The search for the next stop
Despite that we decided against Cambria, I was encouraged that we found a place so close to what we were looking for in a new home town. So, we returned to San Jose feeling refreshed. We enjoyed exploring the beaches and neighborhoods, playing “touristy investigators,” despite that Cambria would not be our new home.
A few months passed as we scratched our heads and other body parts, unsure of where to explore next. That was OK, though. I knew this was going to be a long process. After all, there was only so much time a working single mom on a budget with kids in two different schools can spent wandering up and down the west coast!
One day, we found ourselves casually chatting with family members at a party, explaining our slapdash, thus-far fruitless search for a new home town.
“You should just move back home, Elizabeth. You could rent my townhouse in Foster City,” my mom suggested.
I sighed, immediately rejecting the idea, as much as it pained me. Would it be nice to live in Foster City? Sure! I loved growing up in San Mateo, the neighboring town where my mom and stepdad still live. I also lived in Foster City for two years or so. The problem? The cost.
“I would if I could, and it would be so nice to be closer to family, but we would still have the same financial situation. Foster City is such a beautiful and expensive place to live, you might as well take residence at a resort! I want to actually save some money at some point,” I explained as gently as possible.
(Just to give you a general idea, here is a stock photo image of Foster City. And yes, the whole town is just as pretty.)
“What about Humboldt County?” someone asked. (I honestly can’t remember who.)
“Ehhh…” I responded, having spent absolutely no time in that area.
“Yes! You have to check out Trinidad. Trinidad is so pretty!” my brilliant and beautiful niece said with a huge, encouraging smile. Who could say no to that face? Not this auntie. Not ever.
Okee dokee! It was time to get back to the oracle to check out Humboldt County.
…And the magical Pinterest says… https://visithumboldt.com
My head exploded. I must have stared at that website for two hours straight, clicking on different links and drooling at the expert photography (wishing I had that kind of skill with a camera but also knowing the photographs were likely not even doing the area justice).
Why did I become immediately obsessed, you ask? Let me backtrack to explain.
One of my favorite places in the universe is Mount Hermon, CA, which is located in the Santa Cruz mountains.
Like Humboldt County, Mount Hermon is also totally packed with gorgeous, ancient towering redwoods. It is technically a town, but Mount Hermon mostly consists of a ginormous conference center with several different camps (the kind of camp with cabins, not the kind to pitch a tent). I have been a regular visitor to Mount Hermon since I was a little girl. In fact, here is a pic of me during one of my first visits.
Cute, right? I know. The clashing hair ribbons are my favorite part. Moving on.
Mount Hermon hosts all kinds of activities, especially these days (I highly recommend the ropes courses and zip lines), but Mount Hermon’s claim to fame are the weekly family camps and the camps just for kids, which I attended every chance I possibly could growing up. I loved it there and still do. It is the place I have always felt the most at peace: spiritually centered and clear. It has always felt like a second home. See that look on my face right there? Yeah. Can’t fake that joy.
Oh, here’s another one after a week-long camp several years later. I look exhausted, like I didn’t brush my hair all week, and like a gained a few million freckles. (Or is that dirt? Probably both.) But my eyes speak volumes in this photo, don’t you think?
I could do seventeen posts on Mount Hermon and why I love it, but that isn’t the point of this post, so here is a link to the Mount Hermon website if you want to fall in love with it, too. https://www.mounthermon.org
Where was I, again? Oh, yes. Humboldt County. Focus, Liz!
OK. Humboldt County reminded me so much of wandering through the trails and walking through the creek in Mount Hermon, I got goosebumps. I mean, Mount Hermon has always felt like a sort of home to me, we were looking for a new home, so…
The biggest problem I had with my research into Humboldt County was determining how to narrow my search! Every place I researched seemed to have access to a fabulous beach, majestic redwoods, or both. And the housing was so reasonable! What to do?
Finally, I decided to print out a map and just pinpoint the areas I most wanted to explore. From there, I made an agenda. Yes, you heard me. An agenda! I know the word, thank you very much, and I know how to create one! Though I tend to be a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-and-regret-the-consequences-later kind of gal, there was too much to explore to risk it. I didn’t want to miss anything.
I decided we would take the long way up north, traveling along the coast in order to see as many small coastal towns as we could along the way. To make it manageable, I decided to break the drive into sections and stay at a different hotel each night.
I had a good feeling about this trip. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking, “This is it! I know it!”
To be continued…
