Sunday, October 31, 2010

Road Trip Part II: A Giant Fisherman & Immortal Tree

Eurika was an interesting town. Dad and Brendan spent the morning kiaking while Annie, Mom and I explored the town. It didn't take us long for there wasn't a ton there. One thing I loved about the town was the art. TONS of the buildings there had murals painted in them that has nothing to do with the shops in the buildings. This one was my favorite! And don't be fooled these murals were HUGE! That first brown dog's tongue was about where my head reached.

This flamingo trailer was another fun find along our journey through town. I had to take a picture because I knew words could never do this thing justice.

The Redwoods were even more amazing than I thought they would be! We drove into the forest and I was let say a little underwhelmed. They were just like normal trees. Tall, but I had seen tall trees before. Then my dad got out of the car to examine a tree, that's when I realize I had NEVER seen tall trees like these before! These trees were massive! Plenty of the trees are so big all of us could fit in a tree with room to spare (including the car). Of course we drove the truck through one of the "privately owned" trees for a small fee. I love how the trees twist as they grow!
The immortal tree was my favorite! While only being 248 ft tall, it is not the tallest by any stretch, I think its the coolest. Once upon a time it was 298 feet until it was struck by lightning which tore off the top. Yet it lived on. Then loggers tried to axe it down (axe points to chop marks). They gave up. There was a fire. Yet the tree still stands. 60 years after the fire a flood tried to tear it down. The tree's bark is warped from the fish down, but the tree lives! Such a cool tree!
On our journey down the coast of California, we stopped at the gorgeous black sand beach. So secluded and beautiful. Probably my favorite beach ever!

Once reaching Southern California, we had an amazing time visiting the Magic Kingdom, a land "where anything is possible if you just believe" and become one with nature (Sea World), and last we got to spend the weekend with Brendan's family!

All in all, a successful Road Trip!! :)

Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Circus, an Abandoned Prison, & a Fortune Cookie

Just a little before Lindsey and Nick left for Arizona we went to the Cirque du Soleil! It was absolutely amazing. One of the best shows I have ever seen!Brendan and I also decided to tag along with my family on a road trip to California. We got to visit San Francisco, so we saw all the important sites like Alcatraz at night, pier 39, the gardens, China Town and the Ghirardelli factory :) The only bummer was the "revenge of the Ghirardelli", which would be the horrible pain you get after you have consumed FAR too much ice cream, brownies, and fudge sauce.This was the warden's home on the island, which was burned down years later.Rows and rows of cells we walked past as they told us what the prisoners did. CREEPY! :)

China town was amazing! So many colors and plastic kittens waving to you! We decided to get brave and try some things to eat. We first chose a Chinese doughnut, which we thought we would be safe with...we were wrong. They must not believe in sugar, for it was simply a fried ball of dough dripping with oil. GROSS. Then we found the fortune cookie factory which was a hole in the wall place with AMAZING cookies. These cookies put every fortune cookie I have ever had to shame! Plus they were warm....mmmmm! We bought bag fulls and they were still gone so fast! Our last food attempt was dim sung. Dad and Brendan came out with shrimp, pork, and another meat. None of which I was willing to eat. It looked disgusting!!! Still the guys ate some of it before we convinced them to just throw it out. Tell me...would you have eaten this???