traveling up the 101

I chose to drive up Highway 101 as I made my way back from Sacramento. I have random memories of Hwy 101 from childhood, and I realize that I am enjoying revisiting places like that. 

The first day I drove from Sacramento to Kelseyville in California and stayed with dear friends. I got to see their daughter again and meet their new son. And her mom and dad were visiting too!  These people are such a blessing to me! here is an amusing clip of an evening. The adults getting dinner ready... the dog running on the treadmill.

Then Sunday morning I began the drive up Hwy 101. 

As I drove past the amazing redwood trees I kept marveling at the variety that God has given us. Seriously! How many different variety of trees do we have? 

In the drive up Hwy 101, I saw a couple rainbows, loads of Redwoods and a lot of mist and fog, I drove over the tallest bridge on the west coast. 

#I drove through Crescent City and I think that is where I stopped at Starbucks. Actually I went through the drive through. The barista asked me where I was from. He did not recognize my accent. :-) I shared that I am from Portland, went to college in the midwest, and have lived 5 years in Germany. He concluded that he really liked the combination. Aw... that was nice.  

I stayed in Gold Beach, OR on Sunday night. (I remember a girl in a pageant that I was part of, came from this town). I love the place I got to stay!  Pacific Reef Resort. The room was fantastic! The staff were great! I recommend them to anyone needing a place to stay in Gold Beach.

I realized that Waldport whose tag line of "Where the forest meets the ocean" was quite possibly founded by Germans.. because Wald means forest. And when I looked it up this morning... It was indeed founded by Germans.. in 1879.

 

 I drove off the Hwy to the entry level for the Heceta lighthouse. I did not go up to the lighthouse but I did love the ruggedness of the area. 

 Last night I got to stay with a dear girl in Newport. A crazy storm battered the windows overnight and when I was woken by the sound, I marveled at how God gives humans the ability to know how to make windows that don't just break into a thousand pieces when battered by storms. 

There are some great bridges on Hwy 101. And there are amazing scenes... even when there is heavy fog. I am so glad that I got to drive up Hwy 101. 

Today I will finish the drive turning toward Portland near Lincoln City. Wow... I just thank God for allowing me to do this.