We left Oregon early and made our way down to California.

Our first stop was a drive through The Avenue of the Giants, through acres of giant Redwood Trees.

I think we had this mixed up with the Sequoia National Forest.  When we got to the Redwood Forest, we were a tad disappointed. The drive was beautiful but we were expecting the Sequoias.  My family and I had spent some time in Sequoia National Park when I was a kid and I remember the forest being much more awe-inspiring than the Redwoods!

We continued to make our way down to San Francisco and stopped at the overlook before the Golden Gate Bridge.

After paying the toll to cross the bridge, we made our way to the hotel. We ventured out an hour after checking in/resting to explore the pier and get dinner. We also drove down Lombard Street.

Look at him preening.

Alcatraz Island.  I wish we had more time to do a tour of this but we had to cut our trip a day short for Easter.

The next morning we got up early and headed to Great America!

We left around noon to explore more of the San Francisco Pier.  We visited the aquarium, explored the stores and visited Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum.

They let you touch the baby tiger sharks! I stuck my hand in figuring it would be the only time I'd ever willing touch a shark.

Of course he had to get a photo with the Rambo exhibit!

That concludes our 3 day road trip along the west coast. We spent all of the 4th day on the road back home to Washington!