Our Travels (Part 2)

A great big thank you for the warm welcomes back home!  I have to admit that returning to a stack of bills and unfinished business had me a bit stressed at first.....but as I tackle things little by little, I'm loosening up and enjoying being home.

Most of all, I'm enjoying catching up with all of you..heehee!
I did mention how much I missed you, right?!  Haha!

A few of you were just as amazed as I was about Maggie's sewing skills from last post....
I thought I'd share a pic of the finished product :)

I fastened it to her new backpack. I can't believe she starts Kindergarten this Wednesday!

Okay, so I left off with us in Ferndale....
Where we went next blew my mind!

Have any of you heard of Agate Beach?  We've passed it many times in our travels, but have never stopped before....

You walk down a long steep path to the beach....and when you look down....you see this instead of sand!

Stones of every color polished to perfection by the sea...so smooth, so round...they feel amazing!

After the thrill of Glass Beach, this was an unexpected treat....because if you search hard enough, you'll see why this beach gets it's name.

Agates...shiny, ultra smooth, with a bit of transluscence formed in lava rock where bubbles once hardened...created thru layer after layer of minerals washed within it.  The rock erodes, and these little beauties fall out and make their way to the sea to be tumbled with the other stones....

They look like candy rocks or jellybeans to me...makes me want to eat them :D

Don't worry, I'll find a craftier way to use these...heehee....

Making our way up north, we stopped to take in the views of the ocean whenever we could....the fog would roll in so suddenly and change the whole feel....a vulture in a tree helped, too...

Settling down in one of our most favorite campgrounds ever, we breathed deeply and felt any remaining cares drop away.  The Redwood National Forest is breathtakingly beautiful!  There is a place called Fern Canyon where you are surrounded by walls of greenery....

....the sound of rushing water in your ears as you walk over a clear cool stream....

A fairy lover's paradise....

A gorgeous place to feel renewed and grateful for all that is good....

As if that isn't enough...between the beach and the mountain that makes the canyon, theres is a marsh where the stream water pools....

The Roosevelt Elk love to gather here to eat the tender plants.  These elk are huge, 2nd only to moose!

When you wade thru the marsh, you reach the beach.

Thankfully, her Daddy can put up with the cold, cold water better than I.  Maggie is unfazed by it...even when her lips turn purple and she's shivering...she wants to go in some more...brrr!

We crossed over into Oregon and stopped for more pictures....

It doesn't matter how many times I see these formations....I'm in awe :)

One of our other favorite places to visit is The Westcoast Game Park in Bandon, Oregon....

Not only do you get to appreciate animals from afar (and not too far, at that)....but pet....

....hold....

...and feed some incredible creatures....

I had no idea how hot antlers with velvet on them feel....all those blood vessels bringing heat up to them....

We set up camp in a town called Florence, which just happened to be close enough to arrange to meet a good Blog Friend of mine!   Marty recently relocated to Oregon just in time for our lives to intersect!

Maggie and I had a lovely time getting to know her and her adorable children better.  We hit a few thrift stores and had an all around wonderful time!  The dork that I am, I forgot my camera, but she did a post about our visit here...

Thank you so much, Marty, for your hospitality, your charm and welcoming smile!  So glad I finally got to meet you! (...and thanks for letting me raid your Thrift store stash of goodies...heehee!) 

We continued our vacation with more trips to the beach...

Playing with the driftwood...

Jim got his shadow in there to make sure he was still part of the picture :)

Here's my windswept Darling in the driftwood teepee behind us....

We ended up going almost all the way to the top of Oregon, but somehow don't have many pictures...(not too dissappointed, are you...hehe?)

But on the way back down, we stopped at a viewpoint near Big Sur....

A house once stood at this location, built in the '40's....

The master bedroom looked out on this....

Can you imagine?  The water was just gorgeous.  I don't think I've ever seen it look that clear or that blue-green in California....ever! 

I hope most of you are still awake...heehee!

That was a lot of pictures, I know.  Thanks for stopping in to see them...

I'll leave you with just 2 more...the hair clips that I've made so far.

In the shop now :)

I'm making my rounds, I apologize if I haven't gotten to you yet....trying to check in between loads of laundry and re-organizing.  You are all so important to me.  Wish I could travel and meet each and every one of you!

Have a fantastic week ahead!

Hugs and a pucker...Mwah!

Cam