The Boys Are Back In Town

Finally, a computer and some time to write another piece of this blog. We're home in Pensacola, finally fixing up the months of letting the house sit. But let me backtrack for a minute. I left off when we were approaching the 'redwoods'. I know now that the redwoods are actually composed of several different types of tree that all tower over normal trees. I know it may sound strange, but I didn't expect there to be so many big trees. I understood there would be huge sequoias, but there were miles and miles of them! We drove through the mountains, and got to see tons of beautiful white-capped range and evergreen giants. I kept asking if we were in the redwoods yet, but they kept enlarging with each coming hill. The Avenue of the Giants was the pinnacle of gigantic treedom. With diameters upwards of eight feet, the trees made me feel like a dwarf squirrel. We took a large quantity of pictures and then slept at Miranda Garden Inn. (Very cool, right in the middle of the forest!) The next morning dad took us on a rollercoaster ride, playing with the AWD of the Chevy Traverse he rented. A long while was spent driving from there to San Fransisco, and the scenery between was just breathtaking. Cali-splendor at it's finest. When we passed Crescent City I got to stop in a very old surf shop. Think Innerlight (Pensacola locals) but ancient. I bought a deck for my longboard that had some sweet griptape, and an amazing bend in the ride. I got to ride on the long winding highways of California, and if you know me, you know that's all I could want. We only really had half a day in San Fran, so I spent it all off Haight-Ashebury streets. The locals were wild, and the pizza was righteous. I had pesto and roasted tomatoes on mine, but the highlight for me was using the restroom in that place. The graffiti sort of twirled in a trippy fashion from the kitchen (which I had to walk through, cool right?)all the way to the toilet at the end of the hall. It was everything a budding hippy could ask for, and then some. I got a genuine tie-dye shirt by one of the guys who did a Grateful Dead album-art backdrop, which was the highlight of San Fran. The Marriott we stayed at there was the best bed I'd slept in since home (almost 2 months ago) and I still don't have my bed here at home. The deal about my house is that I fix it up as I live in it, and my dad pays for the rent. Well, he actually bought the house, so there IS no rent, but the labour is enough to drive a man insane. Just today we fixed doorstops, fridges, carpeting, the washer, and scoped out the driveway. Also, I mowed. And started raking. And tomorrow I have eight hours of work. It's all good though, because as I said, no rent, and we got to gobble up at Beef O Brady's. Gotta love rednecks and good food.