Day 8: Big Trees and Old Town Eureka

---

---

Started the day out with a run again. I ran through a cemetery and down to the riverside again. I intended to run 6 miles, but did 4 once again I was scared by the homeless people on the trail. After breakfast we were off to do one more brake checking at the Bri and Pete. The brakes were no longer squealing and working well, which is a good thing as we were headed out on a long journey to Vegas the next day.



Wanting to see more sights we took the kids to Lady Bird Johnson a grove of coastal redwoods. Tim and I had viewed this majestic sight when we came here in March. The kids lacked luster for seeing the sights and I wondered if aliens or maybe zombies kidnapped my children. Our expression-less children wandered rapidly through the forest not caring to take in the beauty of the landscape. As we finished the park the kids unhappily posed on a bridge looking out at the forest. The lookout picture has been my theme of our trip.



On the way back to pick up laundry I spied a few elk grazing in a marsh on a lagoon. It made my day to see the wildlife alive. A pull off on the way back gave us an opportunity to step out on a beach. The kids refused to get out, so Tim and I enjoyed the view and I taped the sounds of the ocean waves crashing. A quick stop at a wood smith shop to pick up a redwood tree to take home and a look at amazing carvings, then off we went.



Poor Issy slept all the the way back to Bri's and did not get out of the car at her house. Her illness was still lingering and now with a cough. Hannah was sick. After our laundry was done, we said goodbye to Bri and Pete. Thanking them for their wonderful hospitality, then we headed to Eureka for a walk in Old Town.



After a 30 minute trek back to Eureka we reached the Old Town portion of town that housed a boardwalk and many little shops to walk through. Stopped at the boardwalk to get gelato and take in the views of the bay, then meandered through town.The shops we stopped at were gems, local artwork,local clothing store, and a vintage clothing store. The kids were still moody and wanted to go back to the car. On the way back I spotted a store they would all enjoy. It was a local chocolate shop. We let them pick out their own 1/2 pound of chocolate and finally all things seemed right with the world. They began to smile and talk again.



With our now happy kids we went back to the hotel for a nice swim. It was great! We raced and played for over an hour. Issac to my surprise was very fast and beat almost everyone. A little dip in the hot tub after our swim and back to our room to get ready for bed. Tim went for food and Hannah decided we should walk to the mall.



After a walk through a very nice Bayshore Mall and not buying anything it was back to the hotel for a nice dinner of Applebees appetizers. Before bed I wrote 1 more day of my blog, and then crashed with visions of the wonderful time in California.

---