California Roll

We've made it.










It almost seemed that once we crossed the border from Oregon to California, the weather immediately got better. Our first stop was in Jedidiah Smith State Park, home of the Redwoods. This is the area (although technically it was truly Crescent City) where they filmed the Endor scenes for Return of the Jedi.
Thick forest landscapes with the most gigantic trees you've ever seen. In fact, they are the tallest trees on earth. You couldn't help but feel dwarved by standing next to or even in them. Some of the trees have been hollowed out by fire, but their exoskeleton shells remain.
We kept looking for Ewoks or Stormtroopers on speeders. No luck with that. We did find, however, some of the best tourist traps northern California could offer, such as Trees of Mystery and Confusion Woods. Kitsch at its best.

The further south we traveled, the more forest we saw, more redwood behemoths. We even took a ride down a road parallel to US 101 called "The Avenue of the Giants" which were lined with miles and miles of redwoods on either side.



We continued southward until we reached California's Route 1. This is the road we've been waiting for! We couldn't wait to see the Pacific Ocean from atop rocky cliffs, the road snaking and hugging the edge. But that would be the COASTAL highway. We had to get there first.
CA route 1 should come with motion sickness pills and a medical disclaimer. Sure, I can feel nauesous if I'm a passenger, but never when I'm in control of the wheel. CA 1 fixed that, alright! So we had to stop. Had to. Not only for our health but we were running out of gas.
We found a tiny little community store with a single gas pump dispensing only 89 grade gasoline. Are you sitting down? We paid $3.99 a gallon. But I'd rather pay that ridiculous price than be stuck on a highway in the middle of nowhere. And don't be too alarmed. That price was about 60 cents more expensive than anywhere else in this state.


But we were finally there, on the coastal highway. Exactly what we thought it would be, and we enjoyed our first sunset over the Pacific.



We made it to our tent site after dark and set up with headlamps on. I fired up the grill and Kate made (Jenn, are YOU sitting down?) guacamole with fresh organic California ingredients. She's outdone herself once again. Now I'm the luckiest guy.