going down to the kick off and hanging out with so many hikers that are on their way north really gives you the itch to get on the trail. when we dropped tradja and bearbait off at the border, i think we were totally ready to head out with them. there is something about trying to plan a five month trip that really causes me to get restless, well actually, if you know me, planning in general causes me to get restless, which is why the magic question of where do you see yourself in 5 years, gets an eye roll. i think that this next month and a half is going to drag on.
when we left lake morena we headed east to visit some former summer staffers at yd adventures, sara and josh. they are at point loma nazarene university right on the coast, it was a beautiful area and it was really good to connect with them, even if it was for just an evening. sara made some amazing food for us, we are thinking about asking if she wants to come on the trail with us and be our chef.
from there we went up to huntington beach, my old home town and stayed with a good friend blythe who most graciously took us to disneyland and california adventures. it was such a great day, warm weather, hardly any lines and unlimited rides on its a small world. we tried to go on almost everything, but we arrived at around 11am and disneyland closed at 9pm, so it was tough to do both parks in one day, but we did our best. my favorite ride was the 3-d toy story ride in california adventures, it was the longest line, but so worth it. this was cassandra’s first time to the human trap run by a mouse and she definitely enjoyed it, as the pictures show.
we stayed with blythe for 2 nights and it wasn’t long enough. from there we decided to drive up the coast and just enjoy the coastline along the way, which was amazing, but california takes forever that way. we stopped in santa cruz and walked on the boardwalk and down the pier to get some dinner and see the seals. we drove over the golden gate bridge for my first time and we were pretty excited that there was no toll to pay. in eureka we stopped at a coffee house to get some internet access and looked up staying at a deluxe yurt in an oregon state park and it said that there were no reservations being taken until may 1 and it was a first come first serve basis until then (and then there was some small print that i didn’t feel like reading). so we set our hearts on staying in the yurt that had a shower and heat, we had been staying in the van at rest stops and walmart parking lots.
so we show up at the state park and the first thing we see is a bright yellow sign that said no yurts or cabins available, what a heart breaker. we were in shock, even though i told myself not to get my hopes up, it still came as a huge let down. another walmart parking lot here we come... with the plan of splurging for a hotel room on the beach farther up the coast for the next night, oh yeah!!
-jason
when we left lake morena we headed east to visit some former summer staffers at yd adventures, sara and josh. they are at point loma nazarene university right on the coast, it was a beautiful area and it was really good to connect with them, even if it was for just an evening. sara made some amazing food for us, we are thinking about asking if she wants to come on the trail with us and be our chef.
from there we went up to huntington beach, my old home town and stayed with a good friend blythe who most graciously took us to disneyland and california adventures. it was such a great day, warm weather, hardly any lines and unlimited rides on its a small world. we tried to go on almost everything, but we arrived at around 11am and disneyland closed at 9pm, so it was tough to do both parks in one day, but we did our best. my favorite ride was the 3-d toy story ride in california adventures, it was the longest line, but so worth it. this was cassandra’s first time to the human trap run by a mouse and she definitely enjoyed it, as the pictures show.
we stayed with blythe for 2 nights and it wasn’t long enough. from there we decided to drive up the coast and just enjoy the coastline along the way, which was amazing, but california takes forever that way. we stopped in santa cruz and walked on the boardwalk and down the pier to get some dinner and see the seals. we drove over the golden gate bridge for my first time and we were pretty excited that there was no toll to pay. in eureka we stopped at a coffee house to get some internet access and looked up staying at a deluxe yurt in an oregon state park and it said that there were no reservations being taken until may 1 and it was a first come first serve basis until then (and then there was some small print that i didn’t feel like reading). so we set our hearts on staying in the yurt that had a shower and heat, we had been staying in the van at rest stops and walmart parking lots.
so we show up at the state park and the first thing we see is a bright yellow sign that said no yurts or cabins available, what a heart breaker. we were in shock, even though i told myself not to get my hopes up, it still came as a huge let down. another walmart parking lot here we come... with the plan of splurging for a hotel room on the beach farther up the coast for the next night, oh yeah!!
-jason