On September 9th, with my oldest Oly pals Vanessa and Joel, I ventured for the first time into coastal Northern California’s Redwood National Park. It’s true – everything is bigger in California: the waves, the beaches, the trees. Everything. We started our adventure with a long drive through Washington and Oregon, finally resting our heads for the night at America’s #1 rated hostel. The hostel was beautiful, clean, cheap and located right on 101 which runs down the Pacific Coast from Washington through California. The first few pictures are taken directly across the street from the hostel shortly after sunset. The next day, we ventured to the Stout Grove area near Crescent City to see the trees… and made some new friends along the shores of the mighty Smith River.