Our 1st vacation is now, in the books !!
April 7th thru the 11th. was spent on the beautiful California Coast ( Humboldt County ) and some of the beautiful surrounding areas that Northern California Coast has to offer !
Our drive over to Arcata/Eureka was so nice, thank goodness for the invention of GPS ! Our 1st stop was to the Bayview Inn Motel , our "home base" for the whole stay .
The next day, we woke up with a little amprehension as, we heard on the news (the night before) m That it "MIGHT" be windy ! When we 1st got up it was just a little "breezy" SO we decided to go and take our chances at the Eureka Zoo. It was a good thing we went early,because by noon it was blowing and howling like I had never heard or seen ! So, we decided, to go back by the hotel and see if we waited it out if we could go out later in the day. NO such luck ! Sure glad we decided to hit the zoo early. Mandy LOVES animal's and was so EXCITED when she saw animals she mostly only sees on "Animal Planet" !
We felt so good on Friday , the weather was GORGEOUS so, we got to actually hit a couple of places ! we found this site called Ocean World on the WWW. and, what a find it was ! All hands on, and so interesting to hear about all the "residents" that lived there ! Mandy got to pet a SHARK !! We were guaranteed, it was "gentle" and, after some "Special" instruction I must admit I felt a LITTLE better , but Mandy was VERY in to trying to do it , so what could I say....... even tho The mom in me was none to thrilled!
We also, were "treated" to a short show with their newest resident "Cora" an 8 month old seal ! she is soooooooooooo cute and, Mandy just loved the tricks she did and, the fav. by everyone, was when she gave the trainer a "high 5" with one of her fin !!
After "Oceanworld" we drove down hwy 101 and to our surprise we found "Trees Of Mystery" Oh my gosh if anyone comes this way, you have to stop there ! it is absolutely GORGEOUS!! we rode up the mountain in a "Gondola" and at the top we were able to get off and take in the scenary . and then after the ride back down to the car, we were treated to a piece of "homemade" Fudge that was absolutely YUMMY !!
on Fri. and Saturday, our last days , of family time we decided
to hop in the car and ride up 101 and see how many beaches we
could find. So funny Mandy was not sure about the sand, and, the waves
almost did her in !
We have decided to go back, when it is a little warmer so, she can
test the waters , we told her about putting her bare feet in the sand, and she looked at us like we were NUTS!
boy, I sure forgot how chilly it can be when you are so close to the water !!
We Can't wait til we can take our next trip!!!!
Our Last day, which was Sunday, we had a brunch date with longtime family friend's Dan and Donna Hauser and their daughter Dawn and her family ( well, all but Ty, he is in Europe right now !)
We stopped off at the Hauser's home,before heading home to Redding, Mandy LOVED being able to pat Rosie, a resident at the Hauser's , they have another dog Gypsy who was not to interested in "loves" from anyone !
What a way to end such a fabulous trip !!
KOOL APRIL NIGHTS , 2010 
Today , Mandy and I decided to get up and enjoy the GORGEOUS weather we were having! so we decided to go downtown and enjoy Kool April Nights. we caught the shuttle down town. our 1st driver was, Lou( pictured, top left) and coming home this afternoon, we rode back with Harlan ( pictured on the right ! we had so much fun,seeing the old car's , and, there were MANY of them ! we found our favorites 
This was my pick of the entire event ! it was so precisely done,the owner told me when he got it, it was nothing more than a shell of a body! they re did EVERYTHING !!! he said it took more than a decade to get it "Just right"!!
