Down the Coastal Roads

May 27-July 5 for myself and Edward, Brendan and Zaira

June 22-July 5 for Sean and Henry

But Michael was only allowed a four day weekend over the Fourth of July holiday, which ended up being two days of family time before driving back.  We had to allow some time to drive back!  Of course, we could not do anything easy...we had places to see along the way.  It turned out to be two 18 hour days (over 1000 miles) but it was well worth the effort to have everyone together and see as much as we could along the way.

Here are the details for the trip back to Monterey:

July 5

We were up before dawn...I fought off a raccoon that thought the diaper wipes would make a good breakfast...he took them right out of my hands!  I had to repack the back of the van because SOMEBODY (not mentioning names) did not put things where he was asked...but we were off in record time.  Little Madison even woke Christina and Shane so they could all say good-bye with a kiss.  SO hard to leave them but it was time to get back and make our house in California a home.

Best part about the early morning drive out of Bremerton...a bald eagle escorted out of town...it flew right beside us over the bay.

We could not resist a quick look at the Olympic National Park, so we drove around the lower part of the mountain and made a side trip into the Staircase Ranger Station.  We left early enough to see the park without a lot of disturbance.  Maybe a little too early as we arrived before eight in the morning.  We started on a trail but a large tree had fallen and it would have taken us to far off the path to continue.  We returned to the station and Michael happened upon a park ranger who was able to give us a junior ranger booklet and suggest a path down by the lake.

We were also able to drive near the coast on the west side of the park before continuing south to the next stop.  We would cross over the Columbia River on a four-mile bridge.  This river was so wide...I can only imagine what Lewis and Clark must have thought when they arrived at the mouth of this river.  We would learn more at the Lewis and Clark National Historic Site.

This park was the best stop...many might not even come this way, but it is worth the trip.  We were able to pick up our junior ranger books just in time to walk to the path to the fort.  On the way, we met a volunteer who encouraged us to meet the ranger giving a talk on hides.  He was not only talking to the group but dressed the part.  We found out that all the rangers at the fort were dressed for the era.  We met a ranger who played a harmonica. We had time to walk down a wetland path before watching a demonstration with a flintlock.  This included a great story about the time the expedition came across a grizzly bear that took nine bullets to bring down.

We left the park and drove down the coast looking for whales.  We stopped at one spot to take pictures and were convinced we saw whales.  We even told the others that stopped at the viewpoint to look for them.  We took several pictures but we will never know if what we saw were whales or not.  It was getting late in the day so we decided to change our course.  We stopped in the town of Newport for dinner at a buffet.

Someone mentioned there was a lighthouse up the road and I thought that would be a good place for a geocache.  Yes!  This made me even more determined to go to the lighthouse.  It was probably the best surprise of the entire trip!  We arrived at Yaquina Lighthouse just as a ranger was setting up for a program.  He had a telescope st up to see the harbor seals and common murres that were on rocks just off the beach.

Along with this set up, we were told this was the perfect time of day to discover tidal pools on the beach.


The ranger made the "mistake"of asking if we had any questions.  We had so many questions for him that he finally told me that we needed to slow down.  We were too excited for that...this was our first real sight of seals.

Then the children went down to the tidal pools and saw green sea anemones and barnacles.  After an hour of watching the children, I realized we were not going to make it to our hotel for the night until very late.  So, we made our way to the lighthouse where we met another park ranger.  She was very excited to show us her telescope that was set up to see the bald eagles...not one but several were in the area.  We were able to watch these birds in action among the sea gulls and common murres.

Then as we walked back to the van, we happened to see the strangest thing...the sea gulls were attacking one of the eagles!  We could hardly believe our eyes as we watched the eagle almost fall into the water!

By the time we got back in our van and drove to the hotel it was after midnight!  BUT it was worth the long day to see everything we discovered.

July 6


Believe it or not...we were back in the van by 7am the next day.  We were determined to start the day with two goals...see the Redwood Forest and make it back to Monterey (not really an options since Michael had to sign in by midnight).

Within an hour on the road, we had arrived at our first goal.  Little did we know that this park actually expands down the coast line...from the parks edge to right above San Francisco.  It it a national park that is connected by several California state parks.  We would be in the Redwoods most of the day!

We were given a special path just for us to follow to help us reach San Francisco (knowing we had another hour after this to make it back to Monterey) thanks to a kind park ranger and we were off...

We followed a rough dirt road through a massive forest of trees.  It was mainly a one lane road so we had to try to pull to the side if we met a vehicle coming from the other direction.  It was only 5 miles but at the speed we were going it took us almost an hour.  We stopped at one place a little too long but we had to have one of the boys hop out and have a picture taken with the trail dedicated to the Boy Scouts as a nod to my brother Nathan.  One of the things we were told to look for while we traveled through the woods was the banana slug.  We did not see any on this trek as it was way to dusty for a slug.  We would continue to look for this creature throughout the day.


We made it back to the main highway and followed the coastal road that seemed to show just glimpses here and there along the way.  I have to admit I was a little disappointed as I thought it would be like the movies with coast on the very edge of the road, but it was still a nice road to travel.

We were determined to find the drive thru tree and we thought it was funny because it is not part of the park at all.  We actually paid $6 to drive through a tree in someone's back yard!  An iconic photo that we will never forget.

Still no signs of banana slugs and we were getting hungry so I finally decided we had to get back to the coast for lunch.  We stopped in the coastal town of Trinidad where we found a little restaurant right on a pier.  We actually watched the fishermen coming and going during our meal.  Some of the boys even chose to wait for their food by walking on the pier.  Edward came running back to tell us that he had found sea stars on the rocks, but we decided to eat lunch before letting him take us to the spot.  It was great food and perfect place for us to stop and enjoy the view.

We took a short path off the road to find the last visitor center associated with the park to turn in our junior ranger books.  We were also told to be sure to stop at the Big Tree.  On the road, we saw the sign and stopped right away...we got out and got a picture with the tree...very impressive.  But then a few yards down the road, a sign pointed to a parking lot with another sign for the Big Tree.  We got out a second time and took a short path to A VERY BIG TREE!!!!!  It was so big we could not reach from side to side with all of us linked together!  SO glad we stopped the second time.  Not only did we see the Big Tree...BUT we also found a BANANA SLUG!!!!  YAY!!!!

Imposter Big Tree

Real BIG TREE!

We had no plans to stop again until we came to San Francisco...however, bathroom stops could not be avoided...at one cry for potty, we pulled into the Humboldt State Park.  It was a great path to drive and at the park we saw several Stellar Jays which are the most beautiful birds (My pictures do not do them justice...but I show you one anyway.).

Our last hoorah of the day was driving over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco.  I do not know if we were just giddy from exhaustion but it just seemed like a wonderful landmark to see.  After driving across this iconic bridge we knew we were only an hour from Monterey.  Looking at the time, we were going to be lucky to make the midnight deadline.

We pulled up to the base gate at 2330...relieved that we had made it...then we realized that a truck just in front of us was being inspected...actually torn apart!  We will never know what the soldier did to receive this inspection but he was being handcuffed right in front of us!  Michael had to call in to check in for his leave...we finally got him taken care of and arrived back at the house at 0100.

What a trip!  I would not change it for the world...definitely will not forget the experience!

Fourth of July

What could I possibly say...the best thing to do is just show pictures of our last day in Bremerton celebrating Independence Day.  God bless America!

Michael's Coming!

The day we picked up Michael we had one more spot to visit.  We had hoped Michael would arrive early enough in the day but that was not to be.  Shane was determined to take the boys down to the shipyard to see the destroyer, Turner Joy.  Since we had one little one recovering from illness (poor Brendan) and Zaira and Madison were a little small to climb up and down ladders, the mommas stayed back.  We actually went to a naval museum while we waited.

The boys loved the tour of the destroyer.  They even "joined" a tour group whose leader actually worked the ship many years ago.  They followed the group right into an area of the ship that was off limits to the public.  Then asked if they could try out the hoses.  The tour guide told them they were not even supposed to be there so what difference did it make.  LOL...I guess they got a little bonus experience.

Christina and I enjoyed the museum and the air conditioning.  There were many early era tools of the trade on display and many hands on activities.  I wish I had not been so concerned about Brendan spreading germs or we could have had a lot more fun.

The boys spent so long on their tour that we had to race to get to the airport in time to pick up Michael.  But we were determined...we would all be back together after three months.





What better way to make that happen than bringing a military family back together than the Fourth of July!  It reminded me of another time our family was reunited after a long absence about six years ago!

We made it just in time to pick Michael up...even waiting a few minutes for him to make it through the terminal.  Then we made our way back to introduce "grampa" to little Madison.  A very joyous occasion.  We only had two days before going back to California.  Michael would need to squeeze in as many baby hours as possible!  But first he would have to detach himself from Zaira...Daddy's girl.

That evening we had a special ceremony...one of Shane's friends (Travis) was going to show us how to retire a flag.  It was also a way to get some of the guys together to share a cigar in honor of the new bundle of joy!  An interesting combination but with limited time it was the best option.

Do you know the process to retire a flag?  It is quite inspiring...yet sad...

First the pieces of the flag must be cut into individual pieces.  For some this means even separating each star...however most just cut out the field intact but each stripe is separate.  The strip with the grommets is also removed separately.

The flag is saluted and paid tribute.  We also sang the Star Spangled Banner.  I love this song and so thankful that my children understand the importance of what it means.


Then the parts are placed on an open fire to be burned in a respectful way.  In a formal public ceremony a special guest is invited to tell a story of service.  It the flag has a special story it is told at this time.  Our flag was found in our house purchased several years ago.  We did not know the story, so Travis told the children about flag etiquette instead.

As the flag was burning, we played patriotic songs but it was otherwise quiet.  Hard to imagine with our group, I know.  But it was just that type of experience.

The strip with the grommets is traditionally burned separately.  The idea is that the flag should it ever fall into the wrong hands would not have any way to be flown again.  After the flag is burned to ash, the ashes are buried and the grommets are buried in a separate location as well.

We performed this ceremony the night before the Fourth of July.  It seemed fitting to start out our weekend in this way.  The next day would be about family and friends with a BBQ and fireworks...lots of fun but this night was about the solemnness of the occasion.  Should we ever forget what our country stands for...as represented in this flag, our country as we know it will not last.

Thomas Jefferson once said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.  If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."

It is easy to see that this might give reason for quiet thought.