Saturday, July 12, 2014

going to california

Songs have been written about this great state, so many songs. Queue some up in your mind now, and view these overdue pictures from our trip in May with Natalie and Kahlil. We flew to San Francisco a few days before a wedding, rented a car and drove down the coast to Santa Cruz.


We pulled off the roadside whenever the notion struck and gazed in wonder at the West Coast. 


What a sight for sore eyes, the ocean always is. 


We took a bathroom break in a grand seaside hotel. Scott disappeared. We followed the music to find him tickling the ivories in a conference hall. I'm sure the Association of Union Constructors would have retained his entertainment services if they could have, but we had places to be.




We did a U-turn to get back to this stately old landmark and take a closer look. It's also a youth hostel!


These two are delightful travel companions, not to mention in love.


Pigeon Point Lighthouse, was that really the name? Every scene straight out of a painting.


Natalie and I paused to praise the California flora, especially the succulents, frequently and profusely.


A hundred million selfies were taken. All the photos in this post are from my big clunky DSLR, but I have a whole slew on my iPhone and Scott's too, and I'll post some of those soon! Don't worry. There are so many more. Lucky for us all. Practically every moment was commemorated in photo.


Who doesn't consider leaving it all behind to live in a lighthouse?


We didn't quite realize it yet, but we were reaching a stage of giddy travel exhaustion, that made all the world a stage. Especially when confronted with objects from another time. Like lighthouses. And phone booths. 


California. Stop it with the vistas. They are hurting my heart at this point. It is too much at once.


We came upon part of an old ship's porthole, propped up on a trail near the beach. I told them to pose for a portrait, and here is what happened. Gosh, I love these three. 



We rented a little cottage in Santa Cruz, a couple blocks from the beach. It was just right, and not an exaggeration to say there were rainbows and unicorns. 



After settling in, we strolled down the street to watch the Californians ride waves in the setting sun.


The one in the victory stance was howling in joy, yes. 


Scott and I took a walk at dawn to see the sun come up.


Scott, by the by, was the first one up every morning to the increasing chagrin of all once we started to adjust to Pacific Coast Time. I'm sure not one of us will forget waking up to the Lion King's opening theme song one particular day. But I will say, he wouldn't let us waste any daylight, bless his heart. 


And bless you, beautiful Santa Cruz. 


The flowers, you guys. Sweet and plentiful and dripping like honey. Natalie says the immaculate yards we exclaimed upon in Santa Cruz were likely the work of hired gardeners. Good work, gardeners!


Madrone Avenue: where we stayed! 


It's a little hard to see, but that rock was covered in barking seal lions. We saw sea otters too, floating on their backs, unconcerned amongst the surfers. It occurred to me that East Coasters taking photos of sea lions is similar to Europeans taking pictures of squirrels in Central Park. 



Natalie was made for a beach lifestyle. This is what she was doing when we came back from our morning exploring. Yoga in the salty sea air. 


And she is at one with the big trees. Actually, here she was impersonating a Cape Cod blue blood. She and Scott were similarly attired in button down shirts under pullovers. They told a gas station attendant they were visiting from Massachusetts when we rode into the forest our second day to visit Big Basin Redwoods State Park. 


In Big Basin, Natalie and Kahlil went on a run in one direction and Scott and I another. For those of you who are regulars to this blog, you should not be surprised that Scott and I got lost in the woods. But we kept running and didn't despair (for very long), and eventually made it back to our meeting point. Scott made a series of videos chronicling our adventure, which he will show you if you ask. Above is a burl, a kind of tree deformity, but highly prized for making bowls and other things useful to humans. Poachers lately have been chopping the trees down to get to the burls! What is the world coming to. 


The big trees are ancient and magical. That's me and the Father of the Forest, circumference at ground 66 ft. 9 inches, height 250 feet. What a life. Carry on, good sir.


Back in Santa Cruz, Scott and Kahlil jumped a barrier to continue their California exploration and walk on this peninsula. They are pals for life. 


I spied some sand art on this little beach. 


And some land art: Natural Bridges State Park.




That lifeguard stand looks like a bug to me. 


Our time in Santa Cruz was short. We had a wedding to get to! So it was back up the coast to Tiburon. We stopped at Twin Peaks Park for a photo op on the way through San Francisco. 




What a view up there. Like sitting on edge of the sky.


SPEAKING OF VIEWS!


On the day of the wedding we had a little time to kill and went to see Point Reyes National Seashore. It was awe inspiring. At one point we were writing Eric's vows, we were so in touch with all the love on planet Earth, drinking in these views. Luckily he paid no mind to any messages we may have left with suggestions. Do you see the little speck that is Scott running on that trail? The wind was screaming and cold here! 


We had to run to stay warm. And we had to run because we were young and exhilarated.



Seals, yonder on that beach. 


Anyway, I brought my phone to take pictures at the wedding, and this is the end of the ones on my big camera, except for our last minute visit to the Golden Gate Bridge right before flying home. There are about twelve more photos of Scott and I here, all different poses. This is just a small sample:



You get the picture. 


It's neat because there's a fort right under the bridge!


We even saw a helicopter fly under the bridge (not pictured, but true!). Just to summarize, this was a good trip. 

3 comments:

  1. You are such a good writer and storyteller! You should write a book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think you 3 should commit to an 'annual' trip. I also think 'you' should write a book.

    ReplyDelete
  3. PS...ok, miss count..."you 4." :)

    ReplyDelete