A Glorious End (Jacob)

Well this is it. Our fantastic cross-continental journey has come to an end! And the last leg was definitely a wonderful part! After disembarking the Disney Wonder, we began our long trek down the Pacific coast. One of the most exciting stops along the way was in Seattle. We were able to go down and wander all through the Pike Place market. That place was incredible, and unlike anything I’ve ever seen! The flowers, and the produce, and the seafood were all huge and cheap and looked fantastic. In fact, we couldn’t resist picking up some assorted fruits from one of the stands to take with us on the drive down. Not only that though, they had all kinds of fascinating stores with everything from books, to art, to just trinkets and junk. My personal favorite was definitely the classic magic shop tucked away in the lower levels of the market. My family could hardly pry me out of there! Seattle seemed like a very nice city, and one in which I would definitely like to spend more time. After Seattle, we said goodbye to our grandparents, and we all went our separate ways. After spending Tuesday and part of Wednesday in Seattle, we decided to move on down the coast. But first, we stopped to have lunch and spend some time with our friends, the Caughlans, who are currently here in the U.S. For a short time before returning to Japan where they work as missionaries. We had a great time with food, fellowship, frisbee and fun! By the time we got out of there (Tacoma), it was mid-afternoon. The next couple days were really and truly just spent driving. Even though we only stopped for some pictures, and for lunch in Cannon Beach, we spent quite a while driving along the Oregon coast. It was very beautiful, with some impressive beaches and changes in topography!

Once down into California, we spent some time driving through the redwoods. Wow. Those are some pretty amazing trees! Not only were the forests beautiful, but they were also huge! These trees would get over 200 feet tall...no biggie. There were some in particular that we found that were unbelievably enormous. I cant do them justice with words. You will have to see pictures. From there we continued along U.S. Highway 1 along the coast and down into Fort Bragg. Along the way there were two particularly interesting experiences. First of all, we were actually able to drive through a tree! This is a 2,400 year old tree that stands at over 300 feet tall and has a diameter of 21 feet. In the 1920s, they cut a hole in the trunk of the tree just big enough for our SUV to fit through. The tree still stands, alive and healthy to this day. Also, Dad was nice enough to let me drive the Sequoia through it. So I have actually driven through a tree. How cool is that? The other neat thing that we encountered before Fort Bragg was a tiny, winding road through the forest. And I mean winding. 22 miles of these hairpin turns felt more like 200 miles. Some of the roads that we have traversed defy imagination, and you cannot but be in awe of the engineering skill and perseverance needed to create them! Well, finally last night we made it into Fort Bragg, and with some difficulty, found a room for the night.

This morning (Saturday), we continued to drive along the coast for a few hours and into San Francisco. We actually drove through Sausalito to see some of what the community is like, before going back up and around the bay to the airport. From there, Jesse and I boarded our flight, leaving Mom and Dad to themselves to drive back home over the next few days. And here we are! Home sweet home. Thank you all so much for following along with us on our great roadtrip adventure. We have had so much fun as a family and seen so many incredible things. God is incredible beyond words, and we were blessed to see His lavish handiwork. I hope that you guys have all had fun with us along the way, and we love you all! Until the next adventure!

Final Farewell (Jesse)

Wow! What an awesome trip! I have had so much fun throughout this entire vacation. In addition to recapping our last few days on the road, I would like you all to recognize how much I appreciate your continued prayers and support. I have had lots of fun, but I am also glad to be home and hope to see you all very soon!

Our last few days have been spent driving down the Pacific Coast Highway through Oregon and California to San Francisco. While most of our time has been spent driving through some beautiful seaside views, we did have one significant stop. The Redwoods. These amazing trees can tower over 300 feet tall! When we drove through, we stopped at two particularly large trees, one with a diameter of about 12 feet! After stopping at the Redwoods, we proceeded to drive south to Oakland. Overall we had lots of fun. Saturday evening, Jacob and I flew home from Oakland Airport and are looking forward to starting school this fall. Thanks to everyone and a final farewell...