In an attempt to explore more of the vast beauty of California we took a trip up Highway 1 to the Redwoods. Since my husband and I have officially settled down in the Golden State, our priorities have changed a bit.

We aren’t so quick to hop on a plane to travel internationally, not that we could do so easily anyways, and instead are planning mini road trips throughout the state.

It was a rather quick trip during the week. We actually had an agenda, to check out a wedding venue in the Redwoods.

Instead of taking the 101, which would have gotten us to Mendocino County quicker, we took the famous 1. We left early from the Central Valley of California and spent the whole day driving up north.

We took short breaks, but didn’t make tons of pit stops to check out the beach towns. We made two longer stops in Bodega Bay and Point Arena. We enjoyed a walk on the beach in Bodega Bay and a large vegetarian pizza in Point Arena.

A bonus to traveling anywhere during the week is that the crowds will be minimal, or non existent. That was our case, it was perfect.

Tons of parking, no long lines, and scenic routes to ourselves. It truly is optimal.

Some roads were so isolated we wondered how much they were traveled on during the height of the pandemic.

The weather was also perfect. Cool, a bit gloomy, a bit sunny, a little hazy. It was beautiful. It captured that Tuesday spirit. We opened up the sun roof, stuck our hands out, and let the elements touch our fingertips.

We drove through the cutest towns and spoke about how it would be living far away from a city.

After six hours of driving the scenery started to change. We headed inland towards Leggett. The weather was still cool but with time we were surrounded by pines, and eventually Redwoods.

How lucky are we, within a day you can literally be by the ocean, the Redwoods, mountains, desert, that’s California for ya.

We got to our venue around 7pm and were instantly greeted upon arrival. We even got our room upgraded, it was quite the treat after being in a car for so long. The rest of the evening was spent at the pub and relaxing in our room.

Waking up to a redwood at our sliding door the following morning was such a treat. Realizing how small I’m compared to these natural beauties always grounds me. There’s so much more to life than what I make it out to be in my mind.

We enjoyed walking the grounds most of the morning.

It was almost as if we were camping. We came across a nice trail that led us to a river.

Afterwards we checked out, grabbed some breakfast, and made our way to the Avenue of the Giants.

This famous avenue is a scenic highway in Humboldt County that runs for 31 miles. On display are the magnificent virgin redwoods that occupy this space.

Talk about feeling tiny, these beauties are massive and the route is enchanting while the sunlight peeps through.

One can easily spend a whole trip within and around the redwoods. Unfortunately for us, it was a quick hello goodbye.

We made our way to Garberville for lunch and stopped by a few local shops.

In one of the stores we stopped by, Hemp Connection, the owner mentioned checking out a local cannabis nursery so we could get a better understanding of the thriving industry. We drove 20 minutes to Briceland to check it out. We were given a short tour and walked away with an informative experience, it really is a world of its own.

One of the popular attractions we passed by on the 101 was the Grandfather Tree, a massive 1800 year old Redwood that stands tall at 265 feet. How could we not get off and check it out.

The rest of our time was spent taking in the views from our car and driving down the 101 back home.

This blog is shorter than my others. I couldn’t find the motivation these past months to document and write about my trips. But just how this trip was short, I will keep the words short as well. I hope you make it up to Redwoods in your lifetime, it’s quite the treat.