Eureka!! We finally arrived there!! To Eureka, California that is. We drove the 5-6 hours north on highway 101 until we reached Eureka, and we checked into our hotel with great relief. It was pitch dark, we were tired and hungry, and it had rained the entire drive.
The next morning, we woke up to sunny skies and beautiful weather. So we got together with Jeff (Vin’s buddy from La Porte High School, IN) who lives in Eureka, and he took us to see the sights.
It was such a beautiful day, we decided to go to Trinidad Head to see if we could spot any seals. Sadly, no seals were to be found but look at the gorgeous view!
[[image:cal12.jpg:Vin and Jeff looking out to sea:center:0]]
[[image:cal13.jpg:Trinidad Head from the cliffs:center:0]]
[[image:cal14.jpg:More Trinidad Head:center:0]]
We climbed down a long and rickety stairway to get down to the beach.
[[image:cal15.jpg:View from halfway down the stairs:center:0]]
[[image:cal16.jpg:On the beach:center:0]]
[[image:cal17.jpg:Vin on the the beach:center:0]]
[[image:cal18.jpg:Jeff talking about Trinidad Head, and its environs:center:0]]
[[image:cal19.jpg:Rocks off Trinidad Head:center:0]]
[[image:cal20.jpg:Trinidad town way in the distance:center:0]]
[[image:cal21.jpg:Foggy and mysterious faraway rocks:center:0]]
[[image:cal24.jpg:The pier:center:0]]
After a long climb back up, we looked at the Light House and Bell.
[[image:cal22.jpg:Lighthouse Memorial to those lost at sea:center:0]]
[[image:cal23.jpg:The Memorial Bell:center:0]]
Then we drove back to Arcata and went to the city of Arcata’s redwood park. This is Vin’s and my first glimpse of a true redwood on this trip, and my first view of redwoods, ever! As we walk in, the temperature is markedly cooler than outside, it’s really peaceful and quiet (can’t hear the noises made in the city of Arcata), very damp and moist too.
[[image:cal25.jpg:We enter the park:center:0]]
[[image:cal26.jpg:Leafy treetops far overhead:center:0]]
[[image:cal27.jpg:Trees trees trees:center:0]]
[[image:cal28.jpg:Vin and Jeff – some perspective on the size of these trees:center:0]]
[[image:cal29.jpg:A humongous stump of a dead redwood tree:center:0]]
[[image:cal30.jpg:Vin and Jeff, looking up at the treetops:center:0]]
[[image:cal31.jpg:Vin may look Photoshopped, but this picture has not been doctored:center:0]]
It was amazing – we just loved it. I did not see any ewoks but as these were not old-growth Coastal Redwoods (these trees were probably only 200-300 years old, and old growth redwoods are estimated to be 500 years or older) I felt that the ewoks had probably moved away due to the proximity to humans. Jeff told us that on our way back south the next day, we should hit the Humboldt State Park for some really old and huge trees. I was completely blown away. These are not the huge trees? Sure looked huge to me!
So then we drove on back to Eureka and took a quick tour of the town.
[[image:cal32.jpg:Amazing old house in Eureka built by an olden day lumber baron:center:0]]
[[image:cal35.jpg:The lumber baron’s son’s house:center:0]]
[[image:cal34.jpg:Trees right by the downtown – beyond the trees is the harbor:center:0]]
All in all, we had a wonderful day. The weather cooperated beautifully, and Jeff was a wonderful host. We had dinner with Jeff and his family that evening.
