Avenue of the Giants

Humboldt Redwoods State Park, CA

April 14, 2017

We know from a past trip (July 2014) that photos don't really capture the abundance or great size of the redwoods along one of the most beautiful drives (Avenue of the Giants) that we've ever experienced, so we decided to make an amateur attempt to capture a brief portion of the drive on video:

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Roosevelt Elk

Elk Herds

Northern California Coast

April 14, 2017

Both girls love observing wildlife and elk are near the top of their favorites list. For Kellisa, I think she enjoys them because they approach the car without fear and their large size makes them easy to see. I think all the same reasons apply to Laurel as well, plus her initials are E.L.K. which elevates the animals in her mind. 

The elk we saw on this day were part of the Roosevelt Elk that call the area in and around Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park home. We were fortunate to observe the same elk when we visited the area in the summer of 2014. 

We were disappointed to only see a few in the distance in the elk viewing prairie and decided to drive the road to Gold Bluff Beach where we saw a few more close up as they crossed the road in front of us. When we returned to the prairie an hour or so later, it was full of elk and both girls enjoyed an hour of observing in the evening's fading light.

A Surprise in the Road

April 14, 2017 - Fun on the road to Gold Bluffs Beach:

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Sequoia Park Zoo

Eureka, CA

April 13, 2107

The forecast was bleak, calling for heavy rain in our area for most of the day. There would be a small window of a couple of hours in the early afternoon where mostly cloudy skies with only a 20% chance of rain was predicted. 

We were hesitant to head out on a trail with such a tight window, so we decided to stay close to the hotel and visit the Sequoia Park Zoo. The zoo is small, but its setting among a small stand of redwoods made for an incredible afternoon. 

Judging from the school directly across the street, the local district was not on spring break this week and we literally had the zoo to ourselves. 

Because I Still Can

In the last 12 years, I've stayed 947 paid nights at Marriott properties. Most of those nights have been business travel. In addition, I'm sure we've stayed another 100+ nights on points. In all those stays, I've never been disappointed. 

When we travel for fun, I always seek out Marriott locations and will even drive an hour out of our way for the consistency. However, there is a serious lack of Marriott hotels along the coast in the far north of California. For some reason, Marriott doesn't have a single hotel in the entire region.

I was forced to book our stay at another hotel and my requirements were simple, first floor room, non-smoking, and a pool that we could use in 50 degree weather. I'm almost always disappointed when I book other chains (not counting Hilton properties where I stay probably 25% of the time, but Hilton hotels are also missing in the area), but I booked a five night stay at a national chain in Eureka, CA for our 2017 Spring Break trip. We drove for over 5 hours to reach the hotel and the idea of swimming as soon as we dropped our stuff in the room and change into our swimsuits is what got Laurel through the last 100 or so miles. After we checked in, we were told that the pool was down for a week due to a broken pipe. Laurel took it in stride and I would later learn that she was worried that we would go back home if we didn't stay at this hotel. I appreciate her flexibility and honesty.