We're going back to Cali...
This year marks our F-I-V-E year wedding anniversary! That means it is also F-I-V-E years since we embarked on our first ever official #meadadventures!! Warning: you are about to be exposed to extreme cheesiness. If you cannot handle high levels of mushiness, please skip this paragraph and join us for the trip portion below the picture. When I was reflecting back on everything that we've seen and all the places that we have explored, I was literally blown away. Our trips have truly been some of the best marriage counseling we could have ever been exposed to, and I feel very confident that we have become stronger as a couple because of them. The first few trips definitely had their moments with some icky meltdowns, but at the end of each day we learned something about each other and about how to travel together. Being away from home in strange environments forced us to make up quickly, wipe away the tears, and find a solution. Now our trips are like second nature to us and when we're on the road we know our strengths and limitations. We work together as a team to make sure everything flows smoothly, and that teamwork carries into our lives when we are at home. Our adventures are a deep part of us as a couple, they are our children (sorry mom and dad) and they are our retirement. I cannot imagine the past five years without them (or without my adventurer), and I look forward to the many more in the future!
Okay, now on to this #meadadventures. We were definately inspired by the timing of this trip, and decided to recreate our honeymoon with all of the added travel knowledge that we have learned. Plane tickets purchase, campsites reserved, and the car was rented...let's go!
We landed in San Francisco and hit the road immediately. First stop, Roundtable Pizza (just like we did on the original trip), and then after that we stopped at Montara State Beach-Mcnee Ranch. Originally this was the first place on Highway 1 that we stopped, and the first time my feet were introduced to the freezing pacific ocean. You have to take some pretty steep stairs to get to the beach, and on our honeymoon I noticed a post that had "T+J 2012" written on it. What?! In that moment it felt like someone had gotten there before us, created a treasure map, and we were on the right path. (so goofy I know, but I love stuff like that) When we visited this time I searched each post on the way down to see if I could find it again, and although it is a little faded now, our "first clue" is still there.
At this point we were starting to lose sunlight, and we still had a few hours of driving left until we reached our first campsite in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. We stopped at Pomponio State Beach like before, and then added a stop at Bean Station State Beach. Bean Station was insane with its perfect sunset lighting, tide pools, and crazy rocks to climb on. We spent as much time there as we could before having to move on and arrived at Big Basin a little after dark. This was an entirely new park to us so there was a little bit of fumbling around as we got settled in for the night. After we packed up the next morning we were able to explore the park in the daylight. I think we both agree that we could have spent the whole day there, but we were able to walk the Redwoods Trail to see the highlights before having to move on. As we found our way back to Highway 1, we knew this was going to be a pretty epic trip.
