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Danny and I took a road trip last weekend. I’ve been wanting to go north to the redwoods and to the coast. Although it’s a long drive, I mapped out a route that would hit the highlights without requiring us to drive through the night.

We got up early on Saturday morning (8am), grabbed our stuff, said goodbye to the cats, gassed up ($2.65 a gallon) and hit the road. We drove north through SF, and then cut over west from Petaluma. We got to Bodega Bay and drove up to a cliff where you could supposedly see migrating whales. We didn’t see any whales but I wasn’t too surprised since it is almost the end of whale season.

Next, we drove up to Gualala and got some lunch. My plan was not to spend too much money on food, so we stopped at the local market. There was a sign next door that said “Mexican Food Bakery Pizza.” Hmmm..that doesn’t sound good. I mean, one thing is okay, but more than that and you have to expect that the quality is crappy. This was not the case. The pizza was fresh and the fish tacos were really good. I also grabbed some sort of cannoli from the bakery which was amazing. Yes, my vacations are all about food.

Next, we cruised on up to Ft. Bragg. We checked into our hotel around 4 and grabbed a fast nap before dinner. That evening, we drove down to Mendocino (5 miles south) and wandered around. The draw of Mendocino is that it’s a cute coastal town with the feel of a New England fishing village. It was definitely cute, but since it is the off-season, most places were closed and the streets were quiet. We did, however, find a great little pub where we got some chowder, pasta, homemade bread, and locally brewed beer.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the store to get some provisions for the next day. As a result of my drinking, I had a weird craving for Junior Mints. We also picked up a box of cheese nips and some gummi worms.

The next morning, we got up again, grabbed breakfast, and hit the road. Our plan was to drive about an hour and half north to the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt State Park. We drove up the coast for about 30 minutes before stopping at a beach. Most of the coastal highway runs along the top of a cliff, but this part dipped down to the shore. Seeing that this was a rare opportunity to wander around the beach without having to hike too far, I pulled off the road and parked in a little makeshift parking lot.

There were only about eight other people on the beach at that time. It was ten in the morning and it looked like they were other travelers stopping to walk their dogs and stretch their legs. It wasn’t as windy at this beach and there were some really cool rock formations sticking out of the sand. We climbed one and took turns getting photos. We also wandered around and explored some of the unusual plant and animal life that had washed up on the shore. The morning was clear and warm and it was the perfect time to be outside.

We hopped back in the car and cruised up the coast. Before we left on Friday, I got The Fellowship of the Rings on CD to listen to in the car. I’ve read it before but it’s been a really long time. Danny has only seen the movies. It was fun going deep in the redwoods while listening about how the hobbits were trapped in the haunted forest. It’s dorky, but you know me.

We pulled off the highway and began the “alternate route” that took us down the Avenue of the Giants. The Avenue runs along the Eel river and was the original path for carriages in the 1800s. It is now a one-lane paved road with small towns and a fair share of tourist attractions. The first place we stopped was the Chimney tree. It’s a tree that is hollow but the shell still grows. You can walk inside. It’s like a small cave. It was cool but not amazing. It was right next door to Hobbiton, USA. Basically, this is a nature trail with scenes made up of cement figures from the lord of the rings trilogy. It is cheesy, but cool. We only got to see the front of it because the trail doesn’t open until later this month. It was a bummer but I don’t think we missed too much.

Next, we stopped at the drive-thru tree. I’m sure you’ve seen it. It’s the redwood with a big hole cut in the base that you can drive through. Oh, and it is not free. We shelled out $3 to drive through. I’m glad we did it though. We got some fun pictures regardless. They also had some elaborate play houses built out of redwood tree trunks. We took a few minutes to climb around in those. I’m glad we didn’t get stuck.

Finally, we were nearing the end of the Avenue when I saw a cool place to pull over. A huge tree had fallen some time ago and the trunk was lying on it’s side by the road. We got out and hiked over to it. On its side, the tree trunk was much taller than either one of us. We walked down a nearby path and just stood and stared up at the enormous trees. I’ve seen a lot of trees since I’ve lived here but these were truly awe inspiring. The forest was cool and extremely quiet. It would have been nice to hike around a bit more, but it would have been too easy to get lost. The paths crossed each other and the woods were so dense that we couldn’t see the road or our car after walking for a minute. As Danny put it, it would be cool to just go out there with a gps device and do some exploring. Maybe next time.

The Avenue ended when it intersected the highway. Danny and I got on it and headed south. Our plan was to get lunch somewhere along the way. We needed something more to supplement our lunch of cheese nips, junior mints and gummies. I don’t usually eat that much crap, but that’s what road trips are for, right?

After realizing that the pickins would be slim, we made it to Ukiah before pulling off to quest for food. Ukiah was really pretty. I can imagine that it would be really boring to grow up there, but living in a green valley surrounded by beautiful mountains (and wineries) can’t be all bad.

We crossed the Golden Gate bridge around 7 and got home by 8. We were both tired but I was in a very good mood. The thought of getting up and going to work the next day didin’t even bother me too much. I sat on the couch watching TV with my cats on my lap and started to doze off. This was the perfect end to a fun fun weekend.