Thursday

Thursday Blog

Thursday morning. I think most of us rolled out of bed without a wake up call. See how good we’re getting? ;) Taking down camp was done in record time…or at least we like to think so. We ate a breakfast of cereal and bread and of course the rest of our fruit. You can’t take fruit into California.

Hopping into our new vehicle arrangement made by Darren, we headed out. Cya Oregon, hello California! The drive took us back through Gold Beach and Crescent City on highway 101. Down the coast we traveled. We all saw the waves in a new light, ooing and awing over their size, wishing we were back in the water trying to catch them. What a great sight, seeing the wave build up so high the top rolls over into a foaming white spray then travels until it crashes into the shore. Sigh J

The drive was really beautiful as we passed through redwoods that go so high you can’t see the tops out the van window. Quite unbelievable…you really do feel miniature! The sight takes your breath away. Any pictures we took just didn’t do justice, sorry. You’ll just have to go see them for yourselves.

We stopped to have a better look at them near a town called Leggit where you could drive THROUGH a tree! Awesome hey?! J 33 degrees forced many to buy ice cream at the little store there and search for cold water in the coolers.

 There was a poem that was inscribed onto a sign there that I thought was really neat. We hope we got all the words right from off the picture. Here it goes:

Here sown by the Creator’s hand

In serried ranks the redwoods stand.

No other clime is honoured so

No other lands their glory know.

The greatest of earth’s living forms

Tall conquerors that laugh of storms.

Their challenge still unanswered rings

Through fifty centuries of kings.

This is their temple vaulted high

And here we pause with reverent eye

With silent tongue and awestruck soul

For here we sense life’s proper goal.

To be like these straight true and fine

To make our world like theirs a shrine

Sink down oh traveler on your knees

God stands before you in these trees.

Beautiful hey? J Hope you enjoyed that as much as we did.

After the great redwood forests we passed into the wineries and orchards of California. The hillsides are covered in dried grass, while the green trees and orchards contrast. This area is quite mountainous, hilly, sandy and rocky. Beyond the mountains to the east is the infamous Napa Valley. We stopped for one last coffee break just outside Santa Rosa, then headed to our new campground.

We rolled into the KOA campground in Petaluma around 7:30. We set up camp, and did some laundry for a $1.25 a load. Nuts eh? Sadly they charge you for everything here…but not internet or showers. Hurray! J We are in the group site again, enjoying the moo garbage cans :P There’s a pool, a hot tub, a rec hall, bouncy mat, a petting zoo, and the essential facilities.

We had a nice hot supper of stew and garlic and cheese buns. Delicious! Janine did devotions to close the evening. All for now. Stay tuned for tomorrows adventures in San Francisco! :D

[By Kait]