DAY 19 - Fortuna, CA to Coos Bay, OR

Carson Mansion in it's splendor

Happy Mother's day! Hope all the mom's out there had a nice day. We sure did. We left our hotel at 10:30 this morning and were our way up the coast of California. We drove through the town of Eureka and saw the historic Carson Mansion. It is a beautiful old building that is the site of a private club. We also saw the Occupy Eureka movement.

Paul and his babe

Next we were on to Redwood National Park. We drove through the park and saw some elk grazing in a meadow. The next site up the coast was Wedding Rock in Prairie Creek State Park. This is a massive rock over looking the coast and a perfect spot for whale watching. Though there weren't any whales in the water, the scenery was beautiful and inspiring.

A couple miles up the coast we were greeted with the massive statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. Nearby were the Trees of Mystery and the Native American Museum of Arts and Artifacts. We then had lunch with the locals across the street at the Forest Cafe. Then is was on to Oregon!

Andy modeling

There are riveting views to be seen right off of US-101. One particular turn-off has a quarter-mile trail that leads to an incredible vista views of the beach hundreds of feet below. Dan has tempted to throw Andy off the cliff, but he decided not to.

We drove another 90 miles into the town of Bandon where Nancy decided to celebrate mother's day with a chocolate malt at Dairy Queen. We walked around old Bandon and saw locals catching crabs. Now we are in our hotel for the night in the cozy town of Coo's Bay. We are drinking Jack Daniel's on the rocks and getting ready to do laundry. Life on the road is exciting.