A weekend along the California northern coast, Glass Beach and big trees!
This has been a trip thats been on our bucket list for quite some time. Luckily we had a tiny bit of time to squeeze it in before we pack up and leave for Michigan. Oh...if you haven't heard or didn't know we are moving back to the mitten state! It has been an awesome 5 years here in California, so many adventures, memories and awesome friendships have been made. Although we are sad to leave, we are looking forward to being reunited with family and friends back east!
Ok enough about that sappy crap....and more about this awesome trip! So we decided to leave from Sacramento and head up to Boonville. This was our first stop and it was evening by the time we arrived so we didn't actually stop in the city to do anything besides gas up. We headed straight to Fort Bragg so that we could settle in for the night.
I booked us a night in this charming place called the Country Inn Bed & Breakfast.
I mean...look how cute this place is! It was literally like walking into grandmas house, every room was uniquely decorated, and the staff was so friendly! When looking for accommodations, the reviews all raved about the handmade breakfast, and they were right! Our breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs with cheese and ham (which were the best I'd ever had) potatoes, sausage and a blueberry and lemon scone...TO DIE FOR!
Check it out, you'll love it!
Glass Beach, Fort Bragg
The first thing on our list was to stop and see Glass Beach. The weather was super windy and rain was in the forecast so the waves were pretty dramatic. Because of the weather, we weren't able to walk much of the beach. We did however, get to see some of the glass which was awesome!
As soon as we walked out to the water, the storm clouds came rolling in and it started to sprinkle so we made our way back to the car to continue onto the redwoods.
While we were driving up highway 101, Derrick spotted this old truck and cabin that was a perfect photo opp!
There's just something about vintage trucks in the wilderness...just love it! Which brings me to a point...keep your eyes peeled on the road! You never know what you'll pass!
Continuing on....
The California coast is just gorgeous if you have never been to the north coast. It is extremely different from the southern coast, more rugged and covered in trees!
Chandelier Tree
One thing Derrick has always wanted to do was see a tree that was big enough to fit a car through, and what better place than the Chandelier Tree! We were the only ones there and unable to fit our car through because of the hot dog box on top, but we got out and took some pictures to show scale!
We continued on highway 101, and took some of the scenic route of the Avenue of the Giants in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. This was the funnest part of the drive! The trees that line the road are just spectacular!
I highly suggest driving a good portion of the Avenue of the Giants to get up close and personal with these trees! Pictures don't even do them justice. There is a ranger station that we stopped at and walked a nature trail. Even though the trail was near the road, it was super informative with little plaques scattered about the trail with information about the trees.
Eureka
We drove from Fort Bragg to Eureka and made it with a little daylight to spare! Eureka is a super fun coastal town with really beautiful architecture. After our delicious lunch at Siam Orchid Thai we explored the town a little bit.
Carson Mansion
Considered the most grand Victorian home in America. It has been a private club since 1950, is not open to the public, and is one of the most photographed Victorian homes in California. The detail is beyond words...
The Carter House Inn
This is a Bed & Breakfast located in old downtown Eureka. There are 2 buildings with 2 additional cottages you could rent. I have stayed here for work a few years ago in the Inn, which was a lovely stay!
And a few other buildings we photographed in the area!
There were also several art installations in the city on the sides of buildings. We had found them by accident but I do believe you could find them on trip advisor.
Overall I think Eureka is a great little city, several food options, great art, awesome architecture, and its right on the water. I mean, what more could you ask for?! We enjoyed our tiny day adventure there!
Trinidad
After finishing up our day in Eureka, it was time to check into our cabin in the redwoods. I found this awesome place called the Emerald Forest Cabins nestled in the redwoods. Our room was perfect, it had a little deck off the back that overlooked the big trees! The original game plan was to wake up the next morning and head to the Redwoods National Park for some hiking. Once we drove 11 miles into the woods to the trail head and started our hike, not only was it raining but it started hailing. Little ice balls bouncing off of our heads. We looked at each other and made the call to end the hike and search for something else. I'm SO SO SO glad we did.
As we were driving we passed some wild Elk grazing on the side of the road!
Derrick ended up discovering this area called Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. By the time we arrived it had stopped raining and was clearing up. We quickly got a park map and chose a hike. Little did we know it was a 7 mile loop hike because Derrick judges hiking distances with his massive finger which is a "mile" and to his calculations was supposed to be 4 miles. Don't trust finger measuring!!
I didn't care how long the hike was. We came to hike the redwoods and we were doin it! It was beautiful.
The fog really added to the dramatics of this hike. We passed very few people but the trail was perfect.
The sun was beginning to set as we were getting closer to the end. As the sun was setting my legs began to walk faster, I was scared a mountain lion was going to eat me so Derrick was chasing me to the end! We had headlamps, but we made it out just as it started to get a little too dark.
That was a great hike to end our weekend trip to the redwoods! If you didn't know, the northern redwoods, the sequoia redwoods in southern California, and the redwoods in China are the only 3 areas in the world where these big trees grow! If you haven't seen them, you need to! You can also view the map (click here) of our trip that includes all of the places I've mentioned so that you can plan your own trip!
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