On the way to California - Part lll

Coming to you from the floor of our Gilroy estate. A town house sandwiched between two other town houses. No yard, no garage, no color. Safe to say I am looking forward to getting our furniture and boxes on Friday. I think that having our things around will help the mood around these parts.

Anyway, when I blogged last we were in Grants Pass Oregon, a cute little timber town in the southern part of the state with a slight meth problem, but what town doesn't these days?







After my Grandfather passing that morning there was no question that we had to visit the old forest. So we skedaddled out of town and headed down the Redwood highway in to California. This drive was surprisingly similar to the drive south from Prince George to Williams Lake. Dense forest, big trucks, birch trees, that sort of thing. It wasn't long though before that all changed and we found ourselves driving through a forest of giants. The Redwood forest. We drove through a grove that was nothing less than magical. We did sort of wonder if there were ewoks lurking about but we didn't see any, just the way they like it...









After the first grove you pop out that the ocean. We stopped and got some sightseeing advice and a map from the visitors center and then set out to see more big trees and picnic on the ocean cliffs. We couldn't really take any trails or hikes because of the car full of animals even though we did run into a lovely hippy with a dog named Stoneylove who didn't seem to care about the "no dogs on the trails" rule. Oh well.







Our drive took us a short distance to Eureka CA. We decided to stay the night there and continue on the Redwood Highway south in the morning. The hotel in Eureka was by far the worst room on the trip. It's not really a non-smoking room if the people on either side of you are smoking and possibly the maid while she was cleaning our room. It stunk! And why do hotels think it's ok to provide you with a crib but not a sheet for the crib? Would they provide you with a bed that doesn't have sheets? I'm just saying. Come on!



We had a crappy buffet of whatever was left in the cooler and some stuff Richard picked up at Safeway and went to bed.



The next morning was the beginning of day 4 and we had all had enough of the car. There was a little testiness on my part. I really just needed a real breakfast and the option of drinking my whole cup of coffee before it went cold in the cup holder of the car. The universe must have heard our desire for solace and directed us to find the natural food co-op. Richard and I toured the isles, drinking our coffees and loading up on goodies like sweet potato corn chips, fresh salsa and cookies. I had roasted organic veggies for breakfast and all was good again.

We thought that we were done with the giant trees and I was sad about that. I really wanted more. As we drove down the 101 we happened upon something called "Avenue of the Giants" our second chance to experience the redwoods. We stopped a few more times for short walks into the forest, a tear or two was shed for my lovely grandfather who's spirit is much like an old tree.










We filled ourselves with Giant tree energy and coasted down the 101, with one more stop at the ocean before heading toward San Francisco.







The GPS took us over the Golden Gate (through the $6 toll) and into the heart of the city. We drove up the steepest road ever! I thought the car might tip backwards but it didn't - phew!





Of course our day of traveling took us in to the city at rush hour. So for what should have been a 45 minute drive to San Jose took us about 2 hours. We arrived in Gilroy just after 6:30 pm to find, upon our first searches, no pet-friendly hotels apart from the first crappy place we had to leave on our house-hunting trip. When in doubt, go to the grocery store, that what we always say. So, we went to Trader Joe's for nourishment and called around to a few other places. By this point I was having a pretty hard time coming to terms with the whole fact that we had just moved. So while I prepared myself for a horrid night of sleeping in the car, Richard, who thankfully has a more hearty and positive soul than I, found a hotel. Yes we did have an apartment to go to but we arrived too late to pick up the keys and we didn't have any of our creature comforts, like internet and a bed, so we opted for one more hotel room. In the morning we took our time, packed up and headed over to our new place.
It was a sunny and warm day and we had arrived to our new life in California.

On the way to California - part ll

After a rough night of not really sleeping we roused oursleves out of bed to pouring Portland rain. I waisted 6 dollars on crappy espresso, and stopped for some diapers and a new baby blanket since the other one sort of landed in the cat littler box. If I could post photos you'd see why. The car practically explodes with stuff when you open the door.

We did have one major errand to run while in Portland. A visit with Sweetpea bikes to pick up my custom frame! A gift from Richard. I can't wait to post photos from this visit. Natalie, who is Sweetpea, is one of those people you just want to be friends with. We talked for a while in her shop and left with the frame, a hat and a t-shirt. I wish we were moving to Portland but I have a feeling we'd turn into sweetpea stickers.

It wasn't long before we were on the road heading south. Past Salem, past Eugene and into uncharted territory. Seems
Like we couldn't have picked a better time of year to do this drive. The landscape is abundant with majectic rolling green hills surrounded by mountains coated in fall colors. We saw enormous grassy fields filled with wooly cream colored sheep.

We thought that we might push on through to Eureka but upon arriving in Grants Pass the call of a king size bed and a TV remote was strong and we stopped for the night.

We ate chicken tacos for dinner and fell asleep early while watching The Devil Wears Prada.

Emmett was up few times in the night. We have been running to get him when he cries or wakes at night so we don't disturb the other hotel guests. I have a feeling we're going to have a few rough nights in store when we finally get into our apartment.

I woke this morning to a call from my mother. She called to tell me that my grandfather had passed away about around 6am. He wasn't doing very well and I had been to see him a few days ago with my sister. He held and kissed my hand. There was a sense that this would be our last visit. It was bittersweet. He was 91 and he will be missed. Today we'll visit the old-growth Redwoods as we pass into California. I'm sure that standing among the beauty of thos big trees will be a good place to remember a grandfather and to say goodbye.


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On the way to California - part 1

First off let me apologise for the lack of photos. I haven't yet reached that level of technology while on the road.

I am typing this from Portland Oregon. It's our first stop on our way to what awaits in Cali. We haven't decided yet if we are going to take 3 days or 4 to get to Gilroy. We have a fantasy about going to see the Redwoods and taking the 101 down the coast to San Jose but with a baby, a cat and the big yellow dog a more direct route might win out.

Today went ok. We got some "pills" for Chester, they didn't exactly work like a charm but the spring wasn't as tightly wound.

We arrived in Portland to the wrong La Quinta so we had to back track a bit to get to the hotel. Then we had to sneek the cat into the room because while they are pet friendly here that only extends to one animal and Chester is pretty hard to hide.

Richard is at safeway getting something that will pass for dinner, the cat and the dog are snoring on the queen size bed beside me and Emmett is finally asleep in the pack'n play.

I am going to camp out in front of the TV and try not to think about how much I already miss my friends and family. See you at the end of tomorrow where I'll hopefully be blogging from Grants Pass.


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