The Thanksgiving That Wasn't: California Redwoods and Oregon Beaches

I will contend two things in this post, both of which I have said before - that travel is healing and that even a single night away can make for an amazing trip. When we had to again cancel a trip home to see my family, this time for Thanksgiving, I was just short of devastated. And I knew I couldn’t “do” Thanksgiving. This may be selfish, but I honestly felt like if I couldn’t be with my family for this holiday, I would not even be able to go through the motions of any sort of celebration. I was so sad after canceling this trip that I had a hard time getting out of bed for a few days, never mind the tears that just would not stop - sadness and homesickness compounded by a difficult year. And so, as I so often have in the past, I hatched a plan. My little family and I would ignore the fact that it was Thanksgiving and use the extra days off to take a short trip together.

And so, the morning of The Holiday That Must Not Be Named, we found ourselves driving south toward California. We stopped for lunch at an Arby’s, eating our roast beef sandwiches and curly fries in the parking lot of one of the few restaurants that was open, although at the time there was no indoor dining in Oregon. Hence the parking lot picnic.

If that’s not an unconventional meal for the Fourth Thursday in November, I don’t know what is. After lunch, we briefly did a drive by hello to friends in Grants Pass before continuing toward our destination.

Interlude: I fully expected that by the time Harrison was almost a year and half old, he would have done certain travel related things. These included flying on an airplane and leaving the state where he was born. But somehow the latter milestone would not occur until this very day, which explains my excitement at the “Entering California” sign and my insistence on taking a blurry picture out of the dirty window. I think Harrison was napping in his carseat during this particular milestone, not sharing the enthusiasm felt by his mother.

And what a destination it was. If travel is healing, time in nature is a step beyond and I couldn’t think of a better place to sooth my sadness than among the towering redwoods. Jedediah Smith State Park in northern California is the perfect easy drive from southern Oregon to experience some spectacular scenery and unbelievably large and majestic trees. I had been here once before with my brother and was excited to revisit this place with my husband and son.

It was a gorgeous day to hike the Boy Scout Tree Trail, uncrowded due to the holiday. Thanks to having Harrison in tow, we didn’t manage to make it all the way to the tree (one benefit to hiking with a small child? you can blame your slowness on them instead of acknowledging that you’re out of shape), but this was a good day. The forest is marvelous and words and pictures don’t do any justice to this spectacular place. The silence and the light and the cool air in the shade of the trees must be experienced. Go here, if you can.

After about a 4.5 mile hike (the full trail is about 5.2 miles in and back and we were worried it would be dark if we didn’t turn around) we drove out of the dimming forest and toward nearby Crescent City just in time to catch the sunset by the ocean. Side note - Brandon’s cell phone was sitting ON THE TOP OF THE CAR for this entire drive. How it didn’t fall of is a very fortunate mystery. Anyway, we watched the sunset and then tried to find something for dinner. We ended up at the Apple Peddler, who were apparently only preparing pre-ordered turkey or ham family meals. However, they took sympathy on us and actually cooked some menu items for us. There were not many options available, so we were thankful to have a warm meal to go.

We drove back into Oregon, checking into our Brookings hotel and eating our meal with the sound of the ocean in the background. It was a non-traditional way to spend the day, but it was just what i needed, mediocre pecan pie and all. We had optimistically purchased a bottle of wine, thinking we could share it on the balcony after putting Harrison to bed. Turns out that our sweet child who normally goes right to sleep in his crib turns into a no sleep monster in hotel rooms who refuses to stay in bed (or will stay in bed while screaming his disapproval). Turns out, the only way to get him to go to bed was to do the same. So much for the plan (she said while sipping a glass of wine in the dark).

An early night also meant an early morning, which was okay for me. Waking up to the ocean front sunrise was a peaceful way to start the day. Thankfully, Harrison was much happier in the morning than he had been the previous evening.

We stayed at the aptly named Beachfront Inn. I had stayed here previously when it was branded as a Best Western. The location is ideal and it had received a facelift since my last visit. All rooms are ocean front - first floor rooms have a large patio and higher levels have small balconies. There is usually an included breakfast, but it wasn’t being served when we were there due to Covid. There aren’t many true beachfront properties in this price range that I’ve found on the Oregon coast.

We spent the morning walking along the beach before heading north on the coastal highway. There aren’t many drives prettier than this. We made a quick stop at Cape Blanco before picking up fish and chips in Bandon for a beach picnic that was definitely the best meal of our brief trip. After some more beach time, we made our way home, much happier and more relaxed than we had been a mere day before.

Although nothing could replace a holiday spent with my family in Arkansas, I was still thankful for a one night getaway to do some of the things we love - waking up next to the ocean, meandering amid trees and next to crashing waves, hiking, eating delicious food, and most of all, spending time together away from the chaos of our day to day lives. We didn’t have to go far or stay away long for a trip that helped soothe, at least temporarily, the homesickness and sadness of a difficult year.