Gap Year

San Diego

First, I flew into San Diego. I flew out of Seattle airport and we loaded up on groceries.

Joshua Tree

From there we drove over to Joshua Tree National Park. There were sunsets, trees, climbing rocks, and a cool town nearby.

Death Valley

The drive to Death Valley was long and a lot of dessert. My favorite part was the salt flats. It is 282 feet below sea level. There were sand dunes and a lot of other interesting land forms. In addition, the stars were really pretty and clear.

Walnut Creek

As much as I love the San Fransisco, Carmel, and Big Sur, we wanted to avoid super populated areas. To regroup, we stayed at some family's house in Walnut Creek to get lots and lots of groceries, and oil change, and relax.

Pt Reyes National Shoreline

Pt Reyes is one of my favorite spots. From the Tree Tunnel, to the waves, to the elephant seals, and cows, there is a lot to enjoy.

Mendocino and Ft. Bragg

Mendocino and Ft. Bragg are both some really cute towns in Northern California. There are cute little bookstores, souvenere shops, cool murals, and awsome beaches.

Humboldt Redwoods State Park and King Range National Conservation Area

We slowly made our way up to the Redwoods. Our van looks so small compared to the old growth of the towering redwoods.

Eureka and Arcata

Arcata is Home to Humboldt University. I considered applying there so it was cool to see the town. It is a fun place to visit but I don't think I would want to live there. There was this really cool record store.

Trinidad

The tide pools in trinidad were especially cool. There were also surfers and skateboarders> It felt more SoCal than NorCal.

Redwood National and State Parks

Yay for more Redwoods!

Oregon Coast

We slowly continued up highway 101 an stopped everywhere including Brookings, Port Orford, Bandon, Coos Bay, Lincon City, Tallamok, Cannon Beach, Seaside, etc!

Portland

Portland is a great city. We stayed at another family's house. Whenever I say we stayed at someones house, I mean we parked in their driveway and stayed in the van. It was super fun.

Eugene

Grace has a lot of friends at the University of Oregon. She acctually goes there now too. It was cool to see the campus.

Back to Portland

Before heading back to Washington, we stopped back in Portland. This time, we did the city things but also drove down toward the Gorge. This time, it snowed a lot.