Smith River (Day 7)

What a wonderfully pleasant day among the Redwoods. This morning, Eleanor slept in again and then literally woke up, saying, "Anyway..." What a goof. Once the kids had eaten and gotten dressed, Will took them to a big park near the ocean we'd seen our first night here. He knew the kids would like to play there and also wanted to use the equipment to get a little workout in. I stayed here, showered, cleaned up, repacked a bit, did a short workout myself, and waited for them to get back.

They weren't back until almost lunch time, having made a stop at Walmart for a few things. We ate and then left for the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Mr. Mike had told us of a nice little beach area from which to enjoy the Smith River. We got there fairly quickly, parked, and took a short hike to a fairly private beach area. There was a section to get in the river that was all rocks but another that was sand with a gradual drop off. The part of the river we were at was not very deep, even in the middle I don't think, but I didn't go far enough out to find out. 

The weather today was picture perfect: mostly sunny and a bit warmer, probably in the mid 70's. I was able to take off my long sleeve and sun myself in a tank top. It was glorious! The kids had fun throwing rocks, trying to learn to skip them, and using them as baseballs. Ethan, for a while, wouldn't go over to the sandy area because two older girls were playing there. He was being a bit shy. But I convinced him finally, and he had fun running into the water and swimming a bit. 

Will and I had somehow forgotten our suits. Sadly, this was the first time I really wanted to swim, too. The water felt so much warmer than the ocean, and with it being warmer out, it seemed so refreshing. The water was oh so clear, too, and it looked like such fun. Eventually, Will couldn't take it and decided to just swim in the nude. There were only a few people on the beach, and it is California, after all. He only wanted to fit in.

Just kidding - ha!  (Betsy, you can pick your mouth  back up off the floor.) He did swim in his boxers, though. Unfortunately, my underclothes are not as inconspicuous as men's boxers, so I remained beach side.

By 4:30 or so, we hiked back to our car and came back to the cabin. Pizza was on the menu tonight, a take and bake, along with a salad. After dinner, I made a fire in the pit with some kindling and wood Mike gave us and we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores. Perfect ending to a pretty perfect day. 

We head back north tomorrow, driving along he coast of Oregon. We will stop about halfway up the coast tomorrow, in Florence, to stay one night. Then, we will go up a few more hours to Seaside. We will be in Seaside, near Cannon Beach, for two nights before we head up into Washington State for the last week of our trip.