Our return to HWY 1

With the Pacific Coast Highway haunting us to finish it, and not being ones to back down from a challenge, we booked our flight for a fall trip up the northern coast. By this point, packing wasn't nearly as much of a struggle, and I finally felt like I was getting the hang of travel preparations. Our plan this trip: land in San Francisco, drive north on the PCH as far as we could (Seattle being our goal), and driving back for time to spend a few days with our Uncles in the city. We planned very little on our last trip to California, but everything seemed to fall perfectly into place naturally so this time around we planned on letting the road (and Tripadvisor) be our guide once again. The morning came for us to leave, and it actually felt like we were going home instead. After landing in San Francisco, we collected our luggage and got our rental car like we were regulars. (As soon as we turned on our rental car, "Hotel California" was playing on the radio...we were home.) Like always we were starving, so we decided to revisit Tommy's Joynt before heading north (it was just as good as the first time). With our bellies full, we made our way over the Golden Gate Bridge and out of the city. We had been on the road for only fifteen minutes before we were stopping to take in our first breathtaking view of the coast (Muir Beach Overlook). Not having too much time left in the day, we pulled ourselves away and got back in the car. As we continued driving, we began to notice that we had reached a part of the PCH that had left the coast and became more rural. Right away we were starting to realize that going north was not going to be the same as our previous southern trip. We were starting to lose daylight and we had no clue as to where we were going to be sleeping. We made the decision to stray from the PCH and head towards Napa as quickly as possible (which didn't feel very "quick" at all). Once we reached Napa, we started our hunt for a hotel. Unbeknownst to us, it was the start of crush season (when the wine harvest is being cultivated), and so all of the hotels had raised their prices in anticipation of the crowds. We walked into three hotels before giving up when the fourth quoted us a room for four hundred dollars...it was a Holiday Inn. At this point the sun was gone, the next town was an hour and a half away, and we were beyond exhausted. We had a little panic attack in the parking lot of Trader Joes before going inside to get the essential items to stock our car. On our drive to find the next town we wondered if we were doing the right thing by continuing or should we choose the safe route and spend the whole trip in San Francisco. We finally reached Ukiah where we found a hotel and finally got some sleep.

#meadadventures tip: On trips like this its okay to leave some mystery in your itinerary, but try to have some idea what you're in store for. Now, we always look ahead on Google maps to determine what our route will look like, and to make note of major cities that will have all the necessary things like hotels and food. It's always a good idea to have a plan B ready just in case being a free spirit backfires...but I will always recommend being a free spirit for your plan A.

It was a new day and we decided to continue with our original plan...after all, what is a #meadadventures without the adventure part?!? So, after breakfast we made our way through the Jackson Demonstration Forest to Fort Bragg. The weather was foggy and the rain was misting on and off as we got out to explore Mackerricher State Park. We were well rested so nothing was going to keep us from enjoying our time there. We ate lunch at Cafe 1 (could not recommend this place more), and afterwards went in search of Glass Beach (the beach itself is made up of different colored sea glass.). There were actually quite a few people there despite the not-so-perfect weather, but as we walked around we managed to find a little piece of shore that we had all to ourselves. After taking in the full experience, we decided to move on. At this point we were back on the PCH, and started to notice that the northern coast is more quirky than the southern portion. We began seeing homemade signs for "Confusion Hill" and others advertising the "Word famous Drive-Thru Tree" on the side of the road. Of course all of this intrigued me...seriously, who could pass all of that up? We veered a little off course to follow the signs, and ended up driving through the "World Famous" Chandelier Tree. (I walked through it so that I could get a picture of Tommy driving our car) Afterwards, we started back on our journey...until we passed a road-side store loudly labeled "Legend of Bigfoot". (I was starting to feel like someone designed this section of road just for me and my love of all things touristy.) Being the amazing husband that he is, he parked the car without me even having to ask to stop and allowed me to browse for as long as I desired. (This place actually started the tradition of us getting a mug on each trip as a souvenir.) When we reached the city of Eureka, we decided to call it quits for the night.

The second full day on the road, and onward north we went. We visited the Humboldt Lagoons State Park, and on a whim got out of the car to walk on the beach. This moment is something I can literally feel when I think about this whole trip. The air was insanely crisp, the waves were huge and powerful, and the sky was so blue. I wish I could have bottled that moment up to share, but pictures will have to do. Reluctant to leave, we continued on to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, and got out to walk on an access trail through the redwoods. Steinbeck said it best, "The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe." I think everyone in their lifetime should walk among these giants, be still to listen to their stories, and of course give them a hug like I always do. The Newton B. Drury Parkway began at that part of Prairie Creek State Park, so to make up some time we decided to use it as a bypass. We later stumbled upon another roadside oddity...an extremely large Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, and a few pictures later we were back on the road. We had lunch and explored Crescent City (the last stop in northern California) before we officially crossed the Oregon state line. We made our first stop at Harris Beach where we quickly discovered that the Oregon coast was just as awe-inspiring as California's. We made a few other stops to take pictures and walk beaches, until finally finding our first campsite of the trip in Humbug Mountain State Park. After setting up camp, we drove in to Portford, where we bought some deli sandwiches to take back and enjoy by the fire.