Redwood National and State Park

It is never easy leaving our family.  We are already counting the days until we will see everyone again.

We left Los Altos at 9:00 a.m. for the start of our return trip home.  We drove North about five hours to Redwood National and State Park on the Pacific coast near Crescent City, CA just South of the Oregon border.  The redwoods here are very large and beautiful.  We took the Coastal Drive which is an eight mile road that winds through stands of redwoods with great views of the Klamath River and the crashing surf of the Pacific Ocean.  For the most part, we were the only ones on this coastal trail.  We stopped along the way at the High Bluff and Klamath River Overlooks for views of the ocean and the rocky shoreline.  We also took a very short hike into the woods on the Lake Hope trail in order to get up close to the redwood trees. 

We continued driving North on Highway 101 to Crescent City, CA where we had dinner and are spending the night.  It was a great start of our trip back home. 

Pictures can be see at  https://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/2011531RedwoodNationalAndStatePark?authkey=Gv1sRgCPGUq7nar9C3mAE&feat=directlink


More later . . . .

Making Our Way Back Home

Unfortunately, it is time to begin our drive back to Ohio. 

Our return trip has been delayed twice now, once for a sad reason and once for a happy one. 

We make a quick trip back to Ohio on Sunday, May 22 to attend the funeral of Alton Madden.  He was a great grandfather, grandfather, father and friend to many.  Ellen and I are so pleased we were able to spent time with him this past winter in Florida. 

We returned from Ohio on Wednesday, May 25 which allowed us to see Elise's first Nova softball tournament. We got to see her play in five games over Memorial Day weekend.

It has been very enjoyable being here with Jen, Dan and the kids.  We have seen many of Thomas' baseball games, Elise's softball games, Julia's preschool, swim team practice and the Almond School Play.  We have biked, played, read, held hands, kissed, hugged and tickled.  Our days have been full.  We don't want to leave, but know that we must. 

Tomorrow morning we leave for home back in Ohio.  We have an 18 day return trip planned.

More later. . .  

Big Sur - Day Fourteen

We left Monterey Bay and drove the 17 mile drive to Carmel.  We stopped along the way to take pictures of this beautiful drive which includes two golf courses.  The roadway going South ends at Pebble Beach golf course.  We continued South on Highway 1 to Julia Pfeiffer State Beach Park.  We hiked the Canyon Trail which ended at a waterfall.  We had to cross the stream as we hiked up the tral.  It was very beautiful.  We decided to next hike the slender but dramatic McWay Falls.  The trail takes you along the high cliffs overlooking the ocean.  From this vantage point you can see a stream tumbling a hundred feet from the granite cliffs into McWay Cove on the oceans edge. From the overlook you can also see the former site of the Waterfall House.  We finished our hiking day by taking another trail which lead to a camp site high on the bluff overlooking the ocean.  It would be a great place for a camping trip.

We saw a U.S Forest Service ranger and asked about hiking trails which were closer to the beach.  He mentioned the hard to find Pfeiffer Beach Park.  It was on an unmarked road about 5 miles North.  We drove there and found the entrance which was a two mile very narrow road leading down to the ocean.  We paid our entrance fee and then walked to the beach.  It was a very dramatic location with the high winds blowing the waves against the rocks. It would be a great place to spend the day near the water.  Unforturnately for us, the winds were very strong so we did not stay very long.

We got back on Highway 1 heading North which took us back through Monterey Bay on our way to Los Altos.  We arrived around 3:30 p.m. to lots of hugs and kisses.  We were glad to finally reach our most important destination.

This will be the last posting for the the next couple of weeks.  We will resume our blog on our return trip to Ohio.

Pictures can be seen at:  https://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/20110429BigSur?authkey=Gv1sRgCI-4rdT2jqGLsAE#



More later . . .

Montana de oro state park & Monterey Bay - Day Thirteen

We passed through the downtown of San Luis Obispo on our way to Morro Bay.  Along the way, Ellen remembered having a brochure for montana de oro state park which is listed as the third largest park in the state.   Since it was on the way, we decided to check it out.  We were very pleased with this discovery.  We hiked Bluff Trail which took us to high scenic overlooks of the ocean.  There were fields of wildflowers all around us.  It was very beautiful.  We were able to get down close to the water's edge after climbing down some rock formations.  The power of the ocean and the sound of the breaking waves was a sight to behold. 

We left the park and continued on to Morro Bay.  We visited the shops there and had lunch at the same outdoor restaurant we ate at two years ago.  The clam chowder is still the best and the outdoor atmosphere was unbeatable. 

Since Highway 1 was closed due to a landslide near Big Sur, we had to take another route North to Monterey Bay.  We passed along the way through numerous fields of produce and vineyards.  This area is one of the fastest growing wine regions in the state.  We arrived at our hotel and quickly got on our bikes for a ride to Cannery Row.  We passed by Seven Gables Inn from the VISA commercial.  It still looks like a wonderful place to spend the night.  We got back to our hotel and quickly left for dinner at The Fish House.  We knew from having eaten there in the past that it fills up quickly.  It was packed but we were able to sit and order at the bar.  The food was great and the conversations with the other diners enjoyable.  One gentlemen gave us many suggestions of places to visit on our drive back home.

Tonight makes the tenth hotel we have stayed in during the past thirteen days.  We are getting pretty good at the check-in / check-out process.  Tomorrow after a visit back down the coast to Julia Pfeiffer State Park we will be at Jen and Dan's.  It will be nice to be able to be in one spot for longer than two nights.

Pictures can be seen at:  https://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/20110428MontanaDeOroStatePark?authkey=Gv1sRgCOXd_8Hv7-6wWA&feat=directlink

More later . . .

Santa Monica - Day Twelve

We left the Long Beach CA area for a short drive to Santa Monica.  Unfortunately, it was rush hour and the 25 minute drive took close to two hours.  The freeways around LA are busy with fast moving, fast stopping traffic.  We were glad to get to the beach at Santa Monica.  We parked next to the Shutters Hotel and right next to the bike path which runs along the beach.  We rode as far as we could in both directions and covered close to 18 miles.  We saw many different sights along the way including:  beach volleyball players, surfers, roller bladders, dog walkers, bikini clad women and the Santa Monica Pier amusement park.

Ellen was in search of the movie actor Matthew McConaughey thinking they might be Matthew that I simply lost count. 

The bike path route included the Venice Beach area which is quite the spectacle onto itself.  It has been described as a freak show, but there just are not enough adjectives to describe this subculture of hippies, street people and everything in between.  There is an area about one mile long where street vendors are selling their items.  You could buy everything from botox on the beach to tattoos to body piercings to medical marijuana.  There were many handmade crafts for sale by very unusual people.  We loved it!  It is a one of a kind experience.

We had lunch at Shutters Hotel and sat at the same table we were served at two years ago during our previous trip.  The food was excellent and the view of the beach made it very special.

We left for San Luis Obispo with stops on Oceano Dunes at Grover Beach.  This is the only beach in California on which you can drive your car.  We stopped at Pismo Beach and watched the surfers from the pier before having dinner.  We continue onto San Luis Obispo and found our hotel for the night.

Tomorrow we are going to explore the area before continuing on to Monterey Bay.

Pictures can be seen at:


More later . .

Catalina Island - Day Eleven

We took the morning ferry from downtown Long Beach to the city of Avalon on Catalina Island.  The crossing took about one hour and the boat had many more passengers then either of us had anticipated. 

There two towns on Catalina Island, Avalon on the Southern end of the island and Two Harbors on the Northern end.  Avalon is the larger of the two cities.  It has a unique feel to it and lots of charm.  There are houses that wrap around the hill side overlooking the harbor.  There are many shops and restaurants. 

We had lunch at a fish restaurant with a table outside looking over the harbor.  The shrimp linguine was great and the view wonderful.  We rented a golf cart and took a one hour tour of the city and the surrounding hill side streets. The views from up on the hills overlooking the city were great.  After some window shopping, we found a spot to relax while people watching and observing all the boat traffic in the harbor. 

This was a very enjoyable day for us.  No long drives.  No strenuous hikes.  Just a relaxing day on a charming island 26 miles across the sea from Long Beach.  We caught the afternoon ferry back to Long Beach and took in an early movie.  

Tomorrow we are off to Santa Monica for a day at the beach.

Pictures can be seen at:  https://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/20110426CatalinaIsland?authkey=Gv1sRgCN-at7bl-rXuSA#

More later . . . 

Long Beach, CA - Day Ten

Today was a travel day for us.  We left Sedona right after breakfast and traveled all day reaching Long Beach CA  around 3:30 p.m.  We have made arrangements to travel to Catalina Island in the morning.  We are looking forward to visiting this island 26 miles across the sea.  Sound familiar?

More later . . .