Our family trip to San Jose was the farthest driving trip we took so far since we have moved to the Washington State about 4 years ago.   It was about 2100 miles round trip for 7 full days.   We pretty much drove 5 days out of 7 days, and Danny drove about 1900 miles. We drove only during the day light hours not exceeding 8 hours of driving to enjoy the sceneries and to get ample rest for the next day.  For driving down to San Jose, we took the scenic routes through the Oregon Coast Highway (HWY 101) and Northern California Redwood Highway (HWY 101) which took 3 days.  For coming back home to the Washington State,  we took the Interstate Highway 5  (I-5) for 2 days.   In overall, it was a good family trip.  I think we are done with long driving for a while.

Here was the summary of the daily driving trip and the pictures:

Day 1:
Left Residence at 0820.   It was a beautiful sunny day along the Washington State Coasts Hwy 101.  Stopped by Cannon Beach and Devil’s Churn.  Both are well described in the various websites.  Arrived at Florence, OR at 0800pm.

Day 2:
Left Florence at 0900.  Light rain during the night and overcast driving down to Fortuna, CA.   Visited Sea Lion Caves (the Largest Sea Lion Cave in US).  Drove through the interesting Sand Dunes.   Arrived at Fortuna, CA at 0800pm.

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Day 3:
Left Fortuna, CA at 0900.  It was a beautiful sunny day.  The highlight was driving through 32 miles of "the Avenue of the Giants” of the giant redwoods at Humboldt Redwoods State Park.  It was unforgettable majestic views of the giant redwoods.   Some of the redwoods were as old as 1600 years old and 500 ft in height. Arrived in San Francisco around 3 pm and drove over the Golden Gate Bridge.   Spent a couple of hours close to the Fisherman’s Wharf.   We had a dinner at one of my cousin’s apartment in Sunnyville, CA.    We stayed next 3 days at Ramada Inn close to Convention Center in San Jose.

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Day 4:
We took a 5-hour San Francisco Tour.  It was a good tour that covered Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, Palace of the fine arts, Nob Hill, Grace Cathedral, Lombard Street, Golden Gate Park, Japanese Tea Garden, etc. After the tour, Carol met her friend from Hawaii.  Her family moved to the San Francisco area about 6 months before we moved to the Washington State.   All of us had “Pho” for lunch in China Town, San Francisco.  We had a dinner at one of my college classmates in Campbell, CA.  

Day 5:
Toured the Intel Museum.  It was well worth of the time which went over the origin of the Intel and the first micro processor.   Had a lunch at cousin’s apartment and all of us went to Monterey Aquarium.  The Aquarium was excellent. The Aquarium indeed had many things exhibited.    Then, we drove around the famous Pebble Beach 17 mile drive.  Most estates in the drive are worth in $$$ millions.  One estate was on sale for $30 millions!  The Pebble Beach Golf Links hosted the 2010 US Open Championship and will host US Open again in 2019.

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Day 6:
Left San Jose, CA at 0830.  Started to drive back home.   Drove through the Vinyard field in Napa Valley, CA.  Stopped by one of the wineries and bought a few bottles of wines.     Arrived at Klamath, OR. 

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Day 7:
Left Klamath, OR at 0830.  Our last stop was the Crater LakeNational Park which is the only National Park in Oregon.  Then, hit the road again.   Around 0500pm-0615pm, we drove through the heavy traffic in Portland, OR.  Stopped by Brother James House in Tacoma, WA to pick up our family dog, Tippy.   We chatted for an hour and came back home around 1100 pm,    Our 7 days of driving journey were came to an end safely.  I felt so relieved and relaxed at home.

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