Northern California

We spent eight days making our way up the remaining 400 miles of the California coast. Our first two days were spent in the National Recreation area Point Reyes, at a quaint hostel inside the 40,000 acre park. The coast in this area was the start of the transition from swimmer friendly beachfronts to a more organic feel with large rocks jutting out of the water and driftwood spotting the sand everywhere you looked.

We were hoping to stay near Sonoma where wine country surrounds you, but had trouble finding a campground that wasn't full. We spent the afternoon sipping wine at one of the local wineries in Sonoma, and headed out of town where we found a resort in the nearby town of Guerneville,CA that told us they would not turn away anyone during Lazy Bear weekend. After setting up our tent in the backyard of the resort we quickly realized that we were the only couple featuring one male and one female - Lazy Bear was a GLBT event. We had a good time and were able to take out one of the canoes the resort provided to patrons on the Russian River. As day turned into night we decided to avoid the hot tub which filled with naked men as the sun went down.

Our next stop was the Lost Coast, the only stretch of Highway 1 that doesn't hug the ocean due to the rocky and rugged terrain of the area. We camped in the King Range area for a couple days in a deserted campsite and enjoyed long hikes through the fog and mist on the black sands beach.

For years D & I have talked about taking a trip to see the majestic Redwoods. We finally made this bucket-list item a reality when we arrived at Humboldt Redwood State Park. There was a magical feeling as we walked through groves of Redwoods that were 2000 years old and towering over 300 feet tall.

As much as we would have loved to spend more time in the forest we were exhausted after camping for five straight days and needed some civilization. Luckily we found a good meal, a warm shower and floor to crash on in Arcata,CA near the boarder of Oregon. We were grateful to spend the night with Emily and Bill around the campfire during our last evening in California.