2021 Seattle >> LA
Jay & Rikki
Context
2020 was an interesting year to say the least. Fortunately, Rikki and I were able to get through it healthy, employed, and overall very fortunate (we got engaged and bought a house š). With my newfound flexibility with work, and Rikelleās ability to find travel contracts elsewhere, we decided to take advantage of the times and do some traveling. Rikki accepted an 8-week contract as a travel nurse in a Santa Monica ICU, and I was willing to skip out on a ski season early. With a February 1 start date, and a week to drive, the wheels were put in motion in mid-January. We put all of our possessions in storage in Seattle, had farewell dinners with our closest friends, and packed up the Jeep. On January 23rd, we said our final goodbye to Seattle, and were off.
WA/OR Coast
Day 1 took us south to Tacoma, and then westward to the coast. We didnāt really stop anywhere along the WA coast, as much of it belongs to native reservation land, and Iād just been surfing in Westport, WA the weekend before. The real beauty of the WA coast is much further north on the Olympic Peninsula. We reached the infamous 101, crossed the Columbia River, and made our way into Oregon. We passed through Astoria (home of the Goonies!) and made our way to the iconic Oregon towns of the OR coast a bit further south.
We cruised into Seaside, OR. A very touristy little beach town with a really cool history. Itās the end of the Lewis & Clarke Trail, where the group reached the Pacific. I could only replay the Almost Heroes scene; Chris Farley rolling around on the beach drunk. We pulled right up to the beach, got out and walked around, and then drove a few miles along the beach on the way out. Certainly easier than the journey of the early explorers.
Cannon Beach was the next iconic OR Coast stop. Much smaller town, and home to the iconic beach spires. We didnāt snag any pictures, but thatās what the internet is for. The drive out of Cannon Beach was really beautiful, and makes sense why the town is an OR Coast gem. After Cannon Beach, we made a few stops at some coastal highway pullouts, the stop above the small town of Manzanita captured our gaze the longest.
Newport was our Day 1 destination. We reached our Airbnb just south of Newport after dark, but could still hear the waves just across the highway. The view was certainly a treat to wake up to in the morning and savor a cup of coffee.
Central OR
We headed inland after our night in Newport, east through Corvallis. Rainforest vibes along the coast, up to the Willamette National Forest, and through the mountain pass. We got hit with a snowstorm while cruising through the pass, and dropped back down into Central Oregon en route to Bend. Rikki hadnāt been to Bend, and I was itching for one more ski Day. We made it to our Bend Airbnb, where weād be for two nights. Night one we walked around Bend and cozied up in a tent in a brewery parking lot.
On Monday morning, we woke up slowly, and the Mt. Bachelor snow report looked promising. Unfortunately, the 8 degree temps didnāt sound enticing to Rikki. After a quick 30 minute drive up to Bachelor, I was pleasantly surprised to find a fresh 7ā. Had a rad ski day exploring the mountain on a sneaky pow day.
CA Coast
Tuesday morning was a sunny, cold ten degrees as we left Bend. South on Highway 97 led us toward Crater Lake, which we were planning on stopping to take a look at. Unfortunately, at higher elevation we hit the first of the snowstorm. It looked like we were in for a lot of precipitation in the next few days, with an atmospheric river running over most of California. Tahoe had over 10 feet of snow in the 5 day forecast, Mammoth had 110ā, and as far north as Bachelor was expecting over 80ā. After some deliberation, we opted to stick with the PCH drive and not chase snow through the Sierras. Would have been an epic snow cycle to ski, but also dreadful driving and long days.
After a few hours, we hit the CA border after Grantās Pass. The first grove of Redwoods we encountered was the Amelia Earhart grove, with big snowflakes falling as the backdrop. Continuing down 101 the rain picked up, often switching back and forth to snow. We hit the coast when we pulled in to Crescent City. It was pouring rain, and high winds that nearly blew Rikki away when we stopped for a rest. We continued the drive south, headed for our next stop in Trinidad, CA. We pulled into the small coastal town of Trinidad around 4:30pm, the views were great despite the weather. We took a few back roads to our Airbnb, and a tree had fallen blocking the road. Power lines were down, but we were actually relieved, because we had the Trinidad spot booked for two nights and we had no interest in staying in this coastal town for two days of cold, rain, and wind. We drove another 30 minutes to Eureka and found another spot for the night.
Redwoods and Mendocino
We woke up Wednesday to sunshine in Eureka, and headed for the coast. Because of the storm, and snow level dropping below 1000ft, parts of 101 were going to be closed just south of Leggett, CA, which made the decision to take the coastal Highway 1 route easy. The first hour we took the scenic Avenue of the Giants, which runs for 50 miles alongside 101, but winds through three hundred foot, two thousand year old Redwoods.
After the Avenue, the drive from 101 westward to Highway 1 was another hour of winding roads and hairpin turns.
We hit the coastal highway just north of Westport, CA. The cliffed highway stood more than 100 feet above the waves below, which makes for a beautiful, but tense drive. We pulled into Mendocinoās quaint downtown for lunch and a quick walk around. The sunshine and warm(er) air, while we sipped wine and enjoyed lunch on the back patio, were appreciated almost as much as the fresh salad greens, as Rikki has had enough of the rural grocery store salad mixes at this point.
We had another 4 hours to get to Marin County, which was our new stopping point after calling the audible on Trinidad. We hit the other stretch of high-cliff, but vibrant green driving, passed through Bodega Bay, and then finally inland, as the rain weād expected to drive in all day finally caught up to us. The final stretch of Wednesdayās drive was through north Marin Countyās rolling peaks, valleys, and ranches. We pulled in to Fairfax around 5:30 and unloaded the essentials. We walked the half-mile into Fairfax after dark for a beer and some takeout. Pretty great day considering our expectation was one of rain, cold, and high winds along the perched coastal highway.
Our stay-put day in Fairfax was on-and-off sunny. We both went for runs exploring the area, and both spent a large part of the day on school work. We then went to meet up with some of our closest Seattle friends, Sara and Thomas, as theyād been staying with Thomasās parents in nearby San Rafael. Was a chilly night, but great to catch up while our travels crossed.
Thursday evening we started to scope out our drive, and unfortunately, the heavy rains and flooding from earlier in the week had caused a number of mudslides and closures around Big Sur. We opted to drive the inland 101 and make a straight shot to Santa Monica, rather than stop for a night at the halfway point of San Luis Obispo and drive the coastal Hwy 1.
One last long day of driving couldnāt start with anything other than enjoying coffee and donuts along the harbor in Sausalito.
Our route then took us through downtown SF and the south Bay, back to the coast through Santa Cruz, Monterrey, Santa Barbara, around Malibu, and into Santa Monica around 7pm. Exhausted, we left the un-packing for the morning and prioritized walking to a taco shop. Saturday morning we unpacked the car, made a grocery run, and went for a nice 20 mile ride past the Santa Monica Pier, along the beach down to Venice and back. Looking forward to many days working in the sunshine of our little garden patio, and street tacos 5 days a week.
