Cousins, Big Trees, and Rocky Coastlines

Ian, Steven, Gannon, and Sean

There are lots of reasons that California is not an ideal place to live, the expense and the politics for starters. I lived in Los Angeles for a while and you couldn't pay me to live there ever again.

But every time we go to the Sierras, or the desert, or we drive north, the beauty of the state we live in takes my breath away and I remember why we like it here.

Our first stop was Santa Cruz, to visit Doug's sister and her two boys, Kyra's brothers, Gannon and Ian. We rolled in at midnight and spent the next day there. The boys had a great time as always, played games and shot homemade arrows from homemade bows and wrestled and watched Lord Of The Rings. No matter how long it's been since we've last seen them, the four of them are like brothers.

We headed north again the next morning-- over the Golden Gate Bridge, which was so shrouded in fog we couldn't see the tops of the towers and through the Marin wine country.

Then Humboldt county and the giant redwoods. The last two times we've made this trip we stopped to camp among the mighty giants, but our schedule this time didn't permit us.

We crossed into Oregon in the early evening and were treated to clear skies and panoramic coastal vistas as the sun moved lower in the sky. It was a long 600 miles from Santa Cruz to Coos Bay, but the beauty of the drive was unmatchable.

Today we have a much shorter day, 210 miles north to Cannon Beach. Time to hit the road...

- Kathleen