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