California Wrap-Up [July-August 2023]

Remarkable: worthy of being or likely to be noticed especially as being uncommon or extraordinary

This is a good adjective for California because it leaves room for a variety of experiences. For the most part we enjoyed tremendous beauty, but as we got into more urban environments the cultural darkness was oppressive.

We actually will not be leaving California for two more days, but I know that once we hit the road to Texas on Friday I will not have time to reflect adequately on our experience. And, as I mentioned in a previous wrap-up post, the reason I started doing “these types of posts “wrap-up” posts so I can quickly review our activities.

McKinleyville, July 9-22

We stayed two weeks in McKinleyville which is located in Northern California. The whole purpose of this stay was to immerse ourselves in the Redwood Forests and the rugged coastline, and that’s just what we did.

Sue Meg State Park – On our first Tuesday there we headed a few miles away to explore this park which is located on the coast. We walked a few trails near the ocean and took a quick tour of a recreated Yurok Indian Village. More info here.

Trinidad Bay Restaurant – On our way back from Sue Meg we stopped in Trinidad to try some of their chowder! We also walked down to the harbor.

Eureka’s Sequoia Park and Old Town District – Our first hike into a Redwood forest was planned for Thursday, but we just couldn’t wait, so on Wednesday we drove to nearby Eureka where a city park has big, beautiful Redwoods!

Trillium Falls Hike – After Dale finished work on Thursday we headed to Trillium Falls Trail and was absolutely blown over by the beauty of that forests.

Boy Scout Trail & Grove of the Titans – These two trails are situated close to one another in the Redwood National Forest. So on Saturday we planned to spend the whole day exploring.

Fort Humboldt State Park – After church on Sunday we ate brunch in Eureka and visited this historic site. More info here.

Eureka Zoo – For the third time we headed to Eureka, this time to visit the zoo. More info here.

Fern Canyon Trail – Our second and last Thursday in McKinleyville we did a short hike into an area in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park that was used in the second Jurassic Park movie. More info here. On our way home we pulled over to a scenic viewpoint, ate sandwiches while watching seals sleep.

Avenue of Giants & Founders Grove – After checking out on Saturday we headed south toward MacKerricher State Park where we would be spending the night. On the way we hiked two very cool Redwood Trails. The following day, Sunday, we continued on to Napa, our next stop. We enjoyed a couple of lighthouses along the way.

Napa, July 23 – August 4

We spent twelve wonderful days at a resort in Napa. The first few days we just did local stuff like groceries, hanging out at the pool, then on Thursday our son and daughter-in-law arrived for a week-long visit. We went to the movie to watch the latest Mission Impossible on Friday and toured Alcatraz in San Francisco on Saturday. On Sunday we had reservations for a wine tasting and tour then we walked down Calistoga Main Street. We finished off the day with poolside grilled hotdogs.

Oxbow Market, Napa Farmer’s Market and the community of Walnut Creek kept us busy on Tuesday.

Bonita Lighthouse Sunset Tour was our final event of our Napa stay. We went back into San Francisco for this. We really enjoyed it. Before going to bed we played Beanboozled. The next day we headed our separate ways.

In route to our next stop we stayed over night in Monterey and Santa Barbara.

Anaheim, August 6-12

Cowboy Training Camp – Dale took a vacation day so we could spend the day in Oxnard at the Cowboys Training Camp.

Calvary Chapel Chino Hills – On Wednesday evening we attended church to hear Pastor Jack Hibbs, who we follow on YouTube and Spotify.

Paint and Sip – We went to a local winery on Thursday evening to paint.

Haunted House Movie – Attended a not very good movie at a theater near the resort on Friday evening. Popcorn was decent though.

San Diego, August 12-18

This is a challenging week. I didn’t realize I had booked a place in the Gaslamp District, which is very popular, but dark. I began feeling sick Monday evening and ran a fever all day yesterday. Then this morning we got kicked out of our Airbnb two days early. At this very moment we are sitting in a Starbucks so Dale can work until our next Airbnb is ready. I cannot wait to head east and get out of this state. I may or may not write about our stay here at a later time.

Dale and I both agree that the order of our west coast journey was absolutely the best. It is a blessing that we started in Utah and ended in San Diego rather than vice versa. If our trip had started here, I would have been so disappointed. Through it all, we feel the presence of the Lord and are grateful for our adventures.