Old Souls

On Friday night, we arrived fairly late at our hotel and then ended up staying up later because of all the novelties! Where was this, you ask? Well, the hotel was called Even and it is one of these new boutique hotels. This one is part of the IHG family. Our first indication that this was a hipster hotel was the parking lot which only had spots for compact cars. Now this caused much discussion among us. Was it intentional, poorly planned, limited space...? Regardless, it made for a tight parking spot. As we were trying to exit our car, the proximity sensor of the huge pick up next to us kept blaring, repeatedly startling us. As we walked to the entrance we noticed a lively deck with firepit--next indicator. The 2nd floor lobby was sleek and modern and multiple complimentary infused waters were offered.  And here was where we began to get excited by the amenities! They had a glass enclosed room with a ping pong table! Yes, we had to play even though it was 10:30 at night! And they offered games! Yes, we played Sequence both that night and in the morning over coffee. And the rooms are all even numbered. This hotel is defintely going for a certain vibe. Wellness is one, which, if not evident through the inspirational messages on the walls, was clear in the room which offered exercise equipment! This was a novel stay!

On Saturday we explored the Redwood National Park. Our national parks are awe-inspiring and this one was no exception! Immediately upon turning down the unpaved, narrow Howland Hill Rd, we were all looking up in amazement at the gigantic coastal redwoods all around us. We took a quick hike to Stout Grove where we felt reverential among these giants. It is humbling to think of how brief our lives are compared to these trees which have been around for hundreds or, even sometimes, thousands of years. We traversed south and drove through the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway with another short hike through the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. This was a self guided trail with an interpretive brochure available. We learned some interesting information such as the redwoods' high water content and low resin make them less susceptible to forest fires. The heartwood can apparently be damaged and burned, but the tree can still adapt and live healthily. We saw several instances of this in various areas. What was remarkable to us was that we could see fire damage to some older trees but no other visible signs of fire in the area or on younger trees which meant they were damaged by forest fire a long time ago!