Mill Bay is the most beautiful town we have seen yet. Everything from the high school to the Safeway parking lot is pristine and beautiful. The homes are meticulous and the tropical foliage breath taking, even the air smell wonderful. Camping for us however was not so wonderful. After finally finding a site that was full we decided to camp in an overflow parking lot next to the camp site. The kids were looking forward to chasing lizards again but we put a stop to it since there were rattle snake and mountain lion warning signs mounted throughout the campsite. It was a very long and hot night. To our amazement the kids slept like logs, mom and dad however were not were not so lucky. There may have even been mention of turning towards home by one or two family members that day! Today was a new day. We drove 20 minutes or so into San Fransisco. Hailey and Reilly were completely taken by the Golden Gate Bridge. The first thing we did was book into a hotel. No questions there! Our hotel is across the street from the zoo and 2 blocks from the beach.
We spent the morning on the beach watching surfers and playing in the water which by the way is still freezing cold. When will it warm up? 
After cleaning up we took the kids to Fisherman's Pier. Dinner was clam chowder in a sour dough bowl, Hailey agreed it tasted better than canned clam chowder. 
We asked them what their favorite part of today was and the highlight for them was watching a single sea lion in the bay posing for all who would watch. They were so happy 
and it was totally free. That right there makes this trip so incredibly worth while. Tomorrow we go to the zoo and other stuff!
On the windy mountain route from Route 101 to Route 1 Hailey then Reilly took turns getting car sick, the microsuede apolstry cleans up quite well actually. By the time we got to Westport the van was running on fumes. As we pulled into the one gas station/liquor store/deli it was almost my turn to be sick when I was told that the nearest diesel was still another 15 miles South in Fort Bragg. At Fort Bragg we fueled up, groceried up and got some take out from Safeway and took to the deserted beach at Jug Handle State Reserve for supper. Tons of kelp on the beach and many varieties of wild flowers growing out of the cliffs.
South from there, Nicole fell in love with every little coastal village we came upon. We agreed just driving this coastline would make a great vacation. We watched the sun sink into the Pacific just past Anchor Bay then set up camp at Gualala for the night.
The beaches are incredible here and you rarely see anyone else. Onto the Dunes near Florence, amazing! As you drive through town you can see dunes in the background higher than the stores on the street. The campground at the dunes was full but we spent the full day there climbing and descending the dunes. The kids spent a couple hours in the lake there. Another hour south we were in Coos Bay for the fireworks. The lead-up to the show was filled with local(yokel) colour. About 200 people with about only a full set of teeth between them setting off fireworks in the crowd until the actual show. The real show itself was spectacular. 
