Day One

Day one, complete.  Today we drove a total of 579 miles.  We left our apartment at 6:00am and got to the hotel in Arcata, CA at 5:25pm.  Considering we stopped nine times today, that's actually really good time.  It only took us an hour and a half longer than the GPS said it'd take.  With nine extra stops, that's pretty dang good time, in my opinion.  

Cooper really wanted to be up front with us even though we kept making him "back up." He's pitiful.

Entering Oregon.  Neal liked this bridge a lot, so this is a favorite photo of the day.

Voodoo Doughnuts. Yum!

Bacon Maple Bar. Heaven in a doughnut.

Neal's maple, custard filled doughnut. With a MUSTACHE.

We made it to California!

Pacific Coast in Northern California.

Now, let me tell you about our dinner.  When we first started planning our trip I called my Dad.  We'd decided we were going to stop near Eureka, CA on the first day and I remembered my Dad telling me about this restaurant he loved [and still talks about], near Eureka, despite the fact it's been nearly a decade since he's eaten there.  Neal and I had the pleasure of going to the restaurant tonight.  It's called Samoa Cookhouse and it is delicious.  Honestly, when we got there, we kind of thought my Dad's review was a bit overrated.  That was until we sat down and they started bringing us food.  Almost as soon as we sat down we had homemade soup, homemade bread, and ice water brought to us and we dug in.  Then they brought us salad, followed by rice, peas, baked ham, and short ribs, followed by chocolate and strawberry cake.  The food's served family style, everything is homemade, and it's all you can eat.  It's a no frills place but it is so stinkin' delicious.  During dinner Neal said, "Why haven't we done this yet?" We both agreed if we lived near this restaurant we'd eat there often, especially with family.  Gosh. Sorry about that rant.  Bottom line: It was delicious and if you're ever near there, go eat at Samoa Cookhouse.

So much food.  But so much GOOD food.

Today was awesome.  We agreed if every day of this trip goes as well as today did, then we have an amazing trip ahead of us.  The scenery only got more and more beautiful as we drove south.  Oh, and we saw so.many.sheep. I feel like 90% of the sheep population is residing in Oregon.  And, in California, we saw a lot of elk! That was pretty dang cool. 

We're off to Los Angeles bright and early tomorrow. Please continue to pray for safe travels for us, we appreciate it so much!