Almost But Not Quite!

When we left Willamette Mission on Jan. 2 we were excited about going down the coast to the Redwoods and Point Reyes in route to El Capitan State Beach to visit with Jacque, Terry's sister.  I'd done a little planning before Christmas but not much.  On this trip 'not much' was not enough!!

I hadn't calculated the mileage between our first overnight and the Redwood Parks.  Eager to be on the road we were traveling well before daylight and in a very short time we entered the Redwood National and State Parks area.  It was so dark that we never saw a full tree.  We did get the first light on the ocean as we left the park area.  A view worth a stop!

Eventually we got to another small section of the Redwoods and could see a few along the highway.  Soon an exit for a Visitor Center caught our eye and I searched for our National Park Passport Book to add a new stamp.  It was great to find plenty of room for us and our 22 ft. trailer in the small parking lot.  The lot was empty because the Visitor Center opened at 9 am and it was 8:15.  Oh well, maybe we can find another Center.

Sure enough, before long we saw another sign and I grabbed my Passport Book again.  Much to my dismay the Visitor Center was a State Park not a National Park.  So no stamp again!  We will return and spend more time in this beautiful area of California and I'll get that stamp first thing!

Our second night we had planned for Point Reyes National Seashore, but I hadn't checked the National Park website before leaving.  A 'MUST DO' before any such visit.  When I did check it there were 2 alerts posted.  Access roads were closed following the huge storms they had and when open vehicle traffic was not allowed to the lighthouse and beach due to the influx of whale watchers in January that required limited hours of bus service.  Trying to work around both of those alerts made us decide to skip that part of our agenda.   We'll try again another year!

Our change in plans gave us a chance to arrive earlier at El Capitan State Beach in the Santa Barbara area and to have more time with Jacque.  Terry and Jacque enjoyed a nice visit and admired the view.  Jacque brought taco fix ins and even her own chair.  What a fine evening!!

The sunset just topped it off!

We had trouble composing and sending blogs on our way home in the tiny Teardrop, so I will write up our travels from home and send a few in the coming weeks.  Our last travel day, Thursday, was a panic rush to beat the coming snow and ice storm.  We made it and so did the ice on Friday.