So we couldn't get out of our hotel fast enough this morning. I should've listened to Tripadvisor, but I'm such a penny pincher that I thought "well, we're just sleeping there, how bad can it be?" It was so bad, that the kids actually refused to swim in the pool. It was so nasty, that I required everyone to wear socks or shoes whenever they stood or walked anywhere in the room. It was a non-smoking room that reeked of old cigarettes and sweat mixed with the sour smell things get when you never EVER clean them. At least there were no bed bugs. I'm happy about that. Also, none of us were murdered. That was a bonus. And I'm pleased that I found a nickel on the floor. So all in all, it was a great experience. When am I going to learn that you get what you pay for?
We skipped the hotel's complimentary breakfast (for obvious reasons), and went to Safeway for fruits, veggies and pastries. There was a thick blanket of fog over Eureka and we were glad to get out of town. We drove south on 101 for an hour to visit Avenue of the Giants. It's a 31 mile stretch of highway with stops along the way for people to explore the Redwoods. Chad and I were so thankful that we got to watch our kids' reactions to these amazing trees. They were overwhelmed and awe-struck, just like we were when we came alone 2 years ago. They were actually giddy as they climbed the giant root balls and ran around the forest.
Near The Immortal Tree (named so because it's 950 years old and has survived floods and lightning and logging, etc.) we found a trail that led to a little stream in the forest. The kids ran ahead of us and we followed close behind, trying to enjoy 5 minutes of silence. Branches and sticks had collected where the stream curves, making it look like a beaver dam. Ali came running at us yelling, "We found a Beaver Darn!" I suppose it's time to let them know that a beaver's home is not actually a cuss word.
We spent most of our time at Founders Grove. It is extremely peaceful and quiet, the air is so clean and the sun poking through the canopy is gorgeous. The trails are beautiful and there were a lot more people on them than when Chad and I last visited. Interestingly enough, the trails emptied rapidly around the same time The Niemeyers came. I'm pretty sure it was just a coincidence though. At one point, Chad and I tried to hide inside a tree. We just wanted to be alone for a few minutes, and we thought the kids were off playing, until we noticed shadows like these outside the tree. Turns out we were being spied on:
We had lots of fun and there were no major injuries to report. Although, Ashley did jump out of a hollow, fallen redwood tree and twist her ankle. She's been limping all day, but it appears to be the type of injury that causes one to limp excessively only when in the vicinity of other family members. Nevertheless, we'll keep an eye on it.
We let the kids climb on a giant fallen tree while we sat in the van to discuss where we wanted to spend the night. Today and tomorrow are the aforementioned "planned spontaneous" days. We used our Droid for research, and decided on Medford. We made reservations with our Droid and then told our Droid to navigate to Medford. What our idiot Droid FAILED to do for us, is inform us that Medford is NOT on our route home. Once we hit I-5 in Grants Pass, we actually had to drive 30 miles SOUTH to get to our hotel. Okay, excuse me for not being a cartographer and studying a map of Southern Freakin' Oregon before we left, but our Droid should've known better. She knows where we live, she could've warned us.
As we drove over the Klamath River, we stopped to visit Mama Whale. She was still swimming around all alone and today it was a little more sad than yesterday. I felt like, if someone could just lower me down to her in a basket, I could point her in the right direction. But I didn't see a basket nearby, so we just got in the car in left. I tried to send her a telepathic message from my spot on the bridge though. I look forward to seeing if she picked up my mental vibes.
It was a long beautiful drive and since we were doing a lot of backtracking, we let the kids watch a movie. Chad and I listened to Farenheit 451. Now someone please tell me why I haven't read that book before? We need to do a book club about that book. There is so much fantastic stuff in there. But I'll stop talking about that now or else this will become a book report about Farenheit 451. I need to actually read it now though, because I'm sure I missed some important parts everytime I grabbed the door and squeezed my eyes shut and whispered, "oh god oh god oh god" on all the steep and scary parts of highway 101 (sorry, Cha Cha - I love you.)
We're now in Medford (thanks to our retarded Droid) and our hotel makes up for every single bit of crap that was last night's hotel. We had a great dinner, swam and relaxed in the hot tub, our room is huge and beautiful and CLEAN! And we're ready to head home tomorrow. The kids are all lounging on the King size bed and Ashley just asked me, "Can us kids sleep on the bed and you and daddy sleep on the pull out bed? We'd like a taste of the sweet life." No. Way. Ashee Too Doogie Doo!
I miss my dog. And my sister who's been really sick. In that order (Sorry, Leah.) And we're all looking forward to being back home.
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silenty for me...
The Niemeyers
*Mama Whale Update: On Monday, August 15th, Mama Whale beached herself on a sandbar and despite the effort of rescuers to return her to the water, died on Tuesday morning.*
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