7

We had a day all within Eureka city limits today.

Katie and I woke early so we could do some SHOPPING! We went to Target where I got a new teacher planner for the year, a new sweater, some snacks for the roads of other days, a new pair of teaching pants and some lotion. Katie got a couple of new shirts and pair of shorts.

Then we went to the Bayshore Mall. We first stopped at Ross and Katie got another sweatshirt and a curling wand. I got a phone charger. Then it was on to Hot Topic where Katie got a Stranger Things t-shirt. Then to Bath and Body Works for some hand sanitizer and body spray. Onto Victoria's Secret and lastly to Kohls for new shoes for Katie and a new shirt for me.

Back to the apartment where Brad, Osten and I went downtown to play some baseball in the park.

Then onto a bookstore where I bought a book about trees and Osten bought a comic book about Star Wars Clone Wars. We found a book with his name on it...

We walked around a while and took a fun photo.

Back to the apartment--left for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Katie and I then went for a 3 mile jog and went to the local shake place called Fresh Freeze--yummy banana shake.

Now we are watching Saving Private Ryan and will soon get our teeth brushed and head to bed.

onto day six

Another big day driving north where we decided to kayak the Jedediah Smith River with a great outfitter called Redwood Rides. There was a family of four along with our family of five, a couple of women two main guides and then five kind of part time guides that went down the river with us.

We started our paddle at 1pm and finished up at 5pm. Katie and I were in a 2 person kayak as were Brad and Osten. Anders was in a solo boat. We stopped twice on our journey-the first time was to explore the forest and the second was to swim/jump from cliffs. Anders was the only brave Olson to dive from the cliffs. He doesn't think he did a great job, but as his Mom, I think he did beautifully. He also found a water gun on a river bank...score Anders!

Here are some photos from the paddle:

Then we drove to Crescent City where we hung out at the pier, Brad got some more crabs and Katie and I went for a walk. Osten was Brad's crabbing assistant and Anders hung out reading in the car.

Off to yummy pizza at Pizza King and drove home to Eureka...we happened to be in a great place to see the sunset over the Pacific...

Another pretty stellar day in the Redwood Forests.

5th day in Eureka

We started off from the apartment at about 10am and drove north to Jedediah Smith State Park about an hour and a half from Eureka. We ate lunch on the way--fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Then we got to the park and went to the Visitor Center where we were given directions to three places to see.

We first went to an old growth forest that was very impressive because the trees were really huge--the forest floods every five years so the other trees don't survive and the redwoods have no competition so they grow really huge.

Next we drove to a trail where a ranger led us on a tour of the forest. We saw a lot of beautiful trees and learned more about the growth and life cycle of a giant redwood.

the tiny pine cone from the giant redwood

Lastly we explored the Smith river and decided we would love to come back another day and raft the river together.

On our way back to Eureka, we stopped in Crescent Bay and say sea lions, explored the pier and talked to Grandma B.

 sea lions in Crescent Bay

 beautiful sight from the 101

Then we stopped in Trinidad for Brad to crab and the kids and I to play on the beach and then dine at the Seascape restaurant.

a cool couple of huts on the beach, Osten & Katie playing bo bo on the beach, me bundled for winds

 sea stars clinging to the rock

 Brad pulling a pot

 our view from the Seascape Restaurant and Pier

Brad's catch from his time at the Trinidad Pier

We arrived back at the apartment at about 10pm, so we put in about a 12 hour day on the roads, trails and beaches of northern California.

day 4 Eureka

We started off the day going down to the pier for Brad to do some crabbing and the kids and I to play some football. Brad got some crabs, but threw them back because he was told they were not good to eat from the bay. We did see a man bring in a sting ray from the Pier.

Then we went to a second hand store to get a new hat for Brad who gave his first hat to Anders. We then went to lunch at a neat burger place that originally opened on June 30,1951. I had a delicious hotdog with chili and sauerkraut and shared a vanilla shake with Osten.

Then we drove up to Patrick's Point for the day, did some hiking and played at the beach for several hours. It was so fun to watch the kids playing in the surf and searching for agates on Agate Beach.

Then we drove to Trinidad and ate dinner at a sweet little shop where we dined on the porch. They had blankets for us to cuddle into that were very much appreciated as the temperatures were dipping (57 degrees Fahrenheit) and the wind was brisk. Our table number was especially interesting to me ;)

We tried to go down to the Trinidad pier to get a little crabbing, but the wind/temperature sent us back here to our apartment. Hanging out, will do a little reading and then hit the hay soon. 

We are planning a drive up north to the Jedediah Smith Redwoods--Smith is a relative of Brad and the kids so it might be kind of fun to see a place where a relative lived hundreds of years ago.