We had planned to spend two nights in Laguna Beach, but the beautiful weather, free lodging and friendly hosts(some family friends of Audrey) enticed us to stay another night. The Goodwins (our hosts) live within a short walk from the beach (they have a great view from their rooftop deck) and have a nice little guesthouse where we slept. The third to last photo shows the little courtyard between their main house and our room. If you look closely, there is a little lemon tree on the far right. I suppose that's normal for a Californian patio, but I thought it was pretty cool. I also got to eat watermelon and guava freshly picked from a home garden. Is it really late October? I think we're in for a rude awakening when we come home to Oregon's rain clouds.
After Laguna, we continued north and camped along the coast. It was a nice, clear night, but the wind tried to turn our tent into a kite. It took 45 minutes to set up (usually it takes about 10), but it did stay put once we got the stakes secured. We spent last night with Audrey's friend who is a grad student at Stanford and had lunch today in San Francisco. All the San Fran townhouses made me think of Full House. I half expected to see the three-year-old Olson twins skipping along the sidewalk. Remember that show?
We're now in Red Bluff, Calif., staying with the Beasleys. We have been good friends with the Beasleys since way back when both of our families lived in Salem and our moms have kept in close touch over the years (we also visited their older kids, Beau and Larie, in Texas). I hadn't seen Haley (see photo) since she was a baby (she's now 4), so it was fun to get to know her a little bit this evening. She showed Audrey and I all of her toys and we even had a little dance party in her bedroom to hit kids' tunes such as "Here We Go Loop-de-Loo" and "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain."
On our way to the Beasleys' this evening, we spotted the first "Portland" sign - the first reminder that we're getting close to home. We also caught a glimpse of the first real, snow-covered mountain that we've seen in a long time. Tomorrow morning we'll continue heading north. If all goes as planned, it will be the last day of our road trip. Bittersweet.
4 comments:
Beautiful pictures! I love the second one. It's a good thing you didn't head all the way down the coast, with those awful fires going on.
I thought you'd like Kate's bunny's name...welcome back to Oregon. It's a wonderful place to be and I'm jealous!
What an adventure you have had...one to remember forever! You certainly were blessed to be able to do this; most people have to wait until they retire to do what you have done! I also am glad you missed the LA area.
Red Bluff!! Rock out! These pics are awesome!
Hey Beth! Just found out that you went on a road trip around the US! Yeah, I'm a bit slow:) Its been fun reading your new travel blog. Well, I hope your trip home goes OK and you weren't affected by the California fire. Hope you're OK:)
Erin
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