One Last Spring Break Hurrah

Whew, I'm exhausted! After spending so much of spring break on my rear end on the couch, eating, reading, or working on the computer, a day full of activity (plus one heck of a sneezing cold) has me completely wiped out.

As I think I've said before, our kids' school district makes it a habit of extending both winter and spring break out to include the Monday following the week. I like it; I'm sure it's helpful for the teachers (it's a work day for them) and makes for an easier transition to reality. So, with all of our company (Michele, the cousins, and the two extra dogs) having left last night, I decided we'd plan something special for just Brayden, Mikayla, Sydney and myself.

First stop was the Sweet Creek Falls hike. Have that Dramamine handy because the 11 miles it takes to get to this trailhead from the main highway are windy indeed. Mikayla was very ready to flee the confines of the car, but fortunately, there were no "incidents". I think the kids agreed it was beautiful and worth the potential nauseousness. This hike is on the way to the coast - so all of the vegetation is very green - and because of the season, the waterfalls along the hike are especially impressive. It's a two mile hike roundtrip. Along the way, Brayden found a friend- "Joey" the salamander and Mikayla pointed out some very vibrant yellow plants (that we noticed an entire pasture later filled with).






Next stop - Florence. This left me with a decision. Do I drive the 11 miles back to the main road, and then drive the 14 miles along the main route to reach Florence? Or, do I take the "Route 24" single lane road - just a mile from the trailhead and get to Florence in only 19 miles? Well, as we all know, the shorter distance is not necessarily the best indicator for the fastest route - but I took a chance anyway, knowing that we were guaranteed 10 miles of curves - so 9 more wouldn't kill us. As luck would have it, we passed a family-loaded vehicle (the only car we saw) about a mile in that reassured me that it was a nice trip - and the road was passable. Sure enough, we drove high up into the coast range and saw the most amazing views. It was windy, but Mikayla had fallen asleep, so we were all okay. The road plopped us out south of Florence - on the road where Camp Baker (smiles to Melanie and Angie!) is - and across the highway from Honeyman. Crazy, as I knew we'd end up close to Florence, but no idea how we'd actually get to there.

Next up, Mo's - with root beer floats for all - and then to the beach. Mikayla spent her time collecting seashells while Brayden chased after Sydney - or the other way around. When they say dogs must be on leashes, is it necessary for the leash to be attached to the dog owner's hands?





Finally, we ended up at BJ's for some ice cream cones to satisfy us on the way home. (Yeah, yeah, I know - we already got ice cream at lunch, the "positive eating" begins tomorrow....)

Whether it was the first day back for you, or last day of break - hope it was a good one....