Home At Last

We are finally home. We had a wonderful week of travel - from Auburn to Santa Rosa, CA, where we ran trails in a regional park and went wine-tasting at two wineries, to Fort Bragg where we ran on a paved trail along the beach, to Crescent City, where we stayed in the Curly Redwood Lodge, complete with 1950s decor and skipped running. This time we took a side trip inland - to the Rogue River. We found our way to a little, tiny town of one store and a couple houses, where there was a trail head. We decided to just hike - not run - the trail. We probably hiked about three miles before getting back to the car. We decided to take the back roads back to the coast - but didn't expect to find ourselves on a gravel forest service road for 20 miles! We finally found our way back to civilization and eventually to Coos Bay, OR. We went to the movies that night, got up early to get on the road yet again. We wanted to get to Cannon Beach with most of the day still ahead of us. We got in about 1:00 and had time to wander the shops before checking in to the hotel. The hotel was wonderful - a private balcony overlooking the ocean, with a view of Cannon Beach's famous Haystack Rock and a gas fireplace in the room made for a luxurious stay. We watched the sun go down, then went for a second walk on the beach. This morning we were up and out to run along the waterline while the tide was out and before the wind picked up. We ran for four miles, with endless beach in front of us. And finally, after our last breakfast out, we drove home. It was a very relaxing and fun week - one that we both needed.

Now we are home and there is laundry to be done, groceries to be bought, bills to be paid, 57 unread emails (not counting all the junk ones I already deleted), and tons of unread posts to read. I hate to think about what might be waiting at work...Plus, my online class started while I was gone. I did most of the work for the first module before I left, and took a laptop along so I could sign in for the weekly chat. The next module starts Monday. It's all worth it though - to have two weeks of easy-going, laid back fun. Today, after we spent some time unpacking, sifting through regular mail and chatting with neighbors, we went out for a quiet dinner with Steve and Lorri - a nice finish to the day.

I'll start catching up on all your blogs again in the next week. I'll leave you with a few pictures...


From the tram at Squaw Valley (going up to the first tower):















At the winery:
















Rogue River Trail:















Haystack:















For perspective - those are people & horses: