It's been a whole month since I've started my Great American Road Trip, which is pretty hard to believe! That also means that it's been over a month since I've started my blog, which means somehow, I got lost in my adventure and skipped a week. Sorry guys! I'm currently residing in sunny Los Angeles/Irvine and Milo and I are beating the almost 100-degree heat by hanging out in our friend Kolby's house. The past couple weeks since I last posted have truly been an amazing and action-packed blur, so I'll split these experiences into two posts and recap from the beginning:
I last left off writing when I was in Cannon Beach, Oregon, enjoying the quaint seaside town. I arrived in Cannon Beach in the evening and Milo and I explored the beach for a little before finding a spot to eat dinner. We drove to the nearby town of Seaside to check out the town and I got a bowl of the famous Mo's Chowder, which was the first of many chowders I've had along the coast this week. I parallel parked Valencia (the van) for the first time and my driving confidence soared through the roof! Val and I are definitely getting to know each other a lot more. Milo and I drove a bit south and camped at Nehalem Bay State Park for the night, which was beautiful but VERY packed. We spent the next day in Cannon Beach as well, browsing the shops and hanging out on the beach. Milo even made a few frenchie friends! I also discovered that Milo loves to chase and attack the ocean waves, which definitely made for a spectacle on the public beach. My favorite thing that I learned about Cannon Beach was that puffins live on Haystack Rock (pictured above), the famed rock feature of the beach, from April through early July. I didn't spot any but I love the idea of returning during those months and photographing the puffins. That night, Milo and I stayed at a Harvest Host in Tillamook, a town about an hour south of Cannon Beach. And yes, this town IS the birthplace of the Tillamook cheese company. We stayed at the Tillamook Factory's neighbor, Blue Heron French Cheese Company, which was an awesome experience. Blue Heron has a huge plot of land for campers, which about 25 other RVs utilized at the same time as me, so I had lots of friendly neighbors. I also bought some tasty brie and crackers and had myself a solo charcuterie party to end the night.
The following day, Milo and I drove 5 hours from northern Oregon to southern Oregon. The plan was to explore Crater Lake National Park that day, but we were tired from the long drive and opted to settle in to another Harvest Host location, Hummingbird Estate, for the night. I sat at the vineyard's restaurant and enjoyed a wine flight paired with some beautiful live music, which made for a perfect, laid-back night before my next day of adventure. We got up bright and early in the morning to drive to Crater Lake National Park, Oregon's only national park and the deepest lake in the United States. I drove the scenic loop through the park and took pictures of the many beautiful lakeside overlooks (pictured above), but I still had a drive to California planned for the day, so I didn't hike or take any long detours. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my short time spent in the park and plan to swim in the lake next time! I'll definitely have to go back!
After we left Crater Lake, Milo and I drove around 6 hours to sunny California, my 10th state of the road trip. When we arrived in the small seaside town of Trinidad (pictured above), the marine layer was quite thick and chilly, which was a much-welcomed relief from the heat wave that Milo and I have experienced throughout our trip. We searched for a few campsites with no success (most California campsites during this post-pandemic summer are PACKED and have been booked out for months in advance) before settling on a rest stop just off of the highway. This was one of the most beautiful places we've spent the night on our trip, and I paid nothing for it! Redwoods loomed over lush ferns and marine fog rolled throughout the campsite, keeping the temperature nice and cool. I found this place thanks to iOverlander, which is definitely a must if you camp out of your car. The next morning, Milo and I went for a stroll through Trinidad and grabbed a coffee at Trinidad Bay Eatery and Gallery before heading to Redwood National Park, our seventh national park of the trip. We strolled around the "Big Tree" wayside, which offered views of some of the tallest trees I've ever seen, including the famed 1500 year old "Big Tree." Next, Milo napped in the car while I hiked the Fern Canyon trailhead, which was just over one mile but offered extremely lush and beautiful scenery (1st picture below). Ferns covered the walls of the canyon and waterfalls and rivers flowed through the greenery, making for a breathtaking scene. I even spotted some banana slugs on the ferns! The drive to the trailhead was the most difficult part of the hike, and consisted of winding roads with extreme bumps, potholes, and rivers that Valencia handled very well. Despite those difficulties, Fern Canyon was definitely my favorite place in the Redwood area. Lastly, Milo and I stopped by the visitor center so I could make him an official Bark Ranger. If you haven't heard of this, click this link because it's definitely worth the read if you bring your pets to national parks! I was very excited for Milo to get his ranger tag before we headed off to drive through the Avenue of the Giants, a scenic drive through towering redwood forests. Our final destination for the night was Fort Bragg, and I was able to refill Val's water tank and take a nice, coin-operated shower in Caspar Beach RV Park and Campground, our home for the night. Milo also got to meet lots of other dogs, including a few frenchies. After a good night's sleep, Milo and I got up early in the morning to explore Fort Bragg's Glass Beach, a beach that contains what seems like millions of pieces of tumbled sea glass (2nd picture below). The beach was a dump site until 1967, and the remnants of the trash from that dump site became beautiful seaside treasures. However, it is illegal to remove glass from the beach because although it is tempting, the sea glass is slowly diminishing due to tourists' desire to take some as a keepsake. Despite this, Glass Beach is definitely a must-visit for anyone in Northern California! Milo and I grabbed some coffee at A Frame Expresso before heading to our next destination; Bowling Ball Beach. On this section of Schooner Gulch State Park (3rd and 4th pictures below), at low tide, the shore reveals dozens of almost-perfectly circular stones, or "bowling balls." These stones are the result of millions of years of concretion and erosion and are a very rare phenomenon that occurs in a few other select places around the world. I arrived when the tide was still somewhat high due to my set itinerary, and I was able to see a few of the bowling ball rocks emerge from the surface of the water. It was about midday, and Milo and I were the only ones on the beach, which was incredible, especially for California. I would love to go back around sunset someday, when the bowling balls are all visible, and photograph them in all their glory. Milo and I continued to drive along the scenic Highway 1 all the way until we reached San Francisco.
Thanks again to iOverlander, I was able to find a free place to park in SF overnight with incredible views of the Golden Gate Bridge (pictured below). Milo and I slept until late the next morning despite all the car and foot traffic at the rest stop, and we decided to brunch at Zazie in the Corona Heights area of San Francisco (side note: I parallel parked Valencia on a hill in San Francisco and was very proud of myself). If you know me, you know that I'm obsessed with eggs benedict, so of course I have to try them at every brunch place that I go, and Zazie's "Divorcee" benedict did not disappoint. Afterward, Milo and I explored the area, which was a very charming and trendy area of SF, and hung out at a local dog park for a little bit. Then, we decided to check out the Palace of Fine Arts, which is a gorgeous Greco-Roman style building with lots of wildlife in its surrounding lagoon. Milo and I circled the building and took a few pictures before we headed to Ghirardelli Square to meet my friend Nicole for some ice cream and shopping. If you've never tried a Ghirardelli sundae, you're missing out! After our pre-dinner ice cream, Nicole and I drove Valencia to the airport to pick up Radiance, another friend of ours who joined me for my trip along the California coast. Then, the three of us headed back into the city for some late night sushi from Flying Ninja. Finally, to close out our busy day, Radiance, Nicole, and I drove to Nicole's house in San Jose and spent the night there.
Radiance and I stayed up late trying to figure out the pop-up tent atop Valencia (fitting two people into the van when I've been used to being on my own was a bit of a challenge the first night, but we made it work!), so we were slow-moving the next morning. We showered at Nicole's house and then went on our way toward Santa Cruz, our next stop. The boardwalk was hot and filled with people, so we only spent a bit of time there before moving inward and checking out some local stores. We grabbed ice cream at The Penny Ice Creamery and Milo made friends at Flower Bar before we stumbled upon the Santa Cruz Farmer's Market. I was pleasantly surprised by all the cute crystal shops that Santa Cruz had to offer. Radiance's and my favorite one was Om Gallery, and we dropped a pretty penny there on some road trip essentials; crystals and water bottle stickers. Our evening was quite a unique one; we found a free place to park just off the road among farmlands in Watsonville and we streamed Shrek 2 from my phone while eating quesadillas for dinner. Radiance, who had never been camping before, truly got thrown headfirst into vanlife and took it like a champ. After being rattled back and forth by passing semi trucks all night, Radiance and I made our way to our favorite place in the world; Carmel, California. I'll let you know more about our adventures there in my next blog, which will be out much sooner than this one!
Thanks for being patient as I try to find places with wifi and attempt to sit still for longer than an hour to work on these blogs! I'm having a lot of fun with them, and I hope you're all having just as much fun reading them! For now, I'll leave you with this quote because I've been traveling by and appreciating the ocean a lot lately:
“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” – Jacques Cousteau
Until next time! - Elle
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