We started off surprisingly early, waking up at 7, which was unacceptable, given that we didn't have to do a ridiculous amount of driving. EK and I managed to chill out on the delightfully comfortable mattress in the spare room until our host's boyfriend needed the room for work purposes.
After some intense food debating, with the helpful input of Beth and Matt, it was decided that what we really needed to do was go to Chicken and Waffles, or the Home of Chicken and Waffles. I am still somewhat unclear as to what the precise name was, but it was pretty delicious all around. The enormous buckwheat waffle and the turkey sausage I had was delicious, the fried chicken and grits EK had with her waffle were amazing, and they made a mean mac and cheese as well. I was delighted to see that they served sweet tea, only to discover (somewhat unsurprisingly, I suppose) that what they called sweet tea was definitely like no thing I have ever experienced before--thick and viscous and like no drink ever made. Otherwise sated, we parted ways with our hosts and hit up a hipster coffee bar (definitely the most hipster of coffee bars I have ever been in), before hitting 880 and heading south towards San Jose and the Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
Once again, I found myself pretty impressed with the Prius. As we headed out of Saratoga and began to climb up into the mountains, and then began to weave back and forth in a way that put Blood Mountain to shame, the Prius did a great job. Shortly, the road narrowed, and suddenly became "two lane," which is to say that it became one lane with no lines and naught but tiny switchbacks and DEATH as other cars, cyclists, and the most insane motorcyclists came at us head on. When we finally got to the park headquarters, we took a moment to gaze around in astonishment before heading off to the headquarters to pay for parking and a hiking map, and decided on a hiking trail that would take to Sempervirens Falls along the Sequoia Trail.
Talk about a humbling experience. I'm actually amazed that EK and I managed to make any progress on the trail at all, because it certainly seemed like we were stopping every few minutes to gape and take pictures and marvel at what a crazy damn thing nature is. We made it to the falls, which was small, but very beautiful, and definitely worth the hike.
We took our life into our hands again getting back down the mountains, and stopped in Saratoga for some pretty decent sushi, and then trekked back to West Oakland and chilled with Beth and Matt until another friend of EK's alerted us to the fact that our presence was required for drinks out at some delightful hipster beer (Athenians, think Trapeze on steroids) and then a late night trip to one of the many mobile taco stands for some perfect street food tacos.
Thus goes day 4:
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