We Did It!

Still blooming on our return, yay!

Loved the lighthouses.

We took a road trip.  The first ever of its kind for us.  There wasn't a destination, not really.  It was a "start here (Seattle), drive to there (San Jose) and do all the exploring in between (along the pacific coast - first the 101 then Highway 1 then inland to Santa Clara) that we had time for" kind of a trip. So in this instance, the journey really was the destination.  And it was grand fun.

I took a bazillion pictures, many of which aren't worth sharing.  I often leaned forward in the seat, propped my phone on the dash and snapped pictures as we drove along.  Some turned out beautifully.  Others, maybe not so much.

Foggy every morning.

And I'll try to be succinct, though that is usually a challenge for this over-worded person.

We flew in to Seattle, stayed overnight there and headed out bright and early.  Well, early.  Not so bright - totally fogged in.  Drove to the ferry and took it (for thirty minutes over to Kingston).  Promptly got lost.

A black sand beach, w-a-y down...

Yes, Google failed us.  As it did most of the trip. We discovered that cellphone coverage wasn't even minimal, it was nearly non-existent our whole drive.  We were elated whenever we managed to get even one bar of service on one of our phones.  The result was that whenever we checked into the next night's hotel we spent some time just catching up (mail, kids, texts, a teensy bit of news) and it was great.

Loved ALL the lighthouses.

Outside the B&B, early a.m.

We did a couple smart things, a couple sorta less-than smart things and underestimated the time it would take for us to drive from one night's lodging to the next.  According to the trip we planned (utilizing Google (again) maps) we should have had an average of 6-7 hours a day in transit.  The first day was a revelation-but prepared us for the following days.  We stayed for the first time ever in a Bed & Breakfast (it was lovely), ate at a super highly rated cafe in the mountains (it was the filthiest restroom I'd ever seen, made me shudder to think what the kitchen looked like-we made sure to say the blessing on the food to keep us safe) and drove over more bridges than I knew we could in that short amount of time.  We started with great food, had one great meal in between and ended with wonderful food at a friend's place in Santa Clara. I think every adventure should begin and end (with some in the middle) with fabulous food!

Near the elk meadow (but no elk)

Loved these trees.

We learned that for this cliff averse, mountainside hugging scaredy-type passenger we should probably have traveled south to north instead of the reverse.  I spent many a switchback (hundreds of feet above rocky shores) clinging to the center armrest with my head practically in The Husband's lap trying to quell the irrational fear I felt. (It didn't help when we rounded a corner to see a passenger in another car by the side of the road tossing her cookies.  Apparently I'm not the only one afraid.)

Our former house.

We drove through miles of dense fog, miles of majestic (they're so amazingly tall) redwood trees, miles of incredibly stunning shoreline views and miles of "oh, look-look-look" on intakes of breath.  We live in the most beautiful world!!

Typical daily fog.

I thought perhaps I'd plumbed the depths of The Husband's patience with my anxious fears.  But, no, he patiently kept reassuring me he'd keep me safe.  And of course, he did.  Like he always has.

Couldn't believe how tall.

We ended with a visit to a couple former co-workers, ones I hope The Husband will always keep in touch with.  Their friendship has been the cornerstone of his last few years of employment, kept him on solid footing when traveling to the office (from our out-of-state-home) that wasn't his favorite part of the job.  They're good people and I will be forever grateful for their kindness to my favorite-of -all people.

Regrets?  I only have a couple.  1.  That we didn't have enough flexibility after booking everything to maybe take another day or two along the way and explore even more (I felt like we barely scratched the surface).  2.  That we didn't eat more ice cream.

Blackened salmon sammich / Mo's.

High Points?  1. The seafood we managed to find along the way.  2.  The ubiquitous Fred Meyer stores that kept us supplied in Darigold chocolate milk and doughnuts. Can't have a road trip without the chocolate milk and doughnuts.

Gratitude?  For the ability to see with our own eyes the love our Heavenly Father showed when He created this magnificent place for us.  For The Husband's seemingly endless appreciation for this world (and almost seemingly endless patience and care for me).  And for Home, Sweet Home.  I love being able to come back and find all is well here.  It's been a great five days.