Road Trip: Redwoods | Santa Cruz

On Sunday, June 3rd, we drove to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park near Felton on Highway 9 in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We wanted to see giant redwoods and the ocean. Unfortunately, my husband did not get to enjoy the beauty of the giant redwoods with my son and I. The walking trails don't allow dogs, so he stayed in the car with Lily while my son and I walked one trail for 20 or 30 minutes. It really was breathtaking.

After visiting the redwoods park, we drove to Santa Cruz to eat lunch and charge our Prius Plug-In at a charging station. I asked a local girl with a cute dog if she could recommend a restaurant that was dog friendly. She suggested the Pono Hawaiian Grill. It was only a few blocks from the charging station, so we walked to Pono and had great lunch on their back patio.

When we finished with our lunch, we drove to Santa Cruz Harbor before we headed back to San Jose.

It was a beautiful day!

Humboldt Vacation

We returned home on Thursday night from our trip to Humboldt Redwoods National Park. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Redwood Forest! This was the first vacation EVER that was not over crowded with people. We joked that it was like being in a Twilight movie. The best vacations are the ones were you are not surrounded by a ton of other tourists :)

Our vacation began when we arrived in Santa Barbara late Sunday night. We stayed one night at the Best Western Beachside Inn. I don't recommend this hotel, it was dirty and outdated. My husband chose this hotel solely on the fact that he stayed here when he was around the same age as our son now.

Before leaving Santa Barbara the next day, we drove by the Old Mission Santa Barbara on our way to have breakfast in Solvang.

Old Mission Santa Barbara

Breakfast in Solvang

After breakfast we drove about hour before we stopped in San Luis Obispo for a bathroom break at the Madonna Inn. As a child, my parents would stop here on our way to San Francisco. I am so happy that we could add this to our trip. My son and I have decided that we need to stay a night in one of their one hundred ten unique rooms.

Madonna Inn

Madonna Inn Garden

Women's Restroom

Grape Chandelier

We continued our journey to Garberville, Humboldt, California. We stayed two nights at the Best Western PLUS Humboldt House Inn. I highly recommend this hotel if you are visiting Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The staff was friendly, the room was clean and the bathroom had granite counters. The hotel is located conveniently near the entrance of the Avenue of the Giants.

I truly enjoyed the beauty and serenity of the forest. I wish we had a few more days to explore more of the trails. I'm already planning our next trip.

Before heading home we drove to Monterey, California and stayed at the Best Western PLUS Beach Resort. The hotel is located directly on Del Monte Beach. It is a great location but it is very outdated. We were going to stay for two nights but after checking into the room we decided to only stay one night.

It was a long five days in the car for all of us, including Lily. But we survived even with limited to no Internet access or phone service the entire trip. It was a fantastic trip, considering we made no reservations ahead a time. It was very spontaneous...not like any other vacation we have ever planned or not planned before. I'm ready to do it all over again.

Road Trip: Humboldt Redwoods State Park

A few days ago we rented a Toyota Prius to see if we would want to buy one.  We are down to owning only one vehicle right now but it is a giant gas guzzler. We decided to take a road trip up the coast to see how the Prius preforms and if I can pack everything we need to bring with us for a few days (the trunk is pretty small considering how much stuff we usually bring with us when we travel).

We are leaving today to Humboldt Redwoods State Park. As silly as it sounds, I am so excited to drive through a Redwood tree :) Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to see the world's most majestic ancient redwood groves.