Day 3 | Cali Coast Adventure!

I've made it to the Day 3 blog post! I'm honestly surprised I've stuck with it this long! Any who, day 3 was spent, once again, driving and stopping when we found something nice to look at. It was a 5 hour drive this day, not counting stops. Our longest stop was in the Redwood Forest. I have never been more in love or felt more at home anywhere. We ended up in Napa Valley that night, so we hit a lot of major destinations in one day!

 We woke up in Crescent City, CA. Its a super cute coastal town where 9 out of 10 businesses are family owned and decorated with or completely made out of redwood trees. 

 That includes the hotel we stayed at! It was made completely from the wood of only one redwood! Its insane when you think about just how big those trees are!

 The decor inside and out was the same as it was in the 70s! It was super cute and retro, including a shower with a seat! Sometimes you just have to be lazy and enjoy the finer things in life, like sitting down in the shower.

 To be honest, I'm not sure where this was. Regardless, I love the view of forest, beach, ocean, and city all in one picture. It basically sums up most of the California coast!

 Seeing the Redwoods was on my bucket list, so I was SO happy we got to see them! Being California beginners, we didn't realize that the biggest trees weren't really in the actual Redwood Park, but we did find them later on the Avenue of the Giants!

 While looking for Redwoods, we found this gorgeous beach instead! 

 Our first Redwood encounter was with this beauty. Formally known as Miss Judy's Tour-Thru Tree, this tree almost destroyed our car! Even after bending our side view mirrors inward, we BARELY made it through without a catastrophe! It was also the cause of a chance meeting with another family. Some of our favorite memories from vacations are the people we meet, so that was a nice surprise. Thanks, Miss Judy!

 Before we hit up the biggest of the giants, we stopped for a picnic lunch by the beach! 

 Welcome to the Avenue of the Giants. This single road is home to some of the largest trees on Earth. As soon as you get there, it feels like you took a time machine back to prehistoric times. I was a bit scared a dinosaur would come running out of the woods. 

 This is the Immortal tree, a bit of a celebrity as far as trees go. It survived a flood, a fire, lighting that blew the top off, and, most impressive, it survived the axes of a group of lumberjacks who tried to cut it down. It literally can't be cut down! 

 Redwoods can continue to grow, even if they are hollow! 

 Honestly, this tree is small compared to most of the ones we saw. Its just mind blowing how old and huge these trees are. Its a much needed reminder that we are small and that nature can outdo us at any time.

Late that afternoon, we made it to Napa Valley! Everyone knows that Napa is famous for their vineyards, but you can't even imagine until you see it how incredibly massive the vineyards are. Stay tuned for day 4, where we tour some wineries and taste some of the local vintage!