According to Google, the drive home from Fort Bragg, Calif. should take ten hours. We did it in fourteen. Clearly, we didn’t follow Google’s plan. Instead, we stopped (or drove) anywhere something looked interesting — and took pictures.
- A few roadside turnouts along the Pacific.1I think one was in the windy twisties. Those in the back seat (and maybe in the front) needed a break. The coast is so beautiful! We had to stop multiple times to take it in.
- Drive-Thru Tree Park in Leggett. Six years ago, we had another Mendocino weekend and stopped here on the way home to take pictures. Traditions are hard to break.2And why would you?
- Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Kevin hadn’t seen redwoods before, so we had had our excuse to stop and take pictures. And hug trees. And sit on logs. And take more pictures.
- Avenue of the Giants. Stopping in the park wasn’t enough redwoods so we drove through miles of those gorgeous, big trees. Amazing! And we stopped some more.
- Paul’s Live From New York Pizza in Eureka. Mmm… How did we know where to eat before smartphones with maps and Yelp?3Yeah, that’s right. We used to just eat at Taco Bell…
- False Klamath Cove just south of Wilson Creek and Crescent City. At six in the evening and still in California, we should have kept driving, but we were ready for a break.4And not yet halfway home… We knew there was going to be enough driving in the dark of the night that we might as well enjoy a little more beach. Kevin and I threw sticks and logs into the ocean while Suzi and Ashley wrote on the sand. It was well worth the stop!
And that doesn’t count filling the car a couple of times.5And ourselves with coffee. Mmm…
- 1I think one was in the windy twisties. Those in the back seat (and maybe in the front) needed a break.
- 2And why would you?
- 3Yeah, that’s right. We used to just eat at Taco Bell…
- 4And not yet halfway home…
- 5And ourselves with coffee. Mmm…