Seattle

Final destination of the first leg of our road trip - Seattle!

 This is actually going to be the last post of the first leg of the trip. After we made it up the coast of Oregon, we headed to Seattle to meet up with Jack and Sandy and their 2 sons, Tommy and Jimmy. That evening, Tommy and Jimmy, and Ilsa and I all had a nerf war on the block... it was probably the best nerf war I have ever had! The next morning, we went to Mighty-Os donut shop. The donuts there had so much flavor! After Mighty-Os, we walked to Tommy and Jimmy's school where we had to depart. I hope I get to see them soon because I had lots of fun with them! My dad, my sister, and I are headed back to Anchorage. My mom will be driving Kiska and the Scamp to Minnesota so it will be waiting there for the next leg of the trip!

Lars, Ilsa, Jimmy and Tommy

Mighty-O Donuts

California Wildflowers

California Wildflowers

by Ilsa

The flowers on the coast of California were in beautiful bloom when we arrived. This winter, California got more rain than expected, which caused the flowers to be spectacular.  I couldn't help but borrow my mom's phone to take a lot of pictures.  I have never seen such a variety of flowers in all different colors!

California Poppy - State Flower

The Coast Post

Golden Gate Bridge

 By: Lars

It was a little sad having to leave Yosemite but once again, we were looking forward to visiting a new place and seeing new things. Our next destination was San Francisco. There we would meet up with my parents' friends, Greg and Kara, and their seven-year-old son Benjamin. It was wonderful to finally play with another kid after having to be with my family 24/7!  Greg cooked a gourmet dinner that night preparing us for the next beautiful day to the coast of California. That day, we went over the Golden Gate Bridge!  After the drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, Greg and Kara and Benjamin came with us to a campsite on the coast. When we got there, we immediately went hiking (not a surprise)! It was a beautiful hike and Benjamin wanted to go hiking more when we had to turn around (nice Benjamin)! The next day we had to depart from Greg, Kara, and Benjamin. That day was very exciting though because we drove to the Redwoods State Park. The trees were huge but not as big as the Sequoias (the Redwoods were taller though). The next day Ilsa and I explored on the Redwood trees and found tons of little caves and "castles".  Soon we were on the road again.  We drove through the Redwoods National Park, too. We stopped at a beach along the way and we flew kites but sadly Ilsa's kite broke off and almost got swept away in the ocean but she saved it in time. That day we didn't know where we were staying but we made reservations at a place called Beach Front Inn. No joke... it was the nicest hotel/lodge I have ever been to! We had a perfect view of the coast and a heated pool!  The next day was yet another day driving on the gorgeous coast. Our next two nights we camped on the coast and it was awesome! One night we were right next to the beach and there were numerous trees to climb! All of us are a little sad because tomorrow my sister, my dad, and I will be flying back to Anchorage and my mom will be driving Kiska and the Scamp to Minnesota. Thank you everyone for reading our posts. It has been an amazing experience and I can't wait to write more on the blog on the next part of our road trip in 6 weeks.

Hiking on the coast with our San Francisco friends, enjoying the wildflowers in bloom

California coast near the Redwoods

California Redwoods

California Redwoods

Kite flying at the northern point of the California coast

Stopped in at the Tillamook Creamery for ice cream and discovered much more -
including a dairy museum where the kids learned the modern ways to milk cows

Last nites of camping.... kids finishing up homework and thinking about returning to reality!