With today being my last full day in California before I return home to the East Coast (and start getting into all things Autumnal and spooky once that New England air hits me again!) over the weekend, I wanted to share some photos and a recap of the second leg of my vacation. Earlier this week, I had talked about my time in Orange County and Las Vegas, but the fun didn’t end there!
This past Saturday morning, after a late Friday night of doing some laundry and repacking our bags, Troy and I embarked on a 10+ hour drive to Northern California, having left well before the sun began to rise over Los Angeles in an attempt to beat traffic and give ourselves plenty of time to explore our planned destination (and it worked!)
Back in 2021, when I was driving across the great state of Texas for a planned week in Marfa, I had commented on how surreal it was to pass through such a wide variety of landscapes and scenery that were all contained within one state. Well, the drive to Northern California was very similar. After admittedly resting my eyes as we drove past the Hollywood Hills and the outskirts of Los Angeles, I woke up in time to watch the sun rise over rocky terrain, ranches with the most cows I’ve ever seen in my life, oil fields, vineyards and vast almond farms as we made our way towards San Francisco and beyond. Troy has made the drive before for work, and pointed out a few areas of interest in-between the occasional stops to grab coffee and stretch our legs.
But after a long day on the road, we finally reached Eureka, California – and a considerably cooler, cloudier and rainier climate. Our first stop before checking into our hotel was to visit the Redwood Skywalk, located within the Sequoia Park Zoo, and the surrounding trail. I’d never seen a Redwood tree before, at least not in person – so while I knew they were big – I didn’t realize how big. Troy has plenty of photos of me looking bewildered and awe-struck as I’m staring up at them from both the ground and from the catwalk the Park Zoo had built between a few of them. They are MASSIVE, and absolutely incredible!
While I thought that would be the extent of our Redwood adventure, Troy had another outing planned for the following morning. We made sure to check out the nearby community garden within a short walking distance from the Zoo (and their impressive dahlia collection!) along with the famous Carson Mansion – with the super cute pink house across the street, too! – before grabbing a fabulous dinner at Campground in nearby Arcata and heading back to our room for the night to catch some much-needed sleep after such a long and busy day.
On Sunday morning, we again woke up early and hit the road after grabbing breakfast at our hotel to visit the Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail in Orick, California. Winding in a loop for just over a mile, this trail passes even more colossal Redwoods, fern groves, and fields of clovers. And while we did have to stop while in route to the trail for a massive herd of wild elk that were settling into the downtown area of Orick for the day, we didn’t encounter any other wild animals (or really any other people!) while on the actual pathway. I think the rain had something to do with it – although the Redwoods were so big and stretched so high that we barely got wet at all.
If we didn’t have such a long drive back towards Southern California planned for later on Sunday afternoon, I think we easily could have spent a couple more hours on the trail. It was one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I’ve ever experienced in my life, and I was so appreciative that Troy knew it would be something I couldn’t miss and would whole-heartedly enjoy.
Once we were back on the road and the sun emerged from behind the clouds, Troy and I wove through the Avenue of the Giants and managed to miraculously not damage the side mirrors of his SUV as we made an obligatory passing through the Shrine Drive-Thru Tree in Myers Flat.
And while I thought for sure that would be the end of our weekend’s adventure, and that we’d return to Orange County and I’d reluctantly begin preparing for a couple of days of remote work from his home office – there was one more stop on our way – a night spent at a “Bucket List” location of mine in San Luis Obispo that Troy surprised me with, much to my absolute delight.
And that place was so cool, so over-the-top, and so very, very pink – that it deserves it’s own post all together.
And it’s going to get that very post, a special “Not-So-Local-Loves” installment, at the beginning of next week since I have even more photos to go through!
Until then – enjoy your weekend, everyone!
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 