Trinidad, CA
Leaving Diamond Lake we knew our next ski destination would be Squaw Valley, but we had a weekend to kill before we got there. We weighed our options and decided to swing over to the coast of northern California before beginning our return East.
As we descended into California the sun came out, the water started flowing, and the grass turned green. We felt ourselves thawing out too.
After entering California we turned onto the famed highway 101 and caught a glimpse of the ocean before heading straight into the Redwood State Park. I have seen photos of these giants but seeing them in person was truly magnificent. We pulled over to let Merlin out and breathe in the fresh woody air.
We had plans to do a hike in the Redwoods in the next day so we got back on the highway and were treated to extraordinary views of the Pacific Ocean and coastline. I felt a surprising sense of joy and relief upon seeing the waves washing up on the shore. Mike had enjoyed the pacific up in Vancouver, but this was the realization of my personal manifest destiny!
We decided to go straight to dog friendly Moonstone Beach just south of Trinidad. This was Merlin's first time at the beach and boy did he love it. He made some friends and ran around forever.
We didn’t have accommodations booked because we wanted to check out the area before deciding where to stay. Luckily, the magical Emerald Forest RV Park had one cabin left!
After filling up on seafood, playing at the arcade, and a restful sleep, we woke up early to check out the trail around the Trinidad Head. We fueled up on some delicious breakfast sandwiches in town and enjoyed a leisurely 1.5 mile hike with gorgeous views and salty air. Merlin topped it off with a romp on the beach.
Next we headed back into the Redwoods State Park for another hike! Dogs aren’t allowed on most trails but we found a loophole - Cal Barrel Road Trail. This narrow gravel road is sometimes open to car traffic (it was closed when we were on it) and, lucky for us, leashed dogs are allowed on roads! We enjoyed a beautiful 5 mile hike with no one else around.
Unfortunately the Emerald Forest cabin wasn’t available for a second night so we decided to check out Acadia. We drove around town but it felt kind of sketchy so we decided to stay at the Best Western Plus in Eureka, shortening our drive the next day.
Little did we know that as we dined at the Mexican restaurant next door, Merlin was dining on TWO ENTIRE BAGS of medicated CBD treats! When we discovered this we called the ASPCA (the fine folks who also helped us during the Rat Poison Incident of December '17) and to our relief they told us he should be okay! We took him for a very slow and meandering walk where he sniffed every little thing he could find, and once we got back to the room he refused to get out from under a small table. That is, until he puked twice at midnight. Then he was truly okay and we all got a great night of sleep after a very full day!
