Phirl: Sea Lion Caves?

Hi Phirl - did you finally get to Sea Lion Caves this summer?

What is your opinion - go or no go?

I saw it when I was 11 (I%26#39;m 62 now) and passed by it the last two times I drove down the coast in recent years. My cousin and I will be doing a slow and leisurely down the coast the end of next April. We both don%26#39;t walk too far or too easily so curious how strenuous the path is to get to the elevator. We are driving clear down to San Diego and know we will see sea lions at a number of stops along the way. Should we pay admission to see lots of sea life- or will we see enough along the coast. No really interested in the cute and trashy souveniers in the gift shop so popular with a previous poster. lol.

I have the same problem with stopping at Trees of Mystery along the CA coast.

Phirl: Sea Lion Caves?

I did not get to Sea Lion Caves. beginning to think I never will again. It is a bit of a walk down to the elevator. At least it was.

For sure if you do consider find how many sea lions are in, Sometimes there are none or close to it.

Docks at Newport are usually good place to see sealions.

Trees of Mystery would not top my list for Redwoods visit. Avenue of Giants near Garberville is one that is worth it. And there are several National Park places. from Crescent City to Garberville.

SInce you gave your age. do you have a Glden Age Passport yet? They are worth the money. I bought mine for $10 and it paid for itself within a month. It allows entry to federal parks, and for most it is for entry of car and all riders. for some Fed interp sites person without Passport has to pay. You can get tehm at Fed land agency offices, Park Service, BLM, Forest Service Corps of Engineers. so your cousin may want to get one also assuming 62 or older.

Yaquina Head is good possible place to sea seals. laying on the rocks off shore. It is BLM site so passport works there.

Phirl: Sea Lion Caves?

Thanks Phirl - I guess we won%26#39;t do it either. Will try your other suggestions for Sea Lions. . Will probably bypass Trees of Mystery too. Sigh - memories of the thrills of childhood - you can%26#39;t go home again. I was 11 when we did both and they were overshadowed by my first to Disneyland which had just opened the month we got there in July 1955. I was curious about the Trees of Mystery canopy tour above the trees. We are going to take the Avenue of the Giants - which is awesome. The road isn%26#39;t crowded - I love to pull over - then walk out into the woods by myself - complete silence.

We are going Seattle to Astoria %26amp; overnight on the Columbia under the bridge, then the next day putter down the coast to Newport. The next day we go to Coos Bay (seafood buffet at the Portside in Charleston. From Coos Bay we go to Crescent City %26amp; overnight at the quaint Curley Redwood Lodge. From Crescent City we spend the day in Eureka, %26amp; Ferndale - then Ave. of the Giants %26amp; overnight in Garberville.

Our trip is 40 days - down to San Diego, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Yosemite, Gold Country and then back up through Central Oregon.

Yes - the week I turned 62 I went down and got my Golden Age passport in Seattle at the Gold Rush National Historic Park. My cousin also has gotten hers. They are really great and I%26#39;m looking forward to making good use of it on thos trip.

Thanks for the input.

Are you staying at the Holiday Inn Express? It%26#39;s a nice property with beautiful views of the Columbia and the Astoria-Meger Bridge. Try to have lunch at the Cannery Cafe, good food and they have gorgeous views of the river from the dining room. You should be able to spot some sea lions frolicking in the river from this area. Have fun in Astoria! :)

genealjean, what an amazing trip this sounds like!

How great that you can do it in a good amount of time, and driving will give you so much more freedom to change plans, stay longer here or get out of there , if things are not what you expected.

Selfishly, I hope you take a gazillion photos and post them here , I would really enjoy seeing them :)

LOL about the Trashy Sounveniers !!

First I was at Tree of Mystery like you I was a kid. I thought it was great. we took our kids there a few years later and somehow it was not quite as interesting. Have not been back since though have been in Redwoods a few time. Most recent was last year when we spent night at Super 8 in Crescent City. wish I had known about Curley Redwoods then. It did not look real good on their site.

Sea Lion Caves - we were there this summer, wouldn%26#39;t bother with it again myself, particularly if you%26#39;re driving to SD. Stop in San Francisco and you%26#39;ll see more sea lions than you could ever want, and much closer free of charge. Sea Lions are so common at any fishing port along the coast that it%26#39;s tough to want to pay. If you stop in Crescent City, you can see their little aquarium there - they have a sea lion show. Not too thrilling, but I%26#39;d pay for that before the caves.

Plus, you mention that you don%26#39;t get around that well these days, so Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf or Newport or the Aquariums may be a better bet for you for that reason as well.

Trees of Mystery - Did that this year too. Enjoyed it, actually - something different. Good views from the tram - we always like that. Sure, it%26#39;s overpriced and touristy, but we were happy we did it. Kind of an interesting little nature walk there too, with lots of weird trees - something you wouldn%26#39;t pay much attention to when you are 11, but now you might think it%26#39;s interesting. Just somewhere to stop on the way, take a load off, and spend a leisurely afternoon. Nothing monumental, but different. Note that some uphill walking is required to get the the tram loading zone.

I just read an article in the news about the number of sea lion attacks on people this year. Seems that the Fishermans Wharf area and a beach in Monterey have had people bitten by sea lions..

http://tinyurl.com/yn5alc