The Oregon Coast day 2

We woke up the next day not wanting to leave the resort yet. The combo of two days driving and the nice resort made us cave in for another day. Besides time was on our side and we got a good deal for staying another night. We paid for another day and after breakfast we headed out to find The Devil's Punch Bowl (we ended up finding The Devil's churn and the Punch Bowl the next day), went on a hike and visit the Sand Dunes.

Somewhere on the outskirts of Florence, was just beautiful, made the hubby pull over for a picture.

Just taking in the beautiful view

So beautiful and peaceful, I just want to pitch a tent and camp here.

Ready for a hike

Down, down we go

Checking out the Devil's Churn

Now time for a hike

Logs, sticks, rocks always make a kid happy and the best things to play with. Who needs toys?!

Then we stopped at the Dunes 

After another fun filled day, we headed back to the resort. I made dinner, had some wine and watched the kids play on the beach.

The Oregon Coast

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain


The following morning we left Crescent City, California for the three hour drive to Florence, Oregon. Florence is such a beautiful town right on the coast and the home to many great places including the biggest Sea Lion Cave. Our plan was to first find a hotel, drop some stuff off and eat lunch. Being that Oregon is very cheap, we decided to find a room with an ocean view. As we were driving we came across a sign that said a resort was three miles down by the beach. So glad we went there, it was beautiful, had a full kitchen and sliding door that took you out to the beach. Being it was off season and pretty empty, we got such a good deal on the room.

After lunch, we got back in the car and headed to the Sea Lion Caves, by the way I recommend everyone to visit this place once, it is just one of those cool things to see or mark off your bucket list.

The main entrance, where you buy the tickets to the cave & the gift shop.

Out to the back door and down the ramp takes to you to the elevator.

The kids are pretty excited!

The path going down is just scenic.

As we were walking down the path we seen a group of sea lions, they are very social animals & tend to travel in packs.

After taking the elevator about 12 stories down,  we made it inside the cave.

The view of the Sea Lions, the picture is pretty dark because no flash is allowed. It is a natural and free cave, the Sea Lions come and go as they want.

The cave also offers a view of the Hecta Head lighthouse.

The view is just so stunning.

After the Sea Lions Cave, we headed back to the resort and just enjoyed rest of the day playing & relaxing on the beach. 

The view from our room.

I was amazed how sunny it was during our stay, seems a lot less rainy then Washington or it was just our luck.

Watched the sunset with a glass of wine, life couldn't get any better then that.

Road Trip Day 1

 "The wise man travels to discover himself."
 James Russell Lowell

Instead of driving back to Washington via the I-5, we decided to give ourselves a couple of days and drive through the Redwoods and up the 101 Coastal Hwy. Oh what a scenic drive that was! First we left the Sacramento area and headed towards highway 299 in Redding towards Eureka....

It was a perfect day for road tripping.

We stopped in Klamath, I would love to go back to ride the Trees of Mystery someday. We enjoyed exploring around and the gift shop.

Excited to finally come across the Paul Bunyan Statue in Klamath, CA

A redwood

After the drive through the Redwoods, the kids were excited to finally spot the California coast.

We made it to Crescent City, CA and decided to call it a day. Came across these California Sea Lions on the harbor behind the hotel, oh my gosh they smell so bad but are so darn cute!

We had dinner at a local restaurant, the food was good and friendly staff.

We got a beach front hotel room, so the kids spent rest of the evening playing on the beach. One of the perks of homeschooling is traveling anytime we want, hotels are cheap during the off season.

 

Tomorrow morning, we head up to the Oregon coast.