Crescent City, California

It didn't take the kids and I long to get ourselves together and get back on the road.  One quick stop for some fancy coffee drinks (travel day tradition...any excuse for some caffeine, ya'll!) and we set our sights south...back to California!  Say whaaaat???  California?  After all that talk about seeing Oregon?  Hahaha...yes, California was calling to us that morning.  So we went :)!  Why not, right?  Right.  So anyway, away we went all caffeined up down to Crescent City, California.

Just so ya'll know, we weren't just aimlessly going around in circles.  We did actually have a destination in mind in Crescent City.  I have mentioned before that we really enjoy the National Parks Junior Ranger program and the kids have collected quite a few badges from our travels around the country (around 200 at last count!).  We spent a good chunk of time the day before in Redwood National Park, but the visitor center in the forest was closed for the season.  With Dan and Trevor off on the Chetco for the day, the 4 younger kids and I decided to zip back down into California for some junior rangering at the Crescent City Redwood NP visitor center.

The visitor center was fun, the rangers all friendly and cheerful.  We learned even more about the park and the history of the area...banana slugs, fire activated pine cones, and the gigantic earthquake/tsunami of 1964...

that blue line just above the boys heads...tsunami high water mark {{shiver}}

Only a block or so away was a really nice waterfront park.  We headed over there next to check out the Crescent Harbor...

From there, we noticed a lighthouse in the distance.  I just love lighthouses, so of course we had to get a closer look :)...

We got close and then realized that it sits on an island!  How neat is that??!  There is a road leading to it and it is actually open to the public...but only at low tide :).  We would just have to be content with viewing from afar on this day (some interesting history about the light here)...

With our path to the light cut off, we turned back around towards the harbor.  There was a fishing pier that grabbed our attention so we headed thatta way next.  What we saw over there...WHOA.  There was a real strange fella out there communing with his bird brethren.  Ahem.  Yeah, for real...

Bird Man standing near his camper...

We watched as a car drove by... not really fast, but fast enough that it scared away all "his birds" and he completely FREAKED out.  Screaming, wailing, all manner of carrying on.  We eased on by real slow when he wasn't looking (eeek!)...

...that poor woman looked too scared to move ;)

Before leaving the harbor, we made one last stop over on the far side.  There is a little restaurant that looks out over the water (and the seals swimming, boats coming and going) so we decided to grab some lunch.  The food was just ok, the view however was awesome...so overall it was a good lunch.  Not great, but good. 

When we were in the vc, the ranger told us about a place we could go to maybe see some elk.  Elk at the beach?  Say no more :)!  Even though it would take us further south into California (the opposite direction we were supposed to be going), we just had to go check it out...

...aaaannnnd boom.  Fog bank. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the fog and mist.  It's a part of what makes the west coast what it is (and oh so pretty).  Fog is nice when you are walking on the beach or just hanging out, but not for spotting elk (or anything else).  So...we went just a bit farther and decided to turn around and head back.  We were driving along and out of the corner of my eye...something brown!  Screech!  Baaaaack up...it was a field full of elk!  Well how about that :)...

Brookings, Oregon

For me, going to the coast is going home.  It doesn't matter if I have never before been to that particular spot...salt water, sea breeze, waves...combined they send a welcome right down to my very soul.  It's true...

I like other kinds of places, too.  Some very much.  Mountains, deserts, bayous, even the rolling plains are all nice and places that I enjoy.  But the ocean is my very favorite...

On this particular day, we ended up in Brookings, Oregon, and all I can say is "wow!"...

We had no reservations, just figuring out each day as we went.  The place we stumbled upon in Brookings ranks as one of my all time favorites for the VIEW:

After checking in, we headed straight for the edge of the sea...

that boy and his sticks <3

Black rocks means black sand, so pretty!...

The promise of a seafood dinner lured us away from the water and back into the car for the short drive to town.  We found a tiny little hole-in-the-wall and filled it halfway up with our crew of kiddos :).  The food was great and the service was even better...they were super nice, even gave the kids free ice creams for dessert.  I just love small towns with heart :).

Back we went to our room on the ocean.  The kids changed into their swimsuits and we walked over to their outdoor heated swimming pool.  It felt so luxurious to be outside, swimming and enjoying the beautiful night when we had left behind freezing temps and snow back east and north.

Happy and tired, we fell asleep to the oceans lullaby...we left the sliding door open and it was wonderful.  I don't think I have ever slept as good as I did that night.  A bonus?  I was up with the sun the next morning (never happens without an alarm and lots of groaning, haha)...

The sky was so pretty and pink, I snuck out of bed and enjoyed it all by myself on the balcony while the kids snoozed on...

As soon as they were up and dressed they took over for me on the balcony.  Soaking in the beautiful view...

I was up early, but I wasn't the first one up.  Dan and Trevor slipped out while it was still dark and headed off to go salmon fishing on the Chetco River.  They hired a guide for the day and away they went... **these are Dan's pictures from their day on the river**

The other four kids and I had the day to do with as we pleased...I tell ya'll all about it next time ;)!