Day 2
The next AM, we refueled (remembering this time that it is 
illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon) bought 2 way radios at Walmart for easier communication and continued on. Armed with our new toys, we planned our first stop in Florence, OR at the Sea Lion Caves (voted one of the 10 best off the beaten path sites to see in the US by US Weekly). However, on our way, ran across an interesting viewpoint via Cape Perpetua. Looming over tiny Yachats, OR is the impressive bulk of 800-foot-high Cape Perpetua, the highest spot on the Oregon coast. Because of the cape's rugged beauty and diversity of natural habitats, it has been designated the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. We pulled into the parking lot, faced the freezing light rain, and saw Devils Churn. This phenomenon is a notch in the Oregon Coast that catches a wave and funnels it inland for many yards until it becomes an off-white,
frothy pile driver. If the wave rushes in fast enough, it rams the end of the churn and sends up a tall plume of foam and spray. It is the product of 10000+ years of waves crashing into the coast and deepening a split in the land. The view was amazing, and gave an impressive reminder of the unadulterated power of the ocean. Plus, the combination of dark grey skies, light rain, and tumultuous ocean conditions repeatedly slamming into the coastline made for quite an ominous scene. Amy couldn’t help but mention that this was the “Pacific” Ocean. A trail went down from the parking area, and we found ourselves hiking down a trail towards the water offering even greater views of the coastline, ocean, and devils churn. We actually got a bit lost as we had no idea where the trail led to, and exited out to another parking area. Not wanting to walk back on the road, we back tracked the trail, and found our way. Spouting horn was next in the Cape Perpetua Scenic area, and after another short drive to a parking area, we were greeted by women with binoculars and rubber coveralls. We soon learned that whale watching was huge in Oregon, and pods of Orca whales from the Bearing Strait were supposedly migrating south down the coast (just like us). Spouting horn was unimpressive, as we had
seen this “phenomenon” in Kuaui, with much more impressive results and back story as well. We said goodbye to our new whale watching friends, and were back on the road towards the Seal Caves in Florence. We stopped at one more scenic viewpoint with the Heceta lighthouse as the main focus, where more whale watchers were perched when I heard grunting in the background. I looked down and saw a few sea lions swimming in the ocean and a few sea lions lying on the rocks. From 500+ feet up, they looked small and I was surprised that I could hear them. My gaze soon went towards the beach where hundreds of sea lions lied, barking and howling. It was very cool to see. Soon enough we pulled up to an ordinary looking building marked with large neon signs “Sea Lion Caves”, went inside and paid
the admission fee. We were told that this was another self guided tour and to follow the trail down to a service elevator. We walked down the trail, passing statues of sea lions, and came across the service elevator. We entered the service elevator and immediately was inundated with a rank smell of fish/fur/salt water. It wasn’t too strong, but definitely apparent…..and then we arrived 200 feet down to the caves, the elevator door opened and you are literally punched in the face with stink. I took a step toward the door, and then a step back, as the cave seemed to multiply the intensity of the stink. I am not sure how to accurately describe the smell, but I can try. Did you ever encounter a dog that tried to lick your face, and all you could smell was his bad breath? Well, pretend that dog ate 15 pounds of raw fish, swam in the ocean and dried out in the sun. Then, stick the dog in a room with no ventilation for a week …..and then open the door. There you go…. J The sea lion caves was an experience for the senses as after getting over the initial shock of the smell, 
there was an uproarious chorus of guttural sounds. We walked to the end of the cave where there is a little overlook, and there was another cave that housed close to a thousand wet, stinky sea lions. Sea lions were piled on top of each other, 2000+ pound mammals filling every nook and cranny of the cave, most of them barking and honking. The deafening sound and echoes of hundreds of sea lions filled air, with the cave assisting to intensify both the smell and the acoustic intensity. Throughout the cave were also many educational components about sea lions and of the history of this long standing tourist attraction. On the other side of the cave was a opening where you could get great views of the Hecetas lighthouse, with a freshwater waterfall falling down the jagged rock face into the ocean. Overall, it was a very interesting experience, and seeing that many sea
lions in 1 cave, was incredible. We browsed the gift shop, and drove on. We crossed the Oregon border, and soon found ourselves in the middle of the California Red wood Forest. Soon enough we were totally immersed in a beautiful and gigantic forest, totally surrounded by enormous red wood trees reaching far into the sky. We came to a bit of a clearing in the forest and there lied a large statue of the folk hero Paul Bunyan and his ox Babe. We stopped at the “Trees of Mystery” tourist store for some picture opportunities with Paul and Babe (where Amy can exploit me doing ridiculous things and share them with the world) and picked up some tourist pamphlets. It was getting dark, but Amy insisted that she wanted to partake in driving through a living redwood tree after seeing the pamphlet. We arrived at the “living drive thru tree” just as the sun was setting, drove up the incredibly windy steep hill and positioned our cars to drive through the tree. The tourist attraction is privately owned and consists of a tree that someone rudimentarily hollowed out just enough that a car/SUV can fit through, but the tree is still alive. I would have skipped it, but Amy seemed very into it, so I indulged her. We took our pictures, and left the tourist trap. It was getting dark, but we witnessed a fiery red sunset, and made it to Eureka, CA on New Year’s Eve. I looked up a few places on my Iphone and found a Red Lion with decent rates and a free 4 
course New Years Eve dinner for 2, so we took it. The Red Lion was fine, and because Amy opted for a first floor room after questioning, the receptionist gave us a Handicapped room. Dinner was disgusting, but we didn’t expect much. We brought back a bottle of champagne to the room, watched the ball drop 4 times on all US time zones, and fell asleep.
We woke up pretty early the next day, checked out of our hotel room, and walked across the 
street where Amy had spotted a breakfast nook that she wanted to try. Not sure if they were open New Years Day, our doubts quickly vanished as we saw a crowd lined up outside the small looking restaurant. The restaurant was called The Chalet – House of Omelettes, and after a short wait in the drizzling rain, we were ushered into the restaurant. The breakfast was absolutely spectacular. I had crab eggs benedict and Amy had a custom omelet with mushrooms, spinach, and ham. Both were incredible, with the hash browns crispy and cooked perfectly. It was a great hidden gem and well deserved, as we had not had a decent cooked meal in days! Then, on the road again……we drove an hour south to the Humboldt redwood forest, which houses the famous Avenue of the Giants. We drove to the visitor’s area and saw some great artifacts. They had on 
display a fallen tree, where by counting the rings you can date 
the tree. The tree was so old that it was standing well before the Magna Carta was signed!! Again, the trees were magnificent, and we took a short stroll through the woods, trying to appreciate the sheer size and complexity of the 
forest floor. It was truly a wonderful experience. At the advice of the guide at the visitor’s center, we drove a few miles north to visit the Founder’s Tree, one of the largest, thickest, and oldest trees in the redwood forest. That tree was also amazing, but honestly, looking up, all the trees were huge, and they all started to look the same. We took a quick stroll along the nature path there and saw a few more fallen trees. One fallen tree stretched for hundreds and hundreds of feet with a large complex system of uprooted roots resembling something monstrous. The guidebook we were carrying even said that the tree was even higher than Niagara Falls! On a side note, as Amy and I were walking around the 
forest, we came across a British family with 2 
young boys. As they walked past us, we heard the eldest boy (probably 10 years old) say, “Can we go home now?” His mother followed with a small rant explaining how they had flown all the way from the UK to California to see these great redwoods. A few seconds of quiet followed, before the boy broke the silence and said very eloquently…."you’re an idiot”. I couldn’t help but laugh as we kept walking away towards the car. Again, the redwoods are absolutely beautiful, and acres upon acres of dense forest growth are something that we both have never encountered before. The sheer size of these giants block out the sun below and make even the largest florida palm trees seem miniscule in their shadows. We then shot for a straight drive to San Francisco. Just north of the city we took notice to miles and miles of rolling green hills with grape vines. It's easy to see why Napa and Sonoma valley produce so many great wineries and wines. The symmetry and placement of the grape vine stakes was almost artfully done, covering the California hills with fruitful bounties of wine grapes. Our scenic drive on the 101 soon led to a fast traffic filled drive as we neared the city. Then, the Golden Gate Bridge came out of nowhere and we were thrust across the bay and into the city itself. We found a quaint little Inn that didn’t charge for parking as we are on a budget, being unemployed, and most downtown hotels charge $50 per vehicle/per night. We walked around to explore the city a bit, stopped for dinner at a local Pho restaurant and planned out our explorations for the following day.
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