A Grey Day at the Beach

It's the last week of summer vacation and I wanted one last getaway before returning to work. I decided on a day trip to the coast. Just like my last two trips to the beach this summer, it turned out to be a foggy, grey day. At least this time it wasn't raining. My plan was to go to Brookings. It was a quick trip so I just kept on driving up to Gold Beach.

It's been a long time since I took photographs of anything besides grandchildren. I love my slim little Canon Elph digital camera and it is great for chasing after small children, but "my catch of the day" was a bit disappointing. I find myself longing for a Canon Eos and multiple lenses...

Mouth of the Rogue River at Gold Beach


It was sunny up on the bluffs with a blanket of fog hugging the coastline.



View from Cape Sebastian


Lone Ranch Beach - destined to become one of my favorites!







Brookings-Harbor Marina

Moving to Chico

For awhile now, Ben has been commuting from Redding to go to Chico State. Emily has been commuting from Redding to work in Red Bluff for several years. So they decided to move to Chico this summer. They found a nice apartment with two bedrooms on the north end of Chico - it even has a swimming pool! Emily's commute to work is a little farther now... but she is hoping to find a new job in Chico soon.

7 - Shasta Sunset Excursion Train

Finally... the big finale - "the train ride!" We boarded the Shasta Sunset Excursion Train at 4 pm for the one hour excursion through the southern slopes of Mt. Shasta.


Nearly first in line, we got the best seat on the train - up front on the top deck of the open air car. What we weren't expecting was a bit of smoke in the face as we chugged up the mountain side.




We also weren't expecting the engine to be pulling just one car...
You might be able to pick out the conductor at the back of the car punching the tickets. (Black hat, white shirt, and vest)


The train chugged along, blowing it's whistle when approaching crossroads and meandered it's way through the woods, surprising us now and then with glimpses of Mt. Shasta. When we got to the end of the line, the train engine halted, reversed directions and pushed our double decker car back down the mountain...



Time to head home... Dad is planning a BBQ to celebrate Ryan's return home.

6 - Waiting...

Besides spending the night at the Caboose Motel, Ryan and I needed to find something to do while we waited for our late afternoon train ride. So we explored a bit of Dunsmuir, Mt Shasta City and McCloud.

Enjoyed some "beary" good food at Black Bear...



Explored the Sacramento River flowing through the Dunsmuir City Park...


Shared the dinosaur at the Mt. Shasta City Park...



Headwaters of the Sacramento River...


Sculpture in McCloud...


More waiting... with a cold drink on the veranda!


"Is it time for the train ride yet?" "Not yet, just one more picture..."

5 - Sleeping in a Caboose!

We splurged a little on our adventure together and stayed at the Caboose Motel in Dunsmuir. No. 25 - the red caboose to Santa Fe.

The caboose came fully equiped with all the essentials...


Including a cool lookout for little boys to climb up to...


...my junior conductor trying out the rocking horse in the gift shop.


...a beautiful view of Castle Crags.


... 2 hours in the swimming pool on the floatie!


A very relaxing day indeed!

4 - Home with Grandma

Besides visiting local parks and train adventures, Ryan and I spent some fun time at home too.

After Ryan declined an offer to watch "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" with me, I decided to watch it myself. Before long he put aside the Legos and found his way into the big chair and didn't move from that spot until the very end of the movie. I guess I can still pull a rabbit out of a hat on a lazy summer day!



And of course we made many "Lego guys" together.



And what's backyard summer fun without a sprinkler, a balloon, and a friendly neighbor to play with...

3 - "Park" Days

In between railroad adventures, Ryan and I have been checking out the local parks.

Lawnridge Park: Close to home and grandma used to go there when she was a little girl. Ryan is testing out the log rolling.


Baker Park: A good park to practice throwing rocks into the river.








Reinhart Volunteer Park: Some nice trails, a foot bridge over the river, turtles, and water lily pads.




Another test of courage! It took a bit of encouragement from grandma to make it the other side.



Riverside Park: Stop at the grower's market, playground, lunch with Granny Barbara, feed the geese, and more playground time.