just another coast post

Well, hello there, internet! Long time no see.

What's that you say? You'd like to know what our excuse is for abandoning you for almost two weeks? You've been forced to do stuff like watch political conventions and evacuate your homes just to have something to do while you waited for this post?

We are so sorry. We spent many of those days in internet-free (read: barbaric) zones... and then on the days that we had it, we neglected you so that we could frantically refresh weather websites while we watched Gustav make his approach. Please forgive us.

We left off right before the Hoh rainforest. It was neato. Maybe the most beautiful campsite so far: right next to the Hoh river, which is steely gray and whose banks are argillaceous with what they call "glacial flour," which is the superfine dust that rocks turn into when a glacier rolls over them. The campsite was also very sunny, with views of the misty valley, for maybe the first twenty minutes. Would that we had taken some photos then! We wasted those precious moments setting up the tent (which had been drenched thoroughly, inside and out, at our previous, hellish campsite).

So yeah, we finished setting up the tent, and then watched it steam in the early afternoon sun while we patted ourselves on the back, even as an insidious vapor crept over the ridge... and proceeded to soak us for the next twelve hours or so.

It probably would have been weird to visit one of the world's few temperate rainforests in any other than its natural state. But it meant that we didn't take so many pictures. Here's one that I stole from the internet. It's from a part of the park called the hall of mosses, and it was my favorite part. The big old trees with all their moss really did make you feel enclosed, albeit grandly, like in a woody cathedral.


Blah blah blah picture doesn't do it justice blah blah.

Then we went to Portland! That was fun. My beloved mother-in-law welcomed us, entertained us, and allowed us to use her laundry facilities.

Then we went to Cannon Beach! That was also fun. You might remember that we went there with Kevin for a couple of hours. Well, it was just as cool the second time. Plus, we got to surprise Eddie, who thought we were still up on the Olympic peninsula. Abbie gets a kick out of surprising him, and her mother is an expert accomplice. We were waiting at the bar when they appeared at one of Cannon Beach's fine restaurants. He made it seem like it was a happy surprise.

We spent a night there, and walked around on the beach in the morning. Photo credit: G-lo.



Hello! This is Abbie now.

It was so much fun to see my parents, if only for a little while. We were sad to say goodbye. We also had to say goodbye to Bobbie and Anna and Ruby again, because they got to their house at Cannon Beach (which they had kindly let us stay in the night before) just as we were leaving.

And so we headed back out and made our way to Eugene, Oregon, where we watched some of the convention, worked on law school applications (Sam wrote an amazing personal statement!), got the car window fixed after someone smashed it, and went to a fun Saturday market where we got raspberries, blackberries, and some chocolate cheesecake.

After a smashing time in Eugene (ha ha!) we headed for the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. There was one site left at the campground, and it was maybe my favorite one yet -- a little clearing in the trees.


And, just a short walk from the campsite were these beautiful dunes!


We rolled down them and got really sandy.


Also, Sam did some frolicking.


It was really cold out there, so Sam got some wood and built us a fire, which we stared into for an hour or two.


The next day, we made it all the way to another state!


We saw lots of beauty, including giant redwoods, a black sand beach, and the Mendocino coast. Despite all the beauty, we were feeling a little out of sorts, because Gustav was heading for New Orleans and we were far away and out of touch. So we decided to stay in civilization for a few days so we could use our phones and watch CNN. We pulled over in Eureka, California and stayed in a hotel for a couple of nights.

Once the storm had passed, I continued to watch CNN, which was not necessarily a good thing. Sam started back in on his applications and made a lot of progress, which was a good thing.

California 1 continued to be beautiful and winding all the way to San Francisco. We stopped to camp in a state park that had some sunbathing seals. We also stopped in Point Reyes Station to get some cheese at the Cowgirl Creamery and talk about the election with the locals.

We are happy to be in the bay area and will write more about it soon. Meanwhile, we hope you are all doing well. We love and miss you.