Day two of the trip was a long, long, long day. From San Francisco, I drove north along the coast to see the redwood forests. There isn't a way to "peek in" on the forests and then get back to the 5 Freeway - you have to commit to the coast. It was worth it, but it felt like all I did on day two was drive. From SF, I went north across the Golden Gate Bridge and on toward green. Amazing how brown and dead the drive from LA to SF is, and how green the drive becomes north of The City.
So I drove through forests of amazing trees. And then I got to the REAL giants - the 2000 year old redwoods big enough to drive a car through. I am talking 300-400 feet tall. Picture a football field standing on it's end reaching into the sky. Yeah. That big. I was also impressed by other natural wonders, like rivers. There are a lot of rivers north of Eureka, California, for example. And the coastline is very different - cliffs dropping down onto very tiny strips of sand or plunging directly into the water. I gotta say, the whole thing is really amazing. California is pretty incredible. And yes, there's some weird shit too. Giant plaster dinosaurs and Paul Bunyan and aliens... "Another Roadside Attraction" to make the trip more memorable.
This was also the first night I camped out. There's a story. When I got to SF I realized I had forgotten some things: my passport (so Vancouver is out), my ATM card (handled by going to a branch of my bank and withdrawing some cash), and my TENT. I forgot my TENT on a CAMPING trip. I'm home now - and I can't find it anywhere. But I had to stop off in Crescent City and buy a new tent. It's tall, I can stand in it, so I think it rocks. No more kneeling to get dressed. It was so beautiful out there - so far away from city lights and pollution and smog - the stars are like - brilliantly shining stars or something. Yeah, I know. Anyway, stocked with a new tent and refreshed and ready for Oregon I woke up on day 3 to find I had slept in bear territory. Ah well, I survived. And continued northward...
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