Day 18

It rained most of last night, but there’s a big difference between soft coastal rain and Dallas rain, thank goodness. Even though it was constant, there aren’t any puddles, and under the largest trees, the pine needles and moss on the ground are still dry. It was damp enough, though, that we didn’t want the kids playing in the dirt, so we got them all dressed and carried them to the car. The six of them sat and watched Pink Panther (and stayed clean!) while we packed up the sleeping bags and the tent.

We’ve followed the Oregon coastline on Highway 101 pretty much the whole day. The southern half of the coast is more mountainous, the coastal towns and tourist shops much more spread out and the views of the ocean even more breathtaking. Too many times to count, we’ve been driving up a winding road surrounded by trees, when suddenly the road breaks to the left, revealing a 300-foot drop to a gorgeous blue sea. We’ve had hardly any cell coverage for the past couple of days, and it’s nearly nonexistent here. So peaceful!

After a stop at Dairy Queen for Blizzards, we crossed the state line into California. Almost immediately, the evergreen trees were bigger. I’ve never seen redwoods in person, and Drew, Jace, and Kendra were pretty impressed with trees that are half as long as our (very long) van. There are highway signs every few miles that say “ELK,” but you never really get to see the, right? Maybe a glimpse of a tail end as one crosses the road, I figured, but that’s about it. Wrong! Not once, but twice, we drove past a large herd of elk grazing next to the road. The first time, we stopped to take pictures. There were 29 or 30 of them, just munching contentedly in someone’s front yard! I was amazed, but even more surprised when we drove by another large herd just five miles later. That was about five times the number of elk we saw in Yellowstone, just in a five-minute drive.

We are almost to Trinidad, CA, where we’re staying overnight in an RV park across the street from a state park beach. I think we’ll go to the beach after we eat dinner. The kids are so ready to get out—the road has been so curvy, winding up and down mountains, that all of us are feeling a little carsick. A little sea air will be good for all of us!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention it, but today is Jaden's 9th birthday. We sang to him this morning, but he isn't expecting much since we're on vacation. He doesn't know it yet, but when we stopped at Fred Meyer an hour ago, I bought a chocolate cake and candles. I know he'll be surprised, and I can't wait to see his face!