One last hoorah!

Earlier this summer I had talked to Stan about taking the kids down to see the Redwood National Forest in northern California since I had never been there and wanted to see it along with them! We decided to make a family road trip out of it since we hadn't gone anywhere this summer as a family. Stan was great and worked out all the details of the trip and filled me in a few days before we were going to leave! That's the best way to plan a trip!
So we started out heading just south of Portland to Salem, OR. There is an amusement park there called Enchanted Forest that we had been wanting to take the kids to for awhile. We weren't sure what to expect at all and honestly, weren't expecting much! Much to our surprise this little place was so great! It really is "enchanted" and set in a beautiful forest too. All of the rides were geared toward younger kids which was wonderful for Nicolas. He was able to ride every single ride there! Stan and I went on the Log Flume ride with them as well as one that was called Ice Mountain that was sort-of like a bob sled thing that was one of those rides that hurts your neck! It was fun regardless and the kids had so much fun! Stan and I were so excited that the place was fun and so affordable! We all ate lunch there for less than $20.00!!! We will definitely be headed back there sometime soon!
So that night we stayed in Eugene before heading out to Crater Lake the next day. All I can say about Crater Lake is WOW. I had heard of it before and had also seen a couple pictures, but until you see it with your own eyes, nothing does this place justice. Gorgeous and awe inspiring. The cleanest, purest water in the world made entirely from rain and snow. The story behind the eruption and collapse that formed the lake is amazing and well worth the trip to see it. I wanted to go for a swim it was so pretty! If it hadn't been freezing that day and windy, I just may have!
From there we headed to Crescent City California for the night. All in all it made for a lot of driving that day, but once we arrived at the hotel the kids forgot all about the car trip and were happy to see we had a deck that over looked the ocean. The hotel was right by a lighthouse too which made it even better. We crashed for the night and rested up to see as much of the Redwoods as we could in one day!
Again, just a place where you can only say "WOW" as you pass by these amazing HUGE trees. I had an image in my mind of the trunks and how tall they would be, but reality blew everything I had imagined away! The trunks were as big as a small house on some of the trees, and looking up you could not see the tops of most of them! We went to a neat place called "The Trees of Mystery" where a giant Paul Bunyon and Babe the blue bull were out front greeting all the visitors. There was a path that led through a lot of trees with various names like the Family Tree, Lightning Tree, Cathedral Tree, etc. etc. And as you came upon them, the names all fit each tree so well. The Cathedral tree and the Brotherhood tree were two of my favorites. At the end of the trail was a gondola ride that took us up above the trees to a platform where the ocean and trees were all visible and the view was unbelievable. From there we headed to a different area and saw some more trees and more amazing views. We ended our redwood experience with a drive right through the trunk of one! I can't believe we fit our trunk through this thing, but it just goes to show you how big they are! Whoever hollowed that thing out must of worked for months!
So to end our trip we thought a trip up the Oregon coast on the 101 would be the perfect way to cap things off. Our first stop was Coos Bay where we went into Charleston and saw at least 300 sea lions hanging out on a big rock island. They were so fun to watch and the kids were laughing so hard at the way they all would bark at each other! It was fun to watch them jump into the water and ride the waves back into the island only to struggle to get back up on the rocks. That was the most amount of sea lions we have seen in one place at one time and it was one of the highlights for the kids! It was even better because Papa Schafeitel had driven down to finish out the trip with us!
We then started the drive up to Newport with a stop along the way at the sea lion caves. The cave is the largest sea cave in the world and one that the Stellar Sea Lion makes home. We took an elevator down into the cave where you can see the surf rushing into the cave from two different directions and a big rock right in the middle where a group of sea lions were trying to catch a snooze. They had a full skeletal system of a sea lion there that had to be Nicolas's favorite part of the whole trip! We are still talking about "Stella" the sea lion today and why and how she died (which by the way was not a very humane way to go). He is obsessed with these types of things and I can guarantee we will still be talking about it 6 months from now! Regardless, it was really cool to see!
In Newport we lucked out and found a hotel on the beach for a good price where the five of us (including Papa) crashed for the night. The next morning we were eating breakfast at the hotels restaurant just staring out at the ocean enjoying our last morning of vacation. All of the sudden I saw a spout of water shoot up in the air! I thought I was seeing things, but it happened again and again! You could just make out the tail of the whales as they would descend back down. I was soooo happy that we were able to see them at all! I love whales and think they are the most amazing creatures, so graceful and mysterious. What a great way to start our day! The kids and Stan and I went down to the beach and played in the ocean for awhile before hitting the road again to home. We made a quick stop in Depoe Bay along the way where once again we were able to see more whales, only this time we saw them a lot closer and got to see every time they would spout and come up out of the water. It was so fun and just the best way to end our trip!
So, off to home and back to reality! We had the best time and really got to see and experience a lot of what this amazing place has to offer us. It made me feel so grateful for the beauty that surrounds us everyday. I can't imagine how someone wouldn't feel the same seeing what we saw on this trip. The kids were wonderful, we had a great time and all made it back safely. Now back to school in another few days, soccer has started, fall is approaching and the holidays will be here before we know it! I am so happy we made time for this trip and that we were able to make such wonderful memories together as a family. This is one we won't forget! I hope you made it through this novel! Make sure and check out the pictures too!