Day 18. Eureka to Rohnert Park

Quote of the Day: " I'm old, fat, and sassy, so I ask you again: how are you? Short, cute, and beautiful?!"

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Humboldt Redwoods: Avenue of the Giants

Inside of a Redwood

Estrella in front of the "Giant Tree"

Christina before a Chopped Redwood

The "Flat Iron" Redwood

Katherine in the Forest

Haley and a Redwood carved into a Panada

Confusion Hill's Large Shoe

Playing around at Confusion Hill

               Due to the lack of internet connection in our hotel room, I am writing our blog/eavesdropping on a couple meeting with their wedding planner in a Rohnert Park Starbucks, acting like a wifi gypsy.  After a terrible night’s sleep (partially due to a consistent fear that Haley might wake up in the middle of the night and step on my face), Estrella and I grabbed breakfast for the group. We really were quite eager to leave Eureka, I mean Katherine was under the impression that a bomb went off in the middle of the night because of all of the noise. We knew that our only goal of the day would be to see the redwoods in all of their majesty.

                We decided to travel down the Avenue of Giants, a scenic alternative to the 101. At first the redwoods were not that impressive, but as we drove deeper into the abyss of the forest we began to appreciate the trees. We stopped at a tree called the Immortal tree because it had been struck by lightning, survived forest fires, and escaped the logging efforts in the area. The strong, persevering tree really put things into perspective; its height and overwhelming presence placed a sort of serene quilt of happiness over the group. The forest proves to be an excellent place to reflect and I think that we all gained some insight when we took 5 minutes to sit alone in the depths of forest. It is really interesting to see nature’s positive effect on people. At around 12 we parked the car and took a short hike to see the “Giant Tree” and the “Flat Iron Tree,” both of which lived up to their names.  We continued on to complete the 32 miles of the Avenue of Giants with a restful peace with Jack Johnson singing softly in the background.

                We left the Avenue of Giants in search of a place from Estrella’s childhood memories, a place where the water runs upstream (yes it sounded really odd when Estrella told us about it at first). The GPS had a little bit of chaos with finding Confusion Hill as it lead us in circles around the interstate “Head onto 101 N, make a legal U-turn, head onto 101 S, make a legal U-turn, head onto 101 N” and so on. We finally found the Hill and ate while we explored. It was somewhat fun, definitely built for little kids. For example, there was a large planter box full of rocks with the instruction to build a pile—not really interesting or fun in my eyes but hey maybe if you are 4 you could appreciate it.

                We drove through beautiful wine country, past vineyards and fresh-fruit stands. Haha I felt like I was in Parent Trap when Lindsay Lohan drove to her home in Napa Valley. Rohnert Park is only a few miles from Santa Rosa and we arrived at our hotel at around 5. Not soon after we had unloaded our car a charter bus full of football players pulled up. I’m just going to be honest and say that our night turned a lot more giggly and fun after we saw them. Estrella and Katherine had a nice dip in the pool while Haley and I drove around town. Overall it was a very satisfying day, but we are so eager to get home soon!

Best:

• Redwood trees
• Vineyards
• Football players
• Friendly forest people
• Nice hotel

Worst:

• Expensive gas (no more cheap Oregon gas)
• No hotel wifi
• Nothing to do in Rohnert Park because we can't drink wine

Day 17: Eureka

Quote of the Day: "I even moved my scarf a little!"

The Beautiful View from the Freeway

Oregon Coast Viewpoint

A Picnic in the National Park

Oregon Coast

Eureka, CA

Even with my purple earplugs in, I woke up this morning due to a phone call from Christina, asking if I (Katherine) wanted something from Safeway. I didn’t want anything, but soon felt the mediocrity of the morning (I wake up tired everyday). After Estrella and Christina got back from the market, I had packed up and gotten ready. We were off early for a long drive to Northern California’s Eureka (what a great name!). Though, I already began to miss Portland and our fantastic accommodations.

Since we wanted to cruise through Oregon’s scenic coast, we took the long way down the Highway 101. As with all our long drives, we had good discussions about life-the kinds of conversation you probably wouldn’t have time for in a normal day. I’m almost surprised at the discussions we had. I think I ranted about school for an hour…all that built-up traumatic stress from years of pointless time-consuming school projects, I guess. Throughout the drive, there were times of pure musical phantasmagoria—I loved singing along to the 90’s songs I had grown up (Britney, Spice Girls, ‘NSync, Immortal Technique, etc…). I think Haley had trouble sleeping because of this. Meanwhile, Estrella continued to keep me amused with her entertaining comedic personality. She’s literally a clown in that sense. Christina impressed me with her driving abilities—she conquered the winding roads of the California coast. When we stopped at the Oregon gas station, I had my last moment of thinking, “wow, gas is really this cheap, and tax-free.” Ten minutes into California and gas cost $4.10/gallon, only $.60 more expensive…

Back in Oregon, we stopped a few times to look at the great views of coast. Eventually, we ate our lunches at an Oregon park along the coast. This was a great place to picnic! We were right next to giant trees and ocean! Driving through Oregon was all about seeing the coast, the rocks, the black sand, and the trees…oh, the trees…The Lorax would’ve been proud.

We didn’t make it to Eureka, California till 8! We got to see the sun set on the coast and ended up in Cali by dark. Like in the past, we pulled into the ever-familiar Travelodge (a hotel chain we’re very used to by now). For dinner, we went to McDonald’s and ate their renowned $1 side-salads with McFlurries. I was scared to hear the sound of what I thought was a bomb—Christina thought it was a random firework—she was probably right. Although I wouldn’t recommend going to Eureka again, there is something charming about these roadtrip towns. They feel like they exist for the sole purpose of people stopping by (there are tons and tons of inns and motels).

As I write this and the rest of the girls are sleeping (wow this feels like last night), I stop and think about how I’m glad I have my earplugs (Thanks Shaun!). The world can be so beautiful, even on a drive. :)

          

Best:

• Beach views
• Beautiful forests
• Back in California (the redwood gates to the golden state!)
• Fun/ accomplishing drive for Christina
• McFlurries
• Oregon Gas stations (yay service attendants) where we met the male version of us (4 boys, out of high school, from CA, traveled to Canada for a road trip)

Worst:

• Eureka= not a nice place
• Port Orford
• Allergies