Day 1 of California’s Coast
Our first objective in Northern California was to see the Redwoods. That meant we would be visiting Redwood National Park.
We think Redwood National Park is kind of confusing. It’s made up of several state parks as well as the national park. We didn’t really care how it was set up. We just wanted to see some HUGE trees!
We picked up a park map at the Hiouchi Visitor Center and began the short drive to the Stout Grove Trailhead. It is one of several trails to choose from along Howland Hill Road. For the most part, Howland Hill Road is a narrow, gravel road, which requires a decent amount of concentration to avoid oncoming vehicles and massive redwood trees.
The Stout Grove Trail was a half mile loop with very little change in elevation. It was a beautiful walk through some of the world’s tallest trees.
It is sometimes disorienting, staring at the tops of these trees that are over 300 feet tall! It’s also not easy on the neck! Haha!
We continued west on Howland Hill Road through what seemed to be an endless supply of abnormally large redwoods.
We connected back with 101 south (also known as Redwood Highway in this part of the state) and headed to other parts of the park. We found a random beach area that gave us a chance to throw some football and stretch our legs.
After a quick stop at the Prairie Creek Visitor Center, we made our way to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail. The first time I saw the name of this trail, I most definitely read it as Larry Bird instead of Lady Bird. I even sent Shannon a message about wanting to do this hike and called it the Larry Bird Trail. Haha!
Well, Larry Bird was good at basketball and good at making trails I guess, because we all enjoyed it!
Public Service Announcement – This is definitely one of those places where the pictures don’t even come close to accurately showing just how tall these trees are!!
We continued on 101 south and then opted to spend some time driving down the Avenue of the Giants. It parallels 101 south but takes you straight through more groves of the giant redwoods!
Our hotel in Fort Bragg, California provided us with complimentary passes to play the mini-golf course across the parking lot! We couldn’t remember the last time all five of us played!
Day 2
Our second day on the California coast would take us straight down Highway 1 and leave us 20 minutes north of San Fransisco.
We began the day with one of the boys’ favorite activities. Also, when I say boys, I’m including myself as well. Haha!
Throwing/skipping rocks in the water.
The drive down Highway 1 is something we have all been looking forward to and the coastal views kept on coming!
Our only planned stop of the day was at Point Arena Lighthouse. It is one of the skinniest lighthouses we have ever seen!
We also saw some seals……or sea lions……or whatever they’re called. You know, those swimmy animal things. Haha! We don’t know which ones are which!
California’s Highway 1 provides all kinds of neat views of its sometimes rocky and sometimes sandy shoreline. The fluctuating elevation also gives many different vantage points!
Per the usual, any time the boys would see a sandy beach, they wanted to get out of the car and run around!
Day 3
Our hotel in Mill Valley was a short, 25-minute drive from the Golden Gate Viewpoint. The skies were blue, but unfortunately there was a layer of fog hiding part of the Golden Gate Bridge from us. Still, it was a majestic sight to see!
We then drove across the bridge and into the heart of San Fransisco. We opted for a drive thru tour of the city rather than parking and walking around. Shannon enjoyed telling the boys about her college trip to San Fransisco back in…………..maybe I better not say how long ago that was. Haha!
San Fransisco also had something we had never seen before.
Self-driving cars.
The first one we saw made us pause for a second, because there was someone in the passenger seat and no one sitting where the driver should be. Then we saw another one that didn’t have anyone in it. We probably saw at least 6 or 7 of them driving around town. Wild!!!
It didn’t take long for us to reconnect with Highway 1 and the California coast. We stopped for a couple hours between the Half Moon Bay and Venice State beaches. It was another beautiful spot for sure!
We made it to our hotel in Monterey around 4pm. The weather was nice, and we decided to go ahead and do the 17 mile drive around the Monterey peninsula. Now this was something I had been looking forward to for years and years. Seeing Pebble Beach had always been on my bucket list!!
The drive takes you around the perimeter of the peninsula and has so many amazing coastal and golf course views!!
The Grand Finale of the drive is getting to see Pebble Beach Golf Links!! We were able to walk up to hole #1, and then through the lodge to see #18!
Pinnacles National Park
The next morning, we said our goodbyes to the Pacific Coast and to high temperatures in the low 60’s. We were barely even an hour away from the coast and temperatures were already in the upper 80’s. By the time we made it to Pinnacles National Park we were pushing 90!!!
Pinnacles is a National Park, so we wanted to at least check it out!
When we arrived, we found no one was working at the entrance station or the West Pinnacles Visitor Contact Station. We thought that was a little strange. We opted for no hikes in the park, due to the increasing temperatures. Instead, we drove to where the park road ends at Chaparral Trailhead.
The views of the High Peaks were good, but not something we found extremely impressive. The boys made a comment about it being something you would see on the side of the road in Utah! Haha!
To give the park some credit, there are some neat trails that were just too much for us to take on. I’m sure those would provide a different perspective of the area.
We continued east towards Bakersfield, our home for the night. We did happen to come across something else we had never seen before. An active fire! Yikes! We witnessed a helicopter dumping a load of water on the fire!
And finally, with temperatures in Bakersfield soaring to 103 degrees, the hotel pool came in quite handy!!
Next up for us is a trip to Joshua Tree National Park!!
Ramsey Party of Five 