Day 8: California & Redwood National Park

Today was a sad day for us. Leaving Oregon, was unexpectedly sad and disappointing. I thought originally we'd be excited to get to California, but Oregon was truly amazing. Our little cabin was so awesome, we didn't leave til checkout time at 11 a.m. We tried to relax and soak it all in.

When we got in the car, Klay told me he had a song for me...Can anyone guess what it was? If you thought "On the road again," you were right on the money! I guess he got tired of singing and decided to let Willie Nelson do it for him--or at least thats what he said.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag3w0MS6wv0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3]



We decided to stop off at one last beach right before the Oregon/California state line.

We ended up spending an hour just walking along the beach with the dogs and picking up white rocks along the shoreline. It was nice and relaxing, and I knew that when leaving the stunning Oregon coast I'd be sad.



We got to California without a hitch and with Oregon behind us, I figured I'd focus on our excitement for Redwood National Park.

We stopped at a Redwoods visitor center to get some more info and directions on nice paths to take, so we'd know exactly where to go. When we got to our first path, our immediate reaction to the redwoods was: "Whoa." Here's why (see the pics!)...

These trees can get up to 361 feet and 25 feet wide (according to Klay; he's the one that remembers). So they really are giants.



Majority of our day we spent driving through the parks gazing at these gigantic beauties. While driving in through the parks, we passed a ton of wild elk.



So the destination for today's trip was for Fort Bragg, CA to spend the night and it was a horrible idea.

By the time we were almost to Fort Bragg it was pitch black and I was driving.

We turned off to Hwy 1 which took us down the curviest, swerviest, ridiculous road ever. It took an hour just to get 30 miles. We were running low on gas (which I was slightly worried about) and I couldn't see anything. I have a tendency to hit deer, or they like to run it to me (that's the way I like to think), so it was crazy scary for me!



But we made it to Fort Bragg just fine. I'd looked up places to stay in that area and found what I THOUGHT was a nice place (it had a spa). Boy, was I wrong! We still stayed, but had a horrible night sleep. Glad to leave in the AM!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dvqLjV6zYg&w=560&h=349]

Stay tuned for more "From the Road..."

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Day 7: Depoe Bay, Newport & Gold Beach, Oregon

The soft roar of the ocean made soothing sounds to help us get a good night sleep. This past week, the pups slept mostly through the night except around 5-7 a.m., which is when they'd begin to hear people move about in the rooms around us  and would bark and wake us up (which was frustrating). So I was excited to have some background noise, so we could try to get some real rest. Unfortunately I woke to unpleasant sounds (thinking Klay was in the bathroom), but it was Stretch whose tummy was acting up. So we had to deal with that at 6 a.m. (when we planned to get up later), so the decent sleep we were getting was ruined.

After leaving the hotel, we headed down the Pacific Scenic Byway (Hwy 101) along the 363-mile stunning Oregon Coast. We got to Depoe Bay around 10:30 a.m. and stopped at The Depoe Bay Winery, and yes we did a wine tasting at 10 something in the morning. It definitely woke us up, and we tasted yummy wines from Cranberry, Plum to Peach and Riesling and more--ok, it was a lot more, but it was fun! Depoe Bay was a cute town with some beautiful views and I have to say the wine was pretty amazing!

I've started a glass collection of the places we've been, so I'm stopping at as many places as possible (more wineries to come!).

Along the coast there are 8 or 9 lighthouses (some of them you have to go out of the way to see), but the first one we encountered was Yaquinta Head Lighthouse (the tallest lighthouse in Oregon). We decided to stop and have a look around, where we ended up seeing some starfish! It was slippery on the rocks, and I fell! It wasn't bad though. I wore my 'UGG'-type boots and those aren't the best shoes to wear in wet weather.

They had tours in the lighthouse, and that was pretty cool. We learned a lot and got to walk all the way to the top (which I started to regret when I realized I had to walk back down the swirly staircase). I really don't think I'm a fan of heights anymore! My legs were shaking and I was so happy to get back to the bottom!

Today, we stopped at several beaches and let the dogs walk/run around. They really love the beach and we just wanted to take our time and enjoy our trip toward Gold Beach.

We also stopped at Devil's Churn where we took more pictures (I really think that's all we did; take pictures of the coast, lighthouses, etc.).



We also stopped near Florence, Oregon at the Sea Lion Caves. It was kind of cool because we rode an elevator 240 feet down into the cave to see them. We've seen sea lions before (on a boat/wildlife cruise in Alaska), so the cave thing was cool, but we didn't stay that long.

I think the best part of the day was spent in Gold Beach. We let the dogs run without their leashes on an empty beach with just me and Klay. They really loved running around freely and did really well. It was a blast watching Billie run from the tide as it came in to shore. We also got this super cute cabin to stay in (and it's cheap!). We ate at the Porthole Cafe and saw a couple of seals (a harbor seal sat on the dock next to the restaurant). So, we're really enjoying slowing down and cruising the coast.

This day was sort of mellow (I'm sure you can tell). It was a fun day. Klay said that doing this trip with anyone else wouldn't be as fun and of course it would be different. He was a real sweetheart today, helping me down hills to the beach, etc.

Things are good tonight. Might hit up California tomorrow. Still unsure of where we are going!

P.S. I'm so tired when I do these, so if these don't make sense, I'll fix them later!

Stay tuned for more updates 'From the Road...'

Depoe Bay on Dwellable

Day 6: Forks, WA and Astoria, Cannon Beach & Lincoln City, Oregon

Every morning we leave our hotel, Klay starts off the trip with a beautiful serenade of "On the road again..." which reminds me much of Donkey in "Shrek"--if that tells you anything. And yes, I still love him!


We had an exciting day ahead, going to Forks, Washington (even though Klay might not admit it, he seemed excited
for it too). My dreams of seeing Edward chase after me in the Olympic National Forest were on the verge of coming true...except that was only my imagination, and the closest I'd get to Edward would be a cardboard version of that glittering beauty! Klay wanted to see Alice--he loves Ashley Greene; so I guess we were both ready to go after our dream vamps.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fPcNXx1f0k&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3]

We drove (well, he drove) in rainy weather (perfect, it's Forks, right?) and I anxiously awaited getting to Forks and seeing those signs I've seen so many times in the movies. It was fun and Klay was a trooper--telling me to take all the time I wanted--and he was excited to see "Tru Blood" stuff in the stores (we both love that show) and really enjoyed himself too. It was a fun morning.



Because it was Easter today, some of the Twilight stores were closed. But we went to Dazzled by Twilight in Forks and the owner really put some effort into the place. Fake trees were in the store everywhere with red ribbon flowing through them. The store has grass turf floors, the Cullens' school lockers, wedding invites, diplomas, maps, gazebo--this store had everything! It was pretty awesome and intense.



After our Twilight adventure and after Klay helped Bella out with that dent in her truck, we headed south down hwy 101, jamming to none other than the Twilight soundtrack. We saw our first beach on the trip (Ruby Beach). It was gorgeous.



We continued on into Oregon (and I started driving right before the border) through Astoria where another favorite movie of mine, "The Goonies," took place and was filmed. I wished we would have stopped in there because I wanted to find a shirt that said "Goonies Never Say Die" with Astoria, OR on it (I know I'm a nerd). But we drove and hit Cannon Beach when I realized and shouted "Those are the rocks on the beach from 'The Goonies' movie!" So I, of course, pulled off and we stopped to take pictures and enjoy the beach for a bit.

We took the dogs out on the beach with us (they were beach virgins), and they loved it! We cracked up at them enjoying the sun (the only sunny spot today), the wind and the smell of the salty Pacific Ocean. The dogs ended up taking us on a quick jog because they were pulling us down the beach! We didn't want to leave the place. But our destination was planned for Lincoln City and we're here and made it safe and sound! And we have a room with an ocean view!

Klay and I stopped to get gas in Tillamook (whose mascot is the cheesemakers; that's where the Tillamook cheese comes from) and thankfully we knew about a quirky law of theirs due to  a Travel Oregon magazine. Here are a couple of funfacts:

• Oregon has no sales tax (like Anchorage)


• All Oregon gas stations are required to pump their gas for you


• Oregon's population is 3.7 million with half living in Portland Metro area


• Oregon is the tenth-largest state, covering 97,073 miles


• The highest elevation point is Mt. Hood at 11,245 feet, and the lowest is at sea level


• Oregon contains more than 5,900 registered campsites along with 230 state parks and 13 national forests


• There are more than 6,000 lakes and 112,000 miles of rivers and streams


• There are 16 known hot springs in Oregon


• There are nearly 800 vineyards in Oregon, planted on about 17,400 acres

Yes, a guy came out at the gas station and pumped our gas for us. He said Oregon and New Jersey were the only two states that did that (not sure how accurate that is).

So far Oregon is a gorgeous place. It's so green right now and we're loving it. Can't wait for tomorrow, lots more exciting things on the way!

Remember to check back for updates "From the road..."

Astoria on Dwellable