The Oregon Coast

As we watched California pass by in our rearview mirror, we had two big regrets.  Regret 1:  We did not eat at In-N-Out Burger nearly enough!  By the time we realized we were nearing Oregon, the closest In-N-Out was over 200 miles in the other direction.  Only eating there once was just not right.  Regret 2:  Our time playing our new favorite game, Slap Van was cut short too soon!  Slap Van is similar to the game Slug Bug, however, when you are the first to see an old VW Camper Van, you get to slap the other person in the face.  We are hoping that a few campers survived the wet weather in Oregon & that our copyright paperwork for this game goes through without any hiccups.  All regrets aside, the Oregon Coast was lovely, full of casinos, roadside tourist stops & wine!

Katie at Gold Beach, OR
The coast of Oregon is extremely good looking, but it's FREEZING!
The cold temperatures left us wondering...what do vacationers do here on the beach?

Babbitt at the Prehistoric Gardens in Port Orford, OR
We didn't actually walk through this tourist trap, but we couldn't resist a photo with T-Rex

The O'Babbitt's preparing for our Giant Dune Buggy Ride at Sandland Adventures in Florence, OR
We lucked into making it here in time for the last ride of the evening & loved every minute of it

Our dune buggy in action during the hour excursion
Chris, our driver took us all over the dunes, onto the beach &
even provided commentary throughout our very windy ride

800-feet above the Pacific Ocean at Cape Perpetua
After a night at the casino, we stopped here to see the ocean from the highest point on the Oregon Coast,
have lunch & venture out on our least favorite hike of the trip so far...the St. Perpetua Trail

SLAP VAN!
The O'Babbitt's at the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, OR
While here, we got to see thousands of pounds of cheese being made,
packaged & shipped, plus the cheese tasting line was scrumptious

Jackass Babbitt at the Blue Herron French Cheese Company in Tillamook, OR
We got to try more cheese here & tasted wine too...originally we planned to stay the night here,
but once we realized we'd be staying next to the petting zoo, we decided to head out

The Giant Redwoods

No AAA Book description, promotional pictures or fellow travelers retold stories could prepare us for what we saw at the Redwood National & State Parks.  We were worried we wouldn't be able to see much during our foggy drive to the park, but once we hit Fern Canyon the fog lifted & we felt like we had been transported to a prehistoric land.

The O'Babbitt's hiking through Fern Canyon at the Redwood National & State Parks
Babbitt was very uneasy about taking The Rig on the 8-mile unpaved road to reach this canyon,
but after some tight turns & a few curse words, The Rig made it unscathed...other than a thick layer of dust

Babbitt on a toppled over redwood in Fern Canyon
We were forced to cross shallow bodies of water & climb fallen trees during our hike through
this canyon covered in lush ferns...Babbitt of course was game to scale any & all trees

Babbitt at Gold Bluffs Beach
While dipping our toes in the water here we got hit with quite the wave &
even saw Roosevelt Elk in the distance with their newborn young

Cathedral Trees Trail
While hiking along this trail we were fully expecting a pterodactyl to
swoop down at any moment & we were kind of disappointed when none did

The O'Babbitt's along Cathedral Trees Trail
We hope this photo adds some perspective to how large these trees really are,
but keep in mind that Katie looks small next to nearly any tree

Babbitt hiking among some of the tallest trees in the world

Gigantic Paul Bunyan & his blue ox, Babe at the Trees Of Mystery in Klamath, CA
We thought we would come across many more giant roadside attractions during our trip &
since we haven't we nearly locked the breaks up while making the turn into this parking lot

One our last views of the California Coast
We got very close to the Oregon border, but instead of crossing over into a
different state, we were enticed to stay one more night in California at the  Lucky 7 Casino

Coastal Confusion

After a quick jaunt to Babbitt's new favorite city, Sebastopol, CA we made our way back to the coast of California to resume our drive up Highway 1.  (Babbitt's love for Sebastopol is mostly due to the fact that he would like to retire there at age 71 & open a hardware store.)  The coastal towns we then drove through were quite quaint & even though we got caught in a couple of tourists traps, the long, windy drive was well worth it to see a landscape that looked like it came straight out of a Hollywood movie.

The O'Babbitt's in Bodega Bay, CA
This is the city Alfred Hitchcock chose to film his creepy movie, The Birds
Although good looking, the town did have an eerie feeling to it & Katie wasn't interested in
staying long enough to be attacked by any flying creatures

Babbitt on the Pygmy Forest Boardwalk
We had really talked up this teeny tiny forest during our drive there, but once we arrived the
forest looked more like trees that were in need of water & nutrients rather than miniature trees

Katie taking a break on Fern Canyon Trail
We weren't sure if the northernmost stretch of Highway 1 would be as beautiful as the
southernmost stretch, but as you can see it ended up exceeding our expectations

Tourist Trap #1: The O'Babbitt's inside the Drive-Thru Tree in Leggett, CA
Since The Rig was too large to drive through this tree, we ended up paying money to
idle for 20 minutes while others drove through & then had to fight our way back from the
parking lot to wait in another line for this mediocre photo

Tourist Trap #2: Katie inside the Redwood Shoe at Confusion Hill in Pierce, CA
Confusion Hill solidified Babbitt's feelings that The Mystery Spot was a hoax...Katie of course was
intrigued & wanted to compare the two, but Babbitt put the kibosh on any more "optical illusions"

Turns Out The Tastings Are Not Free

Once we found out that casinos in Tahoe are not giving Free Play away like hot cakes, we decided that lunch at Orchids Authentic Thai Food & Babbitt's first ever Wienerschnitzel Chili Dog would last us till Placerville, CA.  The Rig then preformed a quick U-turn on the way to Wine Country, so we could take the Jelly Belly Factory Tour before our bike ride through Napa Valley.  Although, we rode our bikes more than we drank & Katie just missed her chance to stomp on grapes, we still had a great time!

Downtown Placerville - Also Known As "Hangtown"
Apparently Placerville was a no nonsense town during the Gold Rush
Many were hung...sometimes two at a time, but they are obviously still proud of their heritage

The O'Babbitt's at the home of Babbitt's favorite candy, the Sour Jelly Belly
The tour was fun & we even got to try a Jelly Belly before it's coated in its candy shell

Katie with giant corkscrew art in Yountville, CA
We were about half way through our bike ride when we had lunch at the
Yountville Deli...we still needed to taste wine though, so we kept on biking

The Robert Sinskey Vineyard
$25 per tasting was a bit more than we expected, but the wine was nice, our wine server,
Connor was great & they also paired our wine with a unique plate of small bites

Babbitt biking through Napa Valley to the Van Der Heyden Vineyard during our 15-mile + ride
After a couple of wrong turns our ride ended up being a bit longer than we were hoping for &
because of the steep price tags on tastings, we decided that two vineyards were enough for us

Babbitt with the Bambini Pizza at Bistro Don Giuvanni's
This pizza tasted like it came straight from Italy & the french fries on top were the perfect
accompaniment...we also had to try the Blondie Mary, which was a delicious take on the
Bloody Mary...it's made with yellow tomatoes instead of red tomatoes

Babbitt enjoying his strawberry shake at Taylor's Refresher
After walking through the beautiful Riverfront, seeing the Wine Train go by & getting
the royal treatment at Whitehall Lane Winery, we decided to head out to the coast again

Wanderlust In Lake Tahoe

To Katie's surprise our constant lack of a concrete schedule & zero preparation ended up really working out for us while visiting Bret!  He had already planned a quick getaway to nearby Squaw Valley, CA while we were in town & was nice enough to invite us to attend the Wanderlust Festival with him.  This yoga meets electronica event couldn't have been more entertaining, plus it was the perfect place to hang with family & to meet new friends.

Bret, his wife Jamie, Katie & Babbitt on the ski lift at the Wanderlust Festival
Bret & Jamie were excellent hosts...they made sure we were entertained & didn't go hungry

The O'Babbitt's in one of the many hammocks available to lounge in at Wanderlust
We were in heaven...we weren't the only ones sleeping in our car, the people watching was
some of the best we've seen, plus there were tons of booths with free giveaways & food samples

Babbitt taking in Lake Tahoe

Bret & Brian taking a beer break during our stroll through Tahoe City

Bret with Jamie at the Monophonics concert on Lake Tahoe
The band was outstanding & the venue couldn't have been better

Bret, Jamie, Leslie, Eric, Babbitt & Katie after the concert
Bret's friends Leslie & Eric were so much fun to hang out with during our visit

The O'Babbitt's at Emerald Bay
We couldn't leave town without seeing the other side of the lake

The Biggest Little City In The World

After our drive through scenic Yosemite & Carson City, NV with a short stop for one of our new favorite fast food snacks, the Del Taco Bean & Cheese Burrito with Green Chile we finally made it Reno to spend time with Babbitt's brother, Bret & his family.  We couldn't get enough of drinking wine on their back deck over looking the mountains, sunning at the pool, checking out downtown Reno & listening to amazing impromptu concerts!  

The Reno Arch
Although Free Play was not plentiful in Reno we couldn't resist the small town charm 

Babbitt at Circus Circus Reno with the No Minors Allowed sign
Fond memories of an under aged Babbitt being asked to leave this casino, while his
Grandma Smith played the slots came rushing back as we walked through the gaming floor

Babbitt biting into The Awful Awful at The Nugget...it's awful big & awful good
Our service was terrible, but you can't beat a huge burger & a pound of french fries
Katie ordered the $1.99 Breakfast Special (2 pancakes & a egg) & even had leftovers

Bret & Brian on the relaxing back porch

Bret's son Mason on the guitar
Mason is such a talented musician...we can't believe he put on a concert just for us

Bret tuning his guitar
After listening to Mason & Bret perform original songs & covers,
Babbitt was a bit sad that he is missing this musical gene

Yosemite

For some reason we can't seem to visit National Parks without bickering!  We're pretty sure the culprit has something to do with the fresh air mixed with the overwhelming beauty & have vowed to both be in better moods at Redwood National Park.  Although minced words were exchanged at Yosemite, the parks enormous splendor 100% made up for it and we've even discussed visiting again someday!

Babbitt with the roots of a giant sequoia at Yosemite
We had limited time here & got to Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias before the crowds hit

Babbitt inside The California Tunnel Tree
We understand why you can't drive underneath this giant tree anymore,
but we were still sad The Rig didn't get a chance to experience it

The O'Babbitt's in front of the famous Half Dome

Yosemite's Half Dome
Katie was so distracted by Half Dome that Babbitt had to point out the waterfalls to her

The O'Babbitt's at Glacier Point
Since we were on the fast track to Reno, NV, we had to pick & choose the sites we really
wanted to see in this enormous park...Glacier Point ended up being a must do

Cathedral Beach Picnic Area
There isn't a bad view in Yosemite...this is where we enjoyed lunch
before driving through the rest of the park to Reno

Fresno Put The Boozing In Our Cruzing

So, we decided to make a last minute change to our route & gave Babbitt's Aunt Shannon about 2 hours notice before we showed up on her doorstep with a bottle of vodka & beer!  Shannon & Tom couldn't have been more easy going about the whole thing, but we were all so excited that we ended up really tying one on...making the next day a bit rough.  Good thing Tom kept things cool the previous night, because he was able to help Babbitt change the oil on The Rig.  Plus, Shannon cancelled most of her tennis lessons for the day, so we got to spend extra time with her before heading to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks!

Tom, Babbitt & Shannon at Yard House in Fresno
We stuck with waters here, but the food was so outstanding we didn't need anything else
Once again you can tell when we are having the best times, because we always forget to take photos

Babbitt with The General Sherman Tree behind him at Sequoia National Park
This tree is the largest tree by volume in the world...52,500 cubic feet!

Katie inside a fallen sequoia in the Giant Forest
Even after these trees crash to the ground, they are still works of art

Another massive sequoia in Kings Canyon National Park

Katie & The Rig in the parking area for The General Grant Tree
It's tough to convey the size of these trees with photos, so Babbitt insisted on including
this forced perspective he took & in turn Katie has started calling him Ansel Adams