Some of my favorites from roaming the Pacific Northwest – in particular, the Redwood Forest and the Pacific coastline in California. Evan and I have such an itch to get back here again. I loved California and Oregon. I’ve since visited both states again, post-roadtrip 2012, but not in the same fashion as this trip.

Roaming through the great outdoors is my favorite way to experience a new place. Evan and I both agree that we could happily live in the PNW… if only the water were warmer. I suppose there’s a tradeoff everywhere, but that one is almost a total deal breaker for us.

My favorite part of the Pacific coastline was the succulents. The colors were so vibrant. I loved how their seemingly feeble bodies clung to the edge of the cliff sides, taking a beating from the salt air, but still continuing to thrive. Such life!

I collected so many sand dollars from these gray and black shores. This is also where we joined a couple close friends and their son for what we didn’t know would end up being our last time all together on this earth. I have such fond memories with Evan here, and fond memories with our friends spent camping, enjoying a pizza in little Crescent City, and chasing their son along the beach. This is where I discovered how precious life is, without even knowing it at the time.