Matthew wanted to use his existing vacation time before changing his job at Southwest Airlines. I was immediately on board to be his traveling partner for the trip, we just needed to pick a destination. After much discussion of various interesting options, we landed on exploring the great redwoods of California. There were several airports to choose from including Portland, Eureka, Sacramento, and San Francisco. We played it by ear based on seat availability and wound up starting in San Francisco and ending in Portland. So, our journey looked like this.
Matthew wanted to make sure he saw the Golden Gate Bridge.
The first day was filled with a long drive and a couple stops for pics, food and relief.
Our first destination was in the town of Trinidad, CA, a very nice B&B named Turtle Rocks Oceanfront Inn. The building is situated about 250 feet above the coast with excellent views of the ocean. It was very comfortable for the three nights we were there, and the hospitality was excellent.
Here’s a picture of a part of the backyard of Turtle Rocks Oceanfront Inn.
The B&B gave us a nice write-up of sites to see depending on how long our stay was to be, ranging from one-day to three days. That was very helpful to get started with planning our time.
We started by hiking around the local area (Sue-meg State Park), first stop was a place called Wedding Rock and surrounding areas, including Agate Beach.
We then took over an hour drive North to check out the Grove of the Titans.
The trail was amazing, and the trees are awe inspiring. The last part of the trail was elevated on metal grates to protect the ground for the trees.
We had some time left in the day, so we decided to check out Enderts Beach to see if we could spot any tidepools.
As the end of the day neared we decided to have dinner in Crescent City. We found an excellent Thai place called Kin Khao.
As we headed south back to our B&B we happened upon a sunset. As you may notice there was a lot of moisture in the air, so we couldn’t really see the sun.
The next day we wanted to check out Fern Canyon for which we heard a lot of cool things. This was another drive, but not as long as the day before to Crescent City.
This was an amazing drive! Thank goodness Matthew was driving. A narrow dark trail among the ferns. The Park Ranger insisted on telling us “We cannot guarantee your safety for the three stream crossings you might choose to make in your car.” It definitely impacted others, as they parked WAY back before the stream crossings and had to walk an extra couple miles each way.
Walking an extra four miles wasn’t our favorite option so we crossed the streams. No big deal once you get past the intimidation (greatly caused by the Park Ranger).
Fern Canyon was beautiful. On the way back, we took another short hike to Trillium Falls, another place of great beauty.
We returned to the B&B just in time to see another sunset, and this time the sun showed up (mostly).
The next day was a driving day: Trinidad, CA to Florence, OR. Along the way we saw some great beaches, were amazed by Fort Orford, and had a great lunch at Tony’s Crab Shack in Bandon, OR.
That evening we settled into Florence, OR. We walked around the quaint and pretty town, stopped into some of the shops, and had dinner at International C-Food Market Restaurant (which we thought was Novelli’s, until we left and found Novelli’s down the dock ramp). Nevertheless, dinner was good, including the oysters on the half shell, which, as any good father would, I made sure Matthew got to sample.
We headed out the next day for Portland, OR. We made stops whenever we felt compelled, taking in the vistas and some bridges along the way. Matthew found Thor’s Well, which was an awesome waterspout (just a pain in the arse to try to time your photo when the water is shooting).
Our final segment of the trip was to hang out in Portland, OR. We stayed at the Mark Spencer Hotel, which was very nice, especially given their free wine sampling hour shortly after we arrived. Then we had a short walk to get some ramen at Ramen Ryoma for an excellent dinner.
For the last day of our trip, we decided to visit the arboretum in the early morning followed by a visit to the Japanese Gardens. What a beautiful way to spend some time.
And then we flew home.
The end.
Epilogue
What a wonderful 5-day trip. Thanks to Matthew for instigating the trip, for doing ALL the driving, and for arranging flights for us. Since this trip, Matthew has graduated from a month-long training program to be a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines. I am excited for the many adventures in front of him, and very thankful for this wonderful visit to the Pacific Northwest area.
