One Last Day

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Our last day in California! I'm not going to lie; I'm excited to be heading home to a soft bed. That, and my stomach hasn't been right since the whale watch hell tour. Still, it's so beautiful here, I know I'll miss it.

Yesterday, Andrew and I walked along Grizzly Creek and skipped some stones and found a few frogs and tadpoles. The swimming area of the creek looked too fun, so we hiked back to our campsite and got on our swimsuits to enjoy a swim. In the end, Andrew's the one who enjoyed it. The water was so cold and teeming with fish, so I sat on the banks in the sun after the first 20 minutes.

After our swimming adventure, I headed to the visitor's area to try to find a book. I was looking for something light, but there wasn't much selection (obviously; we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere!). I settled on a spooky collection of campfire stories. It ended up being a good choice because Andrew and I took turns reading them to each other around the campfire all evening. The night was clear, but we weren't able to stay up late enough to catch a glimpse of the meteors. Ah well, the joy of drinking hot chocolate and reading scary stories to each other more than made up for that.

We have quite the drive ahead of us today. We'll drive south through the redwood forests on the Redwood Highway and continue south through Santa Rosa and into San Francisco, where we'll catch our flight. Today is actually my day to drive, and it'll be my first time driving through the crazy streets of the city. Andrew is my navigator. Of all the directions I printed before the trip, the ones I forgot were our directions from the state park to San Francisco Airport's Alamo car rental. Oops. Well, I have Andrew, a good sense of direction, and a trusty map of northern California. Thankfully, our flight isn't until 8pm, so we have more than enough time to get lost and find our way back.

In summation of our trip, I'd like to say that the California coast is so beautiful, it's just much colder than either of us imagined. The drive through Big Sur and the seals were one highlight of the trip. I'd have to say the next best part was driving through Napa Valley, where we finally got to feel some sun and enjoy the golden, rolling hillls of California. Even San Francisco was worth seeing once, with its brillant architecture and captivating tours of Alcatraz. Still, I'll be glad when San Francisco is behind me, and my drive through it isn't looming in my future.

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Photos

Grizzly Creek Redwood State Park
Hiking along Grizzly Creek.

Andrew on the Rocks
Andrew climbed over the creek rocks trying to spot some wildlife and frogs. It worked; we saw quite a few.

Ribbit
This guy is much smaller than he appears in this photo. Really, he was teeny tiny.

Our Last Night
Here we are in our jammies, enjoying our last night in California by the campfire. We read spooky campfire stories and drank hot chocolate, but we crashed out before the meteors came.

We Found San Francisco!
Yup, that's me driving on the Golden Gate Bridge.