Having almost recovered from jet lag we headed out of the city. First stop, Sonoma, in the heart of wine tasting country. Keen to sample the local produce but not wanting to drink-drive we were responsible parents and hired bikes, then cycled to the wineries instead🤪 

Thankfully there were no injuries and the wine was delicious. In payback for making James endure winery visits he was placated with plenty of time playing in the hotel pool.

Being a nature nerd I was really excited about the next couple of destinations, Mendocino and Trinidad. Located on the rugged and often mist shrouded northern Pacific coast, they are surrounded by vast forests and the last remaining stands of old-growth costal redwoods. 

This was bad news for James though, as it meant plenty of opportunities for ‘one of those walks’ which have become a point of strong contention on our travels. 

On our first night in Mendocino we were greeted by a Tsunami warning. A large earthquake had hit eastern Russia and the resulting wave was due to reach us around midnight. Thankfully our accommodation was on a hill 50m above the beach so we could sleep easy and by the time it did hit the wave was barely noticeable.

It didn’t deter us from the following day’s adventure. We rented an outrigger canoe and paddled up Big River estuary. Within minutes it felt like we were miles away from civilisation with trees towering above us on either side. After an hour or so of paddling we decided to stop for a swim. The water was even warm enough for Lucy to get in, albeit very briefly. Then, just as we were getting back on the canoe a family of otters joined us. They splashed around, ate a fish and played for a few spellbinding minutes, then swam off to do more otter things elsewhere.

Much to James’ annoyance there were indeed plenty of opportunities for walks along wild headlands and amongst the redwoods. The highlights being the Avenue of the Giants and Redwood National Park. Walking through temperate rainforests with colossal trees over 100m tall, some of which have been alive for over 2000 years, is both humbling and awe inspiring. Well, it was for me but for Lucy and James I suspect they were just a bunch of big trees. 

One of the forests’ residents did capture the imagination of all of us though – banana slugs! They even come in all the banana colours; unripe green, ripe yellow and over ripe mottled yellow-brown. And apparently their skin contains a chemical that acts like Novocaine and when licked makes your tongue numb. What fool would try doing that? 😳

On our last day in Trinidad the coastal mist cleared to reveal crystal clear blue skies reminiscent of our travels in New Zealand. So we spent the day exploring a local cove. It was a glorious day exploring rock pools, basking in the sun and playing beach olympics. It was so warm we even braved a swim in the bracing Pacific… when I say we, Lucy opted out 🥶

For the next stage of our journey we turn inland and head to Lassen Volcanic national park – via white water rafting in the Trinity river.