Driving down the Pacific Coast Highway is exhilarating and vertigo inducing. On a cloudy day the Pacific Ocean is replaced with a thick blanket of clouds and we saw the tops of them as we were making our way south towards Redwood National Forest.
Mendocino allows medical marijuana use and personal growth of the herb within people's homes. The county smells faintly of the plant, especially near the public library which sets a strange ambiance. The entire county seems to have a haze over it, and I'm not sure if that's because of the thick fog that rolls off the ocean, or because of the perpetual daze the locals seem to be in.
My favorite part of driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, besides the crystal blue ocean smacking up against the sandy grey cliff-sides, is the random farms which reside near it. Cows standing idly against the ocean is not something you see everyday and it offers a new perspective on ranching and farming.
Redwood National Park is magnificent to say in the least. I remember being in elementary school and learning about Redwoods being some of the largest in the world and I idolized them looking in awe at glossy textbook images. It was a dream come true to find myself walking through the forest, craning my neck to see the tops of the trees and smelling the salt from the ocean drifting in on a cool summer breeze. We took a ten mile hike through the forest occasionally splashing in the river and ending at the beach where we ate some peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and watched two elk grazing.
After our hike we stopped in Trinidad, California where we had some really tasty sandwiches at Catch Cafe. We also got to sample some vegan gumbo which was delisicous! That night we decided to camp in one of California's state parks. Because of recent budget issues CA state parks increased to $35/night (after the summer peak season!) and most barely offer any amenities. We had some rude camp neighbors who decided to party all night and keep us up until 5:30 in the morning. Luckily Jack flagged down a park ranger in the morning we got our money back for the evening. The noisy neighbors got kicked out of the park and a fine for being loud. Justice was a fabulous side dish to our cereal.
*If planning to stay at Richard Grove State Park realize that you are going to pay a lot of money on camping for limited amenities and an unmonitored campsite. It's more worth it in our opinion to pay $5 extra and get a hotel room!
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