December 18th, 2016 (9): The road out of the Fern Fantasy and Redwood Wonderland was the same we followed in. We passed a man in red flannel chopping wood, and I looked at the clock: "10:32am." Our adventure had just begun, and I wondered how anything could top what we had just experienced. Then we pulled out onto the highway and I remembered: the entire California Coastline was awaiting us. This was Day 1. -- Carolyn arrived at 9 the night before. After some sushi, we hit the sack with alarms set for 4:30. By 5:15, we were on the road for Austin, TX: Carolyn's home, and also that of my parents. It's Xmas vacay time. Or TXmas, as I like to say. : A couple hours of winding through moonlit South Bay hills led us to Santa Cruz, a chill, picturesque NorCal beach town. As the twilight turned to dawn, we stocked our cooler with wholesome eats at a local grocer. : A cafe we had passed on the way into town beckoned us to return, so we backtracked a few blocks to The Buttery Corner. Carolyn and I parked and walked in, exchanging a dozen puns before ordering our breakfasts and some freshly baked goodies for the road. At 8am, we snickered back to the car, appetites fully sated, and continued down California's magical coastline Highway 1. : An hour later, while snaking along the golden, brush-covered sand dunes and rocky cliffs, gaping in awe of the grandeur of the Pacific Ocean expanding endlessly out of the passenger window, a flicker of dark green flashed in my periphery on the driver-side, and with out a second-thought, I glanced to Carolyn, said "hold on" and pulled a U-turn at the next pullout so I could investigate my curiosity. : A half-mile back, I found what had caught my eye: a tunnel of evergreen limbs hugging a dirt path into a narrow valley between hills. I flashed a grin to Carolyn. Without hesitation I steered the car right, down the path, and reduced our speed to a crawl. Almost immediately we were gasping in awe....We had found FernGully. -- #roadtrip #roadtrippers #ontheroadagain #xmasvacay #hwy1 #redwoods #ferngully #magicalforest #mossy #sunbeams #breathein #fence @caroface (at Highway 1)

















