Looking back at my notes for this day I had to ask Catherine “Why does it say Spilly Morning, delayed departure?” She reminded me of all the cleanups we had to do on top of trying to leave and how it completely thwarted our intention for early on the road. This morning also led to permanent disassembly of the dinette. They say don’t cry over spilled milk but sometimes you do. While the morning was tricky to say the least when did eventually get on the road it was a pretty good first leg of our drive into California as we headed for the Giant Sequoias on Ave. of the Giants. The drive along the coast was stunning and this part of Oregon had some of the nicest seaside towns on the route. We stopped north of Brookings at Harris Beach. As we followed the road to the parking we saw there was a steep hill, small lot and not a lot of turn around for the truck/trailer. We opted to park at the top of the hill, much less congested, but a hike down to the beach. We loaded the wagon and got to it. The sand was so hot and we were all sweating as we pulled our gear across the beach. We set up for a picnic of chicken caesar wraps and as we did the boys compelled one of us to be on water watch. The waves were big and crashing and fun and they couldn’t resist. We could tell though that the water came up high and fast and so it was a bit stressful. We tried to keep them to a certain depth and modest submersion but quickly lost the plot. So, in one of us went with them. We all left somewhat soaked and covered in sand. The shower was occupied by another clan in the same boat and we all struggled to get kids de-sanded as much as possible. Mostly gave up on this and then the climb up the hill was on. I set off with Russ and miraculously kept him motivated and ahead of me. He likes to lollygag along so him to the top of a big hill first was worth celebrating and so we shared a Coke! The rest of the crew joined us and we changed and dusted off before setting off again.

The pit stop was 2 hours, a bit longer than anticipated. We needed fuel so stopped for gas and Catherine darted across the street to DQ for some dilly bars for the kids and a couple of the best caffeinated ice cream drinks I’ve ever had. This picked us all up and we were quickly crossing into California where they actually are stopping to make sure you aren’t bringing fruit in. After being waved over to an open checkpoint lane, the most pointed question we got from the officer was if we brought her one! Quickly on our way again, the miles dragged on a bit and feet needed to be put up. So much so, trees were looking like feet?

Eureka! was still a solid hour from our destination and now the day was getting long. We finally hit Avenue of the Giants but missed the correct way and had to backtrack 20 minutes. Some added stress that melted away as we moved through some of the most magnificent trees in the world and arrived at our campground. It was all ready for the Henry 6 and were ready for it.

As I parked the boys clamoured over around and in the amazing giants around them and even made a friend, Raymond. They proudly exclaimed, “Our first American friend!” As twilight trickled through the Giants’ arms the last of the day trailed into a beautiful full moon night that dropped amazing shadows through the forest. We did s’mores and Raymond was happy to join us at the fire for this. Redwoods did not disappoint for our arrival.

We started off with another great camping breakfast from the BBQ, this time sausages and pancakes, and again not morsel left behind. I had found out that there would be an interpretive presentation about owls and so we set off to the visitor centre where we learned about owls, dissected their pellets and discovered a lot about the local flora and fauna.

This was just the beginning of a jam packed day that saw us venture back north up the coastal highway about 20 miles. First stop was the historic Hecate lighthouse, one of a half dozen or so that were set up along the Oregon coast in the late 19th century to aid in the shipping and development on the west coast. Hecate was built in 1894 and still has glass and a working light! We hiked up the hill from the parking lot at sea level, along the same trail that the materials were hauled to build the place more than a century ago. The kids were quite interested in the history and the cost of the specially constructed glass.

After setting up our briefcase picnic table (such a wicked item!) to have sandwiches and Fanta for lunch beach side at the lighthouse stop we ventured back toward Florence and a stop at the biggest sea cave in the US. The cave is also home to a large group of resident sea lions that hunt off the cliff sides and make the place home. It is a wondrous place that you access by taking an elevator 300ft through the rock to cave level. The boys were thrilled to observe and explore and Dominic remarked “its like WE are in the zoo”

After losing the argument about buying popcorn from the gift shop above, we departed the salty air with our salty snack, and I’m glad I lost this argument. From here we cruised quickly as we could back toward our campground and the dune buggy tour we had booked. This tour had been on the agenda for the boys since before leaving Dawson Creek and while they all wanted to ride/drive their own, we compromised and got on the big blue buggy tour! The tour came with guided commentary from the driver and some unexpected harassment by an over hydrated local on their quad but our driver was good and safe and fun! I learned that when the pacific highway was first a thing that the beach was used at low tide for fast commuting and to this day has a speed limit of 25 miles an hour.

This was a phenomenal day and when we returned to camp everyone wanted to write or draw about it and we chilled with some camping food and drink. Dom plucked away at his uke and everyone relaxed. We still didn’t want to leave without hitting up Cleawox Lake for some dune running into the water, swimming, and splashing about. They say don’t dig in the sand and someone had…unfortunately Dom found the hole and biffed it pretty good. He was briefly winded but okay and we carried on our run into the water!

Some brief organizing and tidying by the fire and we poured ourselves into bed to be up and ready to hit the road for the California Redwoods.

We woke up with no miles to make and a couple days of adventuring before us in the sand dunes of Jessie M. Honeyman State Park. So we decided to start with some awesome BBQ cooked bacon and egg breakfast sandwiches. Having being able to connect to cellular data at our campsite and do some research the night before, we made a plan to combat the stinky water problem that was occurring with the trailer. It was divide and conquer and so Catherine hiked off with the boys to go explore the sand dunes while I went into Florence to seek out vinegar.

Climbing the dunes and keeping track of everyone in what is a surprisingly vast and definitely unpredictable landscape is a big effort for one parent.

I did my best to complete my task as efficiently as possible. However, not without delay…I realized the vinegar I bought was labelled distilled and I had no idea if this was the regular strength for vinegar in the US or Canada. My phone, not connected to the internet, meant that I went back into town to see if there was anything different. There was not. I returned with more of the same vinegar available and continued on the task of pumping it into the hot water tank and water lines. I was still completing this task when everyone returned for lunch. Catherine confirmed that the vinegar I was using was similar to any vinegar available and so I finished the job.

We had lunch as quickly as possible and let the lines and tank sit while we went to play at the fresh water lake at the bottom of one of the dunes nearby. This was an amazing experience with running down the dune into the water and some good swimming in the lake. Despite the cooler air and cloud cover it was still amazing and we had to force kids out of the water despite some shivers.

On the return to camp the boys performed at the campground amphitheatre, which was amazing, and as I learned later the second performance of the day.

After dinner it was back to the dunes and I got to experience the joy of running down the dunes! The goal I found was to take as big a high, loping steps as you can and then it feels like you are running on the moon. Very, very, fun!

We rounded out our day by settling by a campfire and roasting marshmallows for s’mores. The water smell was corrected in the trailer and we decided to bypass the hot water tank for the rest of the trip.