Eight Days at Sue-Meg

Let's start off with an important correction. We were there for eight days but were only supposed to be there for seven. Michael made all the plans, found the campground, reserved the cabin, loaded the truck and did almost all of the driving. He did a great job!  He just happened to get us there the day before our campground reservation started. We arrived at the campground after twelve hours of driving, with exhausted adults and three tired and sore teenagers. We were looking forward to making the world's fastest dinner, walking down to the ocean, and stretching out in a bed. Instead we discovered we had got the dates wrong and there was no room at the campground.

We pulled into the visitor center to take a moment to reset. The teens and I walked around a few paths while Michael took some time to breathe and Google. By the time we made it back to the truck, he had a hotel reservation fifteen miles down the road. We loaded back into the now-dreaded truck and went off to find our hotel. Grace was crying, Sam was zoning out, and Lily was trying to stay positive. We found our adequate, if a little worn-out hotel room, blew up an air mattress for Sam, and went to get burgers. We were safe and sound, but everyone was very stressed. Both girls ended up crying at various times, Michael was in problem solving mode, I was in soothing mode, and Sam was along for the ride. It was not how we hoped to start our trip, but we endured. Michael dug out everyone's necessities and we went to sleep. The next day after partaking in a very humble breakfast spread, we packed up and headed for the tidepools. It was time for vacation to begin!

Lily had never been to the proper, beachy ocean before, so she was a bubbling ray of sunshine. She was so excited for any glimpse of the ocean, and she was almost beside herself when she was finally able to view it in person! We went to the shore and found starfish, baby crabs, anemones, and even one tiny orange octopus. All of the travails were worth the joy.

After the ocean we made it to the campground where we could unpack and unwind. The cabins at Sue-Meg were so nice. It is one large open room, but there was plenty of room for all of us, all of our stuff, and room to sit around a table. And the path to the ocean was just on the other side of a grassy field from the cabin. 

It was heaven to be so close to such a gorgeous beach. The next morning Michael and I walked down to the beach at low tide. We found the beach scattered with agates, shells, skate cartilage, mermaid purses, and urchins. It was a truly amazing beach.

We spent the next several days exploring all the area had to offer. Grace and Lily were told if they licked a slug, it would make their mouth go numb. They decided to pose as if doing just that, but stopped short of licking the slug for many, many reasons.

We saw the sunset from a different viewpoint each night.

One day we drove into Eureka to visit Sequoia Park Zoo. It cost a bit to get us all in, but it was such a pretty zoo.

Sam loved the petting zoo. He decided he was going to make friends with and brush the goats. He was sad that the pygmy goats didn't share his enthusiasm. It amused me to see my giant teenager petting goats with the elementary school aged kids. 

I, also, enjoyed the petting zoo. I kept coming back to visit my favorite guy. I felt like we had a communion of the soul. 

The big draw for heading to the zoo was not the animals, which were great, but was actually the trees. The zoo had built a set of wonderful bridges and paths among the sequoia trees. Even hovering several stories about the ground, with the tree roots below you and the tree tops still far above, it is hard to understand the true scope of the trees. 

When we first entered the zoo, a little boy was running ahead of his family shouting, "Everyone is getting ice cream!  Everyone gets ice cream!" When we saw the cafe serving ice cream on the way out, we decided the boy was a prophet, and who were we to argue with that? There was only one thing to do, so we left the zoo well-entertained and with bellies full of ice cream.

Not being content with only seeing the trees at zoo, we also went for a hike through the Redwoods. We decided to park at a campground and hike toward Fern Canyon, made famous because of it's amazing canyon filled with ferns and, and also, its screen time in "Jurassic World." We knew we wouldn't make the entire hike, as it was twelve miles round trip with a sizable climb, and Grace and Michael were both fighting cold/covid/mystery illness. So we started out with our walking shoes and water bottles. After going about 3.5 miles with a lot of downhill, Grace said she wanted to hike the entire path. I pointed out that we would have to go uphill on the way home and we hadn't brought extra water or snacks, and she was still sick. It would have been fun but unwise to push on, so we turned back. We still had a lovely time and the trees, ferns, and mushrooms brought joy to my soul.

The last day of camping we headed into town and a sandy beach. Despite my suggestions, I was assured that everyone was sure that they would only do a little shopping and tide pooling. There would be no need to bring bathing suits. So we did a little shopping and a little beach combing and then we walked to the beach for the last time. The day was slightly warm and very sunny. Next thing I knew Grace was swimming in a "make-do" swimsuit. 

Sam, unfortunately, was wearing jeans and an underlayer that wouldn't pass as a swimsuit. This led to Sam and I hiding behind a rock trading my shorts for his pants. The love of a mother....

Lily, not being insane, was happy to sit on the beach and take in the experience. 

After a few minutes swimming, but enough to give Grace a wicked sunburn, we loaded everyone up and headed back to camp to start packing up. The trip had been fabulous, but slightly too long (maybe by a day?), (editor's note: "Ha ha!") and we were ready to head home, even if it meant another 12 hours on the road.