Redwoods, Trinidad, and Sunnyvale

Away I went after my stay at the Shooting Star Motel in Bandon, OR. While the accommodations were on the lower end of the spectrum of places I've stayed during this trip, it was mostly clean (it didn't quite pass the hair test, but, thankfully, there was just head hair and it may have come from the top bed cover), and a good place to stop for the night.

I google mapped LA and the driving time said 14 hours. I figured I could arrive around 10:00pm if I hurried and 12:00am if I took my time. It didn't work out that way... To make a long story short, it took longer to drive, I took longer seeing sites, and there was no way I was going to make it to LA before 3am. Luckily I have some very understanding cousins in Sunnyvale, CA who accepted my profuse apologies for being that annoying family member that stops in last minute. I gave them about a two hour notice, and they were so, so nice about it. Thanks, guys!

So anyway, my day... Arriving in the Redwood National Forest:



I found the touristy place with the skyride through the forest right off route 101. I'm really glad I stopped there because, despite the cheesy element, I learned quite a bit about redwood trees and saw some truly magnificent specimens.


Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe... you can tell how big he is by looking at the little girl behind his boot trying to climb up.


These trees are massive!




This is the side-cut of a tree by the entrance... they marked the rings with approximate years.


This tree is really interesting. It grew sideways, so to get more light, three smaller trees grew upward from the base.




This is the view from the top of the gondola... not the greatest photo, but it gives you an idea of how the forest is right along the water.


I've always wanted to be a tree hugger... this one was quite hug-worthy.


Isn't this amazing?


This is the cross section of a fallen redwood. The bottom was absolutely massive, but also really beautiful to look at.


Does my hug count?


See photo below for a description...




Similar to that candle tree, this tree also has several trees growing up from horizontal branches. It's massive and quite stunning.


This photo is of the cathedral tree. There are seven large trees growing out of one base in an arch shape. Apparently people book this as a wedding location.

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to pass through the redwood national forest. I'd love to go hiking here some day. Anyone want to plan a trip?

As I continued south on route 101, I decided I wanted to find a small coastal town for a late lunch. I checked signs and when I saw a few promising looking restaurants posted, I detoured off the road and headed into town.


View Larger Map

You can see route 101 in this Google Maps image and a small beach town named Trinidad. I ended up stopping at the Trinidad Bay Eatery and Gallery where I ordered the most fantastic crab melt (see image below). It was full of green onion, tomato, cheese, and delicious pieces of Dungeness Crab all grilled to absolute perfection. I enjoyed it thoroughly.



A short video from when I arrived in Trinidad. I love randomly finding cool and pretty places...





These photos are of the bay and the memorial lighthouse to those lost at sea. Places like this always remind me of my grandfather who served in the Navy during WWII. We sang the hymn (title? Is it the Navy Hymn?) that goes "oh hear us when we cry to thee for those in peril on the sea..." at his funeral. It will forever live on in my memory in this way, thus I thought of him at this memorial even though he wasn't, thankfully, lost at sea.



Trinidad is a place I very much hope to visit again someday and stay a week, or perhaps a summer... maybe if I ever decide to write a book, Trinidad can be my spot. It was beautiful, and I think it would be both relaxing and inspiring.

While I was in Trinidad, I realized how truly difficult it would be to reach LA that day. I started to worry about arriving at 2AM, and decided that maybe it would be wise, just in case, to call my cousins Erin and Drew. I'm glad I did. I had only, until this point, mapped out the town I was in that morning to San Francisco. I checked the full route much earlier that morning which timed me at around 14 hours total(that would put me there around 10PM or midnight with some stops), but I had only been monitoring the road to San Francisco on my phone. What I failed to realize was that San Francisco to Los Angeles is another seven hours or so. Oops.

So, I became that awful family member that just shows up one day and requests to stay the night. I can tell you that: 1.) They were very gracious about it... and 2.) I felt awful doing it. They said they were happy with the two hours notice and seemed relatively glad to see me. I just have to say... THANKS again guys!!!

So, happy to have a place to stop for the night, I continued through San Francisco(crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, see below) to the love town of Sunnyvale. Sound familiar? I keep wanting to write Sunnydale. Apparently this is the community where Buffy was based. Good stuff.



I arrived in perfect time (they had just finished dinner with their adorable three year old son) to be out of their hair, and to hang out a bit and talk. It was so nice to catch up. I haven't seen them since my sister's wedding three years ago. Drew convinced me to look at jobs out here. Not a bad idea. I'm adding it as a boost to the rapidly shrinking list of things I can do after Peace Corps.

Next post- Universal Studios... my life-long desire to see Jaws in action. ;-)