Are We There Yet?

Welcome to California!

Wait -- weren't we supposed to be going East from Tillamook?  Well, here's what happened.  I was lying awake thinking.  And there's a lot to think about when you're homeless and unemployed.  And one of the things I was thinking about was that the car needs something fixed on it.  I knew this leaving Sitka.  My mechanic there told me about it, but it's an air conditioning issue, and being the fabulous hometown mechanic that he is, he said it would be cheaper to get it fixed once we left Alaska, since they don't really do much air conditioning work there.  So I'm thinking "how do I know that a strange mechanic will take care of me like my beloved hometown mechanic?"  and "where could I go to get my car fixed, where I know somebody, and I know I won't be taken advantage of?"  And then I had this brilliant idea "My sister works for a Kia dealership!"

So our trip has taken a turn for the South.  And since there are a couple of things south of Tillamook that we are interested in seeing, we will stop  there on the way to Lori's.

#1 -- Vandenberg Air Force base to see Cassie's friend, Chris.

#2 -- Disneyland.  Because where else would you go if you were homeless and unemployed?

This change of plans means we'll be turning the entire road trip plan around and driving it backwards.  Daddy would enjoy this, as he thought that car in the movie "Smoke Signals" that could only drive backwards was hilarious.

The change of plans also means there was a LOT of driving this day.  NOT what we have set out to do, but it's okay.  Here's what we saw along the way:

We had to make a u-turn to get a photo of this sign.

The coastline looks a lot like Oregon, so far.

You Are Here.

A quick stop for a picnic breakfast of contraband bananas.  Sorry, California!  When you asked if I had any produce I forgot there were bananas in the car!  We ate them right away, though.

And a Shout-Out to John and Renee (and their puppy Romeo) from Florida for helping us take a photo with this gigantic redwood tree.

We kept seeing signs about the dangers of approaching the elk and we weren't seeing any elk, until this place...

One of several "famous drive-through trees" you can pay to drive through.  

Note to fellow travellers:  This was a first night of tent camping in California, at Van Damme campground.  The campsite fee was double what we paid in Oregon, and the Oregon campgrounds were much nicer.  In Oregon, there was soap and paper towels in the bathrooms, for example.  And there were showers.  Van Damme campground had flush toilets and toilet paper, at least.