents were taken down, teeth were brushed and suitcases were organized, we left probably one of my favorite campsites just due to the space to play, wonderful redwoods and memorable meals.  We had already been impressed by the size of the redwoods but since we had missed the location of the fallen, tallest tree in the world we headed for a grove holding close seconds.  All in a small loop in Humboldt State Park were three massive Redwoods, giant tree standing at 363 feet tall, which had been recognized by a Redwood organization for its height and size, Tall tree, another seemingly cloud touching tree at 355 feet tall, and a fallen behemoth named Iron tree whose base of the trunk was taller than three of me.  Then we were off to our final stop in the Redwoods at Hidden Creek campsite.  We took a small trail to a swimming area in the creek.  It was chillier than the river the other day and shallower but still provided a very cool experience and a beautiful place to refresh you.  We only stayed there for about an hour though mostly due to Finn not feeling well lately and his frustration at still not being able to swim and have fun in the water.  It felt great to be across the country and to see the Californian coast but so far nothing I had seen had proved the stereotypical about California, slightly self centered, shaggy blondes who loved the beach and to surf.  They seemed like my kind of people and my kind of weather but we had been dealt winding roads making everyone sitting in the back seasick, cold temperatures and no beaches with water we felt brave enough to swim in.  Still, the foggy, rocky coastline reminded my parents of Ireland or Scotland and had an eerie beauty that could not be denied.  We ate lunch at a state park along the coast and the break from the car settled my stomach somewhat and I enjoyed a great deal of apples and crackers and cheese.  Very soon after leaving, I felt the old discomfort returning and knew the seemingly never ending tight turns and twists would not ease my stomach any time soon.  We got to our campsite in Sonoma Coast State Beach much later than planned but just in time as it seemed

I would vomit if we drove anymore.  After taking time to recover we took a short drive to the beach and much to Finn and I’s delight found a dead jellyfish washed up on shore.  The trip there,  our stay and the return trip took up all of maybe twenty minutes but it was worth it to be back on a beach again which was making me slightly homesick as the scent of the sea wafted everywhere following us back to our campsite.  Dinner was again fantastic, it consisted of chicken fajitas and black beans and after roasting marshmallows for the second straight night I caught up on my blogging then headed to bed, content with my day and looking forward to tomorrow.