Redwoods

The trip is off to a great start!  We left Portland last Tuesday, and have slowly been making our way south to California. We spent two nights with Couchsurfers in Ashland, Oregon, a great little town where they hold a months-long Shakespeare festival (which actually includes lots of non-Shakespeare theater too). Then we headed toward the California coast, stopping on the way to see some giant redwoods in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.

Thursday night we stayed at a little motel right on the coast in Crescent City, California. It was really cold and windy for a walk on the beach when we got there, but we did it anyway! (And were really thankful for our new windbreakers/rain jackets we bought in Portland.) Luckily the wind died down overnight, and despite the fog, it was a much more pleasant walk in the morning.

cold and windy walk on Crescent Beach, CA

Then we kept going south, through more redwood trees, the highway darting in and out of the fog as we headed inland and then out toward the coast again. We took a little hike along the water, ate lunch at a secluded picnic area outside the state parks, and saw some elk right on the coast. We arrived in Arcata, California, to stay with more Couchsurfers, and had a fun night out with them last night for Mexican food and drinks at their favorite bar (with lots of deer and elk trophies on the walls!).

We’re here until Monday, when we head to stay with friends in San Francisco. Today I think we’ll be hitting the farmers market, a blues festival, and, if we’re not too worn out, an art walk tonight! Tomorrow will be a more mellow day, with perhaps another visit to the beach (about 4 miles from here) and some working and relaxing.

cauliflower, Arcata Farmers Market

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