We pulled out of our driveway at 3:30am to begin our trip. Within 5 minutes, an excited Elijah asked, "Are we in California yet!?" In the first day alone, we drove 800 miles and were travelling for about 18 hours. Today we're spending the day at my cousin's house in Forest Ranch, CA. There is snow on the ground and I am writing on my laptop in between a cozy fire and a bright Christmas tree, inside their gorgeous house in the woods. Basically, a pretty lovely break from the road. Our first stop was in Eugene, OR which had been freshly covered in snow. The drive was a little slow due to cold temperatures and the threat of ice on the roads. We took it easy and enjoyed the view of the snow covered pines. We didn't stop again until Grants Pass where we made the kids lunch (we packed a cooler full of food.) Then it was straight on to Crescent City to see the Redwoods. Once we left Oregon and entered California, we had a lot more sunshine