road trip - days 1-3

i had been planning on posting yesterday, but my connection was crappy. so i'm just going to have to do a mega-post that covers the past three days.

so let me bring you up to speed...

thursday morning we got up bright and early, picked up heather, and got the rental car. and then proceeded to try and figure out how to cram all of us and our luggage into the car without breaking something...or someone. we finally figured it out and hit the road for the pacific coast highway at about 10 am. we decided to make it a leisurely drive and made a few photo stops...

the drive up the PCH is pretty twisty-turny, but we finally made it to Salinas and the Risingers, who graciously opened up their home to us. we had a yummy dinner, fun conversation, and a good night's sleep. it was hard to leave their house the next morning. actually, i think it ended up being afternoon.
then we ventured across town so that micah could see the house where Steinbeck was born...

then we took our time and drove up to san francisco. we didn't really have anything in mind to do while we were there, so we just walked around and took photos and watched people. we stayed at a hostel near union square, so there were plenty of people to watch...

i wish i could say we had a good night's sleep in san francisco, but what can you expect from a hostel for $30 a night?
then bright and early, we set off for destinations farther north. we made a quick stop at the marin headlands for a photo-op...

...and then spent the next 10 hours driving to Portland. it was a journey complete with snow flurries and freezing rain. good times. but we made it here safely and sara even had dinner waiting for us! we're now sitting all cozy in her living room, clicking away at our computers. i'm excited to be back in p-town visiting friends. i love this city.