For #beachwednesday, I'm going to share some pictures of The Lost Coast, and a little description of the area.

Beach Wednesday: The Lost Coast

In a land far away, far from almost everything, you can find the Lost Coast of California. It is one of my most favorite places in the entire world.

Long long ago, my grandparents bought a little cabin in this special place. It is a tiny one-bedroom cabin, inland from the ocean by five miles. It was just right for them and their three kids, because the property also includes a bunk house.

Fast forward to today. Three families sprang from my parents’ generation, and now all of those offspring have had children. It is not uncommon to have 10 to 20 people gathered at our tiny little property near the edge of the continental U.S. Everyone has to pitch tents and sleep in campers or out under the stars.

"The Cabin"

What makes our cabin special is that it located right on a river that feeds into the sea. And at that juncture, there is a beautiful beach with huge crashing waves. (I believe the Pacific Ocean was given its name by someone who had a very wry sense of humor. It is not pacified at all.)

My kids--staring down the ocean

Why is it called the Lost Coast?

I’m glad you asked. The thing about this special little stretch of coastline is that you can’t get there on any normal highway. You must travel over a winding, desolate mountain road for an hour a half, stop and throw up on the way, and eventually when you think it’s probably better to die right where you are than continue on, you come into a tiny little town called Petrolia.

The Lost Coast. See? You can't even see the roads that take you there.

As you can kind of see from this picture, the Lost Cost is located on the westernmost tip of the continental U.S.

The “town" of Petrolia is a general store that only sells over-priced bacon, the occasional local vegetable, and canned foods from another era. Oh, there’s also a restaurant where you can sometimes get wi-fi.

(Actually they’re both lovely, but I’m trying to thwart people from going! It is a fairly unspoiled area, as you can imagine.)

About the beach

We get to the Lost Coast only every few years, but when we do it’s always a magical experience.

We always make beach cities with rocks and driftwood, and we make up stories about castles and kingdoms and evil lords.

The beach cities and their architects

We almost always go tidepooling. This is yours truly....

And we take lots of hikes and breathe in the salt air. Here's me and my fabulous sister, @ducksaplenty!

Me and @ducksaplenty - so named because we are transplant "Oregon ducks" now living in Minnesota.

My kids were all born in California, and whenever we return to the California coast, it's like coming home for them.

The kids in their native habitat.

Thanks for reading my post!