Category: Life

Monday we stayed put, in the California State Historical Park of Columbia. I spent a lot of time here as a kid because my mom’s friend Jill had a house here. We came  for a visit most summers beginning when I was about 9, and when I moved out of my mother’s house I stayed with Jill for a month or so.

We visited the preserved town of Columbia; it was really hot, but the stores and buildings were nice and cool. Eddy and Owen liked the blacksmith a lot, Jonah liked the saloon where we drank sarsaparilla (bottled locally) and Kate liked the candy store.

Then we decided to drive up the hill to where Jill’s former house is. I knew that she didn’t live there anymore, but I thought it would be nice to show the kids. I have to say that I don’t remember the road being quite so steep or narrow! In my car it would have been much easier, but the van is good for road trips, not mountain climbing, and there were a few times where the bottom scrapped the road!

When I saw the bed across the stream, I knew that Helen and Ray still lived there. Almost all my time at Jill’s house was not actually spent at Jill’s, rather it was spent following Helen around. Helen lives right down the hill and is one of those warm amazing friends that every kid (and grown up!) should have in their lives. Seeing her was amazing and I’m glad the kids got to meet her.

Today we head to Los Angeles. I think Eddy is going to have to watch the US play Belgium in the World Cup on the road. Go USA!

We decided to leave the coast and head to Columbia, Ca, where I spent a couple of months of summer vacation as a kid. Driving another 10 hours on Sunday would allow us to spend Monday visiting the area (and allow Eddy to watch France play Nigeria in the World Cup Monday morning), giving us a break from the car.

We started the day off in great spirits. Eddy took the kids to the beach in the morning while I packed the car.

We saw some amazing scenery along the way.

We all oohed and aahed at the redwood forests. Then, as we passed through the Shasta National Forest, temperatures started to rise and the landscape started to change.

I had never driven through the California coastal mountain range before, so it was a great experience (if a bit taxing with all the windy, climbing mountain roads). We stopped at a Subway in Weaverville for lunch, and then jumped back in the car. Once we hit inland California temperatures really started to climb and we even had to turn on the air conditioning– quite the change for us tree-dwelling Seattle frogs. We got to the motel around 8:30, and while it’s not the not the nicest hotel we’ve ever stayed in, it has a working fridge and a largeish room and will do for the two days we need it as a home base.