An expected vacation to an unexpected destination. Tired feet. Long car rides. Zero sleep.
This trip started out very unassuming. My husband, Paul, called his brother, Matt, to see when he and his wife, Hannah, wanted to leave to go camping in Canyonlands, NP. Right after that phone call, Paul decided it would be more fun if he invited his dad, Mike, to tag along. Both Mike and Paul were not very enthusiastic because they thought the Canyonlands would be too hot. Paul suddenly suggests that we drive to the Redwoods.
Let me set this up a little bit. It is Thursday early afternoon. Paul and I just got back from Montana the day before, where we were on vacation with my side of the family. We drove 8 hours on Sunday to get up there and 8 hours back on Wednesday. I was done with driving. The Redwoods is a 14 hour drive one way from Salt Lake City. Oh man. And we had to be back by Sunday night because I used up my PTO and needed to be back at work at 8 AM on Monday morning.
Paul and Mike are getting really excited and want to do the trip to the west coast. Mike goes and talks to his wife, Wendy. I say I am down - which, surprisingly, I was - and Paul calls Matt back to see if him and Hannah will go too. They are good to go too! Wendy says yes, she wants to see the ocean. (who doesn't!) And we start packing. Matt and Hannah get off work early, pack and are up to Salt Lake by 3:30 PM. We were already packed since we were in Montana and had done laundry that morning. Paul, Matt, and Mike run to Cost Co. to get snacks and ice and by 5 PM we were on the road!
That night we stopped in Reno. We stayed at the Eldorado and went to Holey Schmidt Donuts for breakfast before hitting the road again. 
We made it to Auburn, CA before we stopped again. Wendy, Hannah, and I went and looked around the little shops while the boys waited for food. We found some souvenirs then headed back to the restaurant. We ate at Old Town Grill. I ordered the Turkey Brie Sandwich on the french roll and it was delicious. It was light which was nice on such a hot day. We drove around the Auburn Historical District after lunch and had a brief look around the museum there.
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After Auburn we made a split decision to add some time to the drive and go to San Francisco! I especially wanted to go because Paul and I wanted to go back before we moved and it just did not seem possible! With the Roberts spontaneity on our side, we went! Paul and I went to San Francisco for our honeymoon and it is a special place to us and a family favorite vacation spot for the Roberts family. We drove through and saw Coit Tower, the Transamerica Pyramid, Ghirardelli Square, and drove across the bridge. We got some chocolate and Treasure Island ice cream sundaes while at Ghirardelli square. How could you not??
After San Francisco, we continued up the coast until we hit the Redwoods. I have never been to see these amazing trees in person, so that is what I was most excited for. We stopped to see them before it was too dark. Then we drove through the Avenue of the giants at dusk. I could only see the base of the trees from the headlights but even that was mind boggling how massive these trees can get. Paul told me that the largest ones were cut down when loggers came through, so those were still much smaller than how big they can get.
We made it to Crescent City that night and we all fell instantly asleep after a long day of fun!
The next day Mike and Wendy went on a bike ride while the four of us (Paul, me, Matt, Hannah) did our own thing. We stopped at the beach in the morning and just climbed over rocks and looked at sea life growing on the rocks close to the shore. It is amazing to see the variety of plants and animals that are supported by this ecosystem.
Then we drove down to Patrick's Point and hiked a little around there. We went to the view point, hiked a little of the rim trail, and climbed on rocks down by the shore. I really liked how mosquito's weren't an issue here. We didn't have to worry about bugs at all.
We drove back up the cost and got lunch at Forest Cafe. Paul got the Big Foot burger and I got the chicken sandwich. It was over priced and the service was meh but it is right across the street from the Trees of Mystery, so it is convenient to grab lunch there before going to see the interested formation of the trees.
The Trees of Mystery is like a zoo of crazy and totally naturally occurring tree formations and has a Paul Bunyan theme. We walked in these tree top bridges that let you look down and experience the height of the redwoods from a different point of view. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared!
We saw the roots that had been exposed, trees that had trunks that changed direction without any obvious cause, and redwoods that grew in clusters to form a half circle. That was the cathedral. People actually get married there in that formation! It's pretty cool. We also saw a redwood that was struck by lightening and it is hollowed out and spooky! We took the gondola up, saw the ocean past the trees, and hiked the mile back down to the park. We went through a little art gallery as well of wood art that was made only using a chainsaw. There was some really great detail!
We met up with Mike and Wendy for dinner at the Chart Room and I got some clam chowder in a bread bowl. It was so delicious. The restaurant was not opening for dining so we just ate at a picnic table on the pier.
The next morning we got up and drove straight from Crescent City to Salt Lake. We got there at midnight and got back to Logan at 1:30 AM. It was so last minute but such a blast! Thank you Roberts for this amazing memory!
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