over the border and through the redwoods.. to the california coast we go...

it took all day to round the border of california, arc up into southern oregon and come flying down the mountainside.
the two lane highway winds through little mountain towns stacked with kitchy bigfoot souvenir cabins around every bend. just as we reached the top.. the sun sank low and the gray clouds released their promised drizzle. 


in my next breath i received a hint of the forest breaking up and the highway ending by the sea.
salt air.. i could smell it.
the ocean was close.


we pushed the RV a little faster.. flying by the allure of redwood groves right off the highway.. we were racing the clock and the tide. we had one hour before this beauty would have an ocean between us and her.

we hit the parking lot, 

hastily tied shoes and zipped vests,

and ran.

the crescent city lighthouse is only available at low tide. 
the path to get there is covered with the creeping sea as the tide ebbs in. how cool is that??? 

did part of me kind of sort of hope we got stuck out there? 
did i drag my feet just a little... imagining being taken in by the lighthouse keeper and put up in an emergency guest room.. complete with tarnished metal beds and smoothed out vintage wool blankets...ocean waves thundering on the rocks surrounding our little bunkered haven... sea tales of yore being told in the morning over blueberry scones and hot coffee? 
what do you think?? :)

more than likely they would have called the coast guard and hauled me off to the mainland with some sort of ticket in hand for something like... irresponsible tide management. :)

i made the boring safety first call and didn't hide behind the rowboats... we crossed the pebbled path with time to spare.

when wrestling on dangerous cliffs began, it was time to go back to our own personal bunker on wheels.

we stayed that night at what would have been a lovely seaside campsite... if it weren't for the rain. 

and the fog. and the cold. and the fact that i was still semi- anti going potty in the RV. 

i'm sorry but traveling around knowing yucky stuff is just hanging out in a tank right under you??? 

yeah could never really get behind it.

EMERGENCIES ONLY.

off to the RV park restroom through the rain for you.

by morning the weather was still less than ideal so i did some internet browsing and found a funny little tourist trap of an aquarium in town. they promised shark petting and were only 24 dollars for all of us to go.  deal.

tide pools for those not willing to risk rain, cold and pacific ocean sneeker waves to see a starfish.

shark petting. 
apparently leopard sharks are half feline... i swear they would circle back around so you could pet them again.

they assured us that there have been no known leopard shark attacks..ever. 

i thought the skeleton right behind us was a poor decorating choice.

yes little babies can pet sharks too. at least no one really said anything. and there weren't any signs specifically about it. but it did feel a little weird holding  a baby over a shark pool and trying to help her reach deeper.

nate is a hammerhead. .. and why is that blue creature crying while the hammerhead looks menacingly at him. weird.

it was actually a really cute little place. they had a live show with a couple of seals and a sea lion and it was nice for the kids to be able to get right up close instead of fighting the gobs of people at the bigger places.

the seals were ridiculous. they were like the sea lions big fat lazy cousins. this one actually had to roll off the platform when she was done. they reminded me of giant caterpillars. but they were still cute. :)

we were driving along the highway and came upon this beautiful roadside pull off.

the fog was rolling, the drizzle was light, and we had the time.

so we pulled off.

there is a beauty that belongs to a grey weather day that is all it's own. the sky and sand and water meet and blend in a monochrome haze that makes the people look like life itself.

this was where all the rain from the mountains found the sea...

it was fast and wild and felt dangerous. 
the pacific is such a different ocean than my atlantic home. 

i had to fight the urge to have a constant death grip on grayson's little hand. 

i'm sure you can understand. :)

we left with handfulls of shells, sockfulls of sand, and two stinky crab claws.

we were infiltrated by a flock of wild birds.

we kept driving down the coast to our first redwood grove. 
at our first chance we pulled off.. and tumbled out of the RV.
and immediately looked up, up, up.

and quite suddenly felt completely small.

do you see tiny ari? :)

this is one of the biggest mass trees there is. at one point a homesteader was wanting to cut it down and build a dance floor on the stump.
par-tay in the fores-tay.

our wildlife sighting up to this point had been dismal at best. 
we had seen an incredible herd of elk back a few miles just off the highway but turning around in the RV is a somewhat involved and ridiculous situation and probably would have scared the elk anyway. so we settled for investigating this worm.

thankfully on our next leg a few random elk were grazing alongside the highway... 

ari, grayson and i got out.. bordered on one side by whizzing cars on the highway and the other side by too close for comfort jumpy elk... 

i knew we were a little close after crossing safely and standing here, the man next to me, who happened to have an i love elk sticker on his pickup, said.. 

"you know those are wild elk right?" 

um yeah -- just putting my kids in life threatening situations here. no biggie. 

how would you like to have to put up a fence to keep the elk out? crazy. 
and is that a danger sign i spy? 
nice.

and this is how we ended our day... completely worn out. :)