On the Hobbit Trail...

We had grand plans to get up early and pack lunches and hike and eat on the beach...

Instead...we slept in, ate lunch at Chelsea's house, and then hit the road. Yay vacation! I'd always rather stay up late and sleep in.

We did these two hikes, 4 miles altogether.

The first hike took us up up up through the trees and then down a steep curvy bit, ending up right at the base of the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

The hike itself was lovely, mossy and green, trees and ferns and slugs! I'd never seen a slug before. They look like this:

And they really do leave a trail of goo!

At one point on the hike, we heard sea lions barking. We ran to see if they were close, but they weren't. There were some volunteers at the lighthouse that morning though, and one had two telescopes set up; one aimed at the sea lions, and one at the birds on the rocks. They said there had been Orcas in the area the week before. I can't imagine what that would be like. We also got to go up and tour the lighthouse, though we didn't get to see the actual lens, because they were doing maintenance.

Then we turned around and went back, the down part was up on the way back, and it was a bit of a trek, but it's always fun to stretch out and work a little. Then we took the second path, called the "Hobbit Trail", so named because the trees bend over and it all feels very hobbit-y. It was a fun little walk, and all of a sudden around one corner, you can hear the ocean! The last bit is a tunnel made of limbs and sand and then it spits you right out on the beach.

We wandered around, picked up shells, watched seagulls rip apart crabs, dodged the tide, watched the waves. I do love the ocean.

The picture is back-lit, so it's hard to see, but if you look closely-I don't know if I've ever seen three happier girls.

Then that night we had sushi for dinner. A perfect day.