Windsor, CA

On the Way to Windsor

I opened my eyes and checked my watch—5:45am.  July 5, 2016.  Time to get up.

Dad had planned a family vacation for all of us.  We'd drive from Orange, CA to Windsor, CA, where we'd stay for two days and three nights.  Then on Friday we'd drive up to Klamath Falls, OR to stay for four days and five nights.  On our return trip we planned to stop for a day at Angels Camp, then take the trip back to Orange on the fifteenth.

The plan was to leave home at five or six in the morning and arrive at Windsor in the afternoon.  I had packed our luggage last night (along with my own backpack) and Dad had loaded both onto our silver-colored van.

The drive along I-5 North was long and dreary.  We listened to sermons and music along the way (I had the tune and lyrics of "Hava Nagila", a song in Hebrew, ringing in my ears), but it didn't help much to pass the time.  I was lost in thought as we cruised down the traffic-less freeway, bought breakfast at a fast food restaurant, stopped at a couple rest stations, had lunch, and checked in to our resort room at Windsor in the afternoon.

Our balcony at Windsor, CA.

After we had somewhat unpacked our belongings and settled in, Dad, Grace, Anabel, and Theodore decided to go swimming in the pool.

I didn't  like swimming, but opted to go along with them anyways.  I read Two-Minute Mysteries Collection by Donald J. Sobol as I rested in the shade by the side of the pool.

Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve

The next day we drove to Guerneville to see the famous California Redwood trees.  They were absolutely ENORMOUS!!  I had brought along my camera but unfortunately it had run out of battery yesterday, so I borrowed some of my sister Grace's pictures for display.

At the entrance to the grove was a giant billboard giving information on the growth rings of a tree.

The other side of the billboard (I couldn't find a picture of it) displayed some animals and plants commonly found in the grove.

Among these the ones I thought most interesting were:

1. Banana slug (a slug that looked like a banana)

2. Turkey tail fungus (fungus that looked like a turkey's tail)

3. Fetid adders tongue (a flower that smelled like a wet dog.  We didn't encounter this plant, but the billboard gave us such a description)

We learned of fairy rings—clumps of redwood trees that grew from a mother redwood.

The "goose pens" were the hollow part of a redwood trunk.  In the old days people used to keep their chicken in the "pens".

Icicle trees were also beautiful—so named because of the extended downward branches of some of the trees that looked like icicles.  Sadly, some of the icicles on the trees had been cut away—sold for furniture wood or just as is.

Altogether, the weather was nice and cool (a very important aspect of the trip for me) and the redwood trees were majestic.  They reminded me of how amazing God's creation is!

More Windsor

Lunch and dinner was awfully hard to cook at our hotel.  We are used to using a spatula and frying pan to stir-fry our vegetables, but we couldn't find any of these two items in the hotel kitchen.  I literally gave up trying to cook the cabbage.

But other than the cooking difficulties (and a couple mosquito bites during the nights) the Windsor stay was truly amazing and relaxing.

It was a good thing that our hotel was almost in the middle of nowhere, meaning we could enjoy beautiful scenic views—another example of God's power and majesty!