After time with Gage, a few days with Murphy getting acquainted with camper life and camper life getting acquainted with Murphy , it was time to head south into northern California and meet up with Aaron’s cousin, Ethan, his wife Lara, and their dog Tango. They live in California and recently purchased an RV! We had not seen each other in quite a few years and this was the perfect way to meet up and get to know each other all over again. Aaron and Ethan grew up together and all four of us had spent time hanging out at family functions. But, we had not really spent time together just the four of us. We made up for that very quickly.
Photos by Lara (thank you Lara!!!!!)
Lara and I had both looked for a dog friendly campground, and Lara found Lighthouse Cove in Crescent City, CA. We thought it ironic that our Louisiana guys would reunite in a different Crescent City than New Orleans. It was the perfect find! There were beachs and bikes paths, a cool town, and redwoods.
(photo by Lara-if it wasn’t for her, there wouldn’t be very many pictures of this great week!)
We had amazing Thai food with some delicious sake to drink, found a cool bay side sushi place with surprisingly well priced drinks, a micro brewery with excellent beer and food, and a hotel restaurant with good drinks and appetizers overlooking the Pacific. The best part of it all was the company. Aaron and I have enjoyed our wanderings and time with each other, but being able to socialize with other people has not happened often. Ethan and Lara were perfect people to spend time with.
Tango, Murphy, Lara and I spent a lot of time walking this beach. Murphy was learning from Tango and I was learning from Lara. She was key to helping us start Murphy’s training. He is a better behaved dog, and we are better dog owners due to her knowledge and skill. Tango is an older dog and Murphy just a year old. Tango put him in his place a few times. It was good for Murphy. I’m not sure how good it was for Tango, but, he tolerated the hyper young pup. I’m pretty sure Murph misses Tango more than Tango misses him…
We hiked through some redwoods at the Jebediah Smith State Park, rode our bikes around town, and had some fun, slightly heated card games (and Lara was right about the rules to Spades-we owe her more games so she can kick our butts like we deserve lol).
As much as we did, the best part of the week was time with family. Aaron and I are really enjoy our life on the road and the seclusion that comes with it. That is in part what makes weeks like the one we spent with Ethan and Lara even more special. We appreciate the special times more now than ever.
Our week together was ending. Ethan and Lara needed to make their way home, and Aaron and I needed to make our way to Sacramento. I had a flight out of Sacramento to Iowa to spend more time with family! Aaron and Murphy were going to be on their own for almost two weeks while I was visiting my parents, brother, sister-in-law and my niece and nephew.
We said our goodbyes and hit the road with smiles on our faces, memories in our hearts and promises of future camping plans. We are looking forward to seeing Ethan and Lara again in the next few months!
Iowa, I was coming for you!
Wandering Cindi 