We woke up to a rainy morning & tasty breakfast at the hotel. After picking up our rental car we hit the road. Even through the rain & fog the view was awesome. 
I was glad to not be one of the tourists walking across the bridge that morning! 
I didn't realize what a animal junkie I am until we were on this trip. I was giddy to see a few deer in the field next to the road. Then I was excited to see the cows, goats, sheep, horses, & llamas that followed. I felt like such a city girl! We didn't see any grain farming the entire trip but there was a good deal of livestock even in the very mountainous areas. 
We decided to take Highway 1 which run right along the coast... and I mean right along the coast. I loved seeing the ocean, the cliffs, the mountain towns creep up around the turns. But since I can barely ride the carousel at the mall without feeling woozy, I was NOT a fan of the hairpin turns every 20 seconds for 5 hours. Blegh. I seriously just wanted off the ride! Darren was so focussed on driving & I so focussed on not tossing my cookies, we had to stop often to make sure to enjoy the beauty. :P
We ate at this BBQ place in a cute little town along the way with a gorgeous view of the ocean. I'm pretty sure I saw a school?/flock?/herd?/pack?/swarm? of sea lions bopping out there. 
We drove up the hill to Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church. That was the same name as our National Honor Society chapter in high school, but I had never heard it elsewhere, so we had to check it out. Not exactly what I was expecting but interesting anyway. It also doubled as an Episcopal church on the weekends... but as Shepherd of the Sea. ;)
This was the beginnings of our "Wow Trip". I found myself exclaiming "Wow!" over & over & over again without even thinking. God bless Darren took it all in stride though I'm sure I was driving him nuts! I just couldn't help it. The beauty that surrounded us was such a witness of God's Love & Power to me.
After 5 long hours on the coast we finally veered off in the mountains & saw our first redwoods.
I just had to hug a tree... for my dad. ;)
The dead trees were almost as fascinating as the live ones. Their root systems are incredible & the plants that grow ON them after they fall are lush. Ferns, clover, & smaller trees are everywhere.
I wish you could appreciate the grandeur of looking up at 350 foot trees with a photo. Hard to capture with a camera.
Yep, standing INSIDE of a tree.
We made it to our stop for a few days around 5:00. The Myers Inn in Myers Flat became our home for the next few days. It was a cute little bed & breakfast run by a young family. In their five they had kids that corresponded almost directly in age to our three. It made me ache to give Teresa a squeeze by the second day. They were so sweet.
This crazy plant was growing in the back yard below our balcony. It was HUGE! Looks like a zucchini plant to me, but I think one would feed the whole county.
Myers Flatt boasts the finest dining in the area at The Groves restaurant which was right down the street from our bed & breakfast. We were hoping to give it a try for our anniversary, but turns out they are closed on Tuesdays & Wednesdays... the only two days we were in town. Instead we ventured back down the road to Miranda where we enjoyed some much simpler but tasty food at the Avenue Cafe. I totally felt like I was back in Humphrey! 
After a little sight-seeing around Miranda & along the Avenue of the Giants on our way back, we decided to go "home" to relax. This little market across the street was the liveliest place in town! View was pretty awesome, though. The low clouds always made the mountains seem like a dream.
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