Trinidad, California // Car Adventures

The other day my friends and I went on a drive and found this wonderful vista point.  We were driving along the coast in Trinidad and just decided to park at this random turnout.  It had a little path which lead from the turnout to  a rock that jetted about 500ft into the ocean. It was really cool to be up so high and have waves crashing all around you.  Plus it was absolutely gorgeous even with the misty rain coming down.

I really love finding places like this in my own backyard.  No one has to travel hundreds of miles to find something exciting or beautiful.  If you look hard enough or just travel outside of you're comfort zone, you'll find something amazing. I used to be frustrated by living three hours from a decent mall or movie theatre but recently I've accepted that certain entertainments are not available where I live and I need to appreciate the ones I do have, namely nature.  

Now that I'm looking at where I will live next year for college, the idea of being away from the ocean worries me.  I go to the beach at least twice a month and drive past the bay every single day.  Living in a non-coastal town will be different, to say the least, but I want to make sure I appreciate the ocean while I have it.

 

Marshall, Michigan

I recently visited my family's hometown of Marshall, Michigan.  It's an old town and the architecture is fabulous!  According to Wiki, in Marshall there are 850 buildings labeled as National Historic Landmarks in only 6.40 square miles! That's just insane. I just thought I'd share some pictures with you from around town.

Honolulu House. Built to resemble similar houses in Honolulu

My great-grandpa's old house

It was really cool to see all the old buildings and the stories my family has attached to them. My family is so anal about all the stories and the family lineage, I've heard all the stories ten times before, but know I have a background for them.  I wish we could have stayed longer and experience all the little shops but we had a lake to swim in!  Ah well, I'm sure I'll be back.

My cousins and I watching the water.

Ocean World // Car Adventures

Yesterday, I went on a road trip with some friends up to Crescent City.  My friend Dana had never visited the aquarium up there called Ocean World, so we decided to head up there!

The highlight of the trip was definitely the seal/sea lion show. Everyone had broad grins and the girls definitely squeed a few times.

Look at how cute that is! You can't say no to those faces.

This is the laziest seal I have ever seen.  I swear she only moved a foot the entire time we were there.

There was also a tide pool.  Growing up on the coast, we were all very familiar with tide pools. However, I don't think there I will ever not want to hold a starfish in my hand.

Velvet Starfish.  This is my favorite Starfish ever they're just so soft!

The underside of a starfish, in case you were wondering.

Now onto the actual aquarium part.  It's rather small but stuffed full of sharks and stingrays.  Our tour guide scared the crap out of us by explaining how many sharks live in our local ocean.  Apparently there are quite a few Great Whites! I'm not surfing anytime soon.  The small ones were pretty cute though.

Leopard Shark

Stingray! Aren't they cute! The also feel awesome if you ever have that opportunity.

 Finally, we were able to touch some sharks! Weirdly enough these sharks actually wanted to be petted.  The two leopard sharks, the long ones along the edge, kept coming up to us.  The sharks felt like sandpaper if sandpaper was alive.  I always thought they would be soft and kinda velvety like velvet starfish but nope.

 Ocean World was definitely worth the almost 4 hour round trip drive. Amazingly it only cost us $10 to do all of this!  Next time you happen to be on the northcoast of California, ahahahaha never, I'd suggest a stop.  The whole trip took about 45 min.

Car Adventures

I live in the middle of nowhere.  Okay, I'm slightly exaggerating, but the town I live in is as boring as the middle of nowhere.  There are three tiny towns where the pinnacle of excitement is the movie theater. Though I love movies, it can get old quickly.  Therefore, I've decided to start exploring my county.  My goal is to find new campsites, hiking trails, beaches and, ultimately, places that make me love where I live.  A couple days ago, I started this endeavor.  Two friends and I took a 30 min car trip up into the hills that surround the bay that our town is located on.

Driving a mom van up the hills was a little terrifying for the two
of us not driving but we made it safely!

Once we were there it was beautiful.  It was a 'warm' winter day (about
50-55° F) but there was still a ton of snow. 

By the ocean, it never snows, so we reveled in this rarity.           

We also spent a lot of time cow gazing.  There was the cutest baby
but it was too far away to get a picture.

All three of us can't wait to go back. It was so peaceful.  We saw a sign
for a town 30 more miles down the road and we plan to visit it soon!

Do you ever search for new places near home?  What have you found? How do you suggest finding places?