6.18.2008

Wilderness

Dave's parents left today after a great visit. We had lots of fun and were quite busy while they were here. Sunday, we drove up to Humbolt County in northern California, where the giant Coastal Redwoods grow, and there's more trees than there are people.


Hanging out with an 800 year old log!

Our quick visit up north was really eventful - we saw real wilderness, almost ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere, and saw a 5,000 year old tree.

Honestly, being in the middle of nowhere was fantastic. There were points in the trip where my cell phone didn't have service. I can't remember the last time that happened. It was incredibly liberating to know that I couldn't be contacted by anyone. The air was cleansing.

Sunday we left Richmond early and drove the 5 hours to the Avenue of the Giants, which is a 30 mile stretch of thick redwoods. I had never seen large redwoods (they grow here, but don't get that big) and neither had David, so it was pretty spectacular. I won't go in to the major details, but we did all the Americana stuff you'd imagine goes along with giant trees.

Not knowing how extreme the terrain was, we journeyed to the coast, which was about 30 miles from our hotel at the end of the Avenue of the Giants in Fortuna, to visit Cape
Mendicino - the most western point in the continental United States. We ended up taking a trecherous drive through the King mountain range, through three tiny towns of 300 or less, and pleading for gas in the first California town ever drilled for oil (Petrolia). Any of the bitten down nails were worth the absolutely pristine, wilderness of the Lost Coast (near Cape Mendocino) - it is quite possibly the most beautiful and wonderful places I've been in my life. The rocky beach was covered in beautiful, colorful seashells and bits of crabs and lobsters left by passing sea birds. No trash, no people, no trace of humans...I cannot believe such a beautiful place exists that has not been exploited, especially in the country's largest state. The Lost Coast, in fact, is 80 miles of untouched coastal area - the mountains around it are so treacherous that no construction of roads has ever been possible, leaving it as the largest stretch of undeveloped coast in the country.
The Lost Coast, Humbolt County, California

I'd talk more about our mini vacation, but it's really difficult to put in to words how it went. Being in the wilderness was incredible, and spending time with family was great as well. I would recommend that everyone spends time in a place like that...where people are an afterthought.


We stayed in Northern California for just one day and night; Monday I took the day off from work so that we could take a long drive home and stop in Sonoma County for a few wine tastings. It was a beautiful day, and we had some great wine.

We're back home alone today. Just a week until we get ready for my parents to arrive for an entire week. We're thinking of driving down to Yosemite, and I hope that works out for us.


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6.14.2008

Visits

Dave's parents just arrived, and we're getting ready for bed in the living room. It's odd to have family here, in our world...much has changed since they were here in 2006. They haven't even seen the blue couch! They've also just met Agatha and Suzanne. They are the first family to do so.

We're going up to Redwood National Park tomorrow for a short vacation. It's about 4.5 hours, but I expect it to be a beautiful drive. I've never seen large redwoods.

In other news, I haven't had much to write about lately, mostly because it's been busy here and I'm midway through some bigger changes, but not really in a position to write about them. I'm waiting on something fairly bit to happen at work, so if and when that becomes reality, I will share. Until then, I'm enjoying summer vacation from school and trying to catch up on projects that fell by the wayside during Spring semester.

My parents will be here two weeks from now for a week. We're thinking of taking another short trip to Yosemite, another place I haven't been. It will be nice to have them here, too. It's a little odd to have two sets of parents here within two weeks. Lots of excitement for the middle of Summer, though it will be slightly sad when we don't spend the 4th of July in Wanamingo.

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6.02.2008


Ratatouille, anyone?

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6.01.2008

Braving it

I woke up this morning with a big desire for a crab sandwich, from none other but Fisherman's Wharf. Luckily, Dave obliged me for the 1.5 hours it took us to drive to SF, park (at a lot that cost $7 an hour), and sit along the bay for a few minutes while we ate. It was worth it, and the tourists weren't that disturbing.

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Curious Robin

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