the beautiful drive on the 101 from LA was just a taste of the awesomeness that awaited us in santa barbara. we arrive on my 30th birthday to the charming home of danielle and eric (also known by various aliases, by me, of course) we are welcomed by the most lovely gift:
we greet E and get this 30 year old party started!
danielle gets home from work and it is so wonderful to see my dear friend. i can't think of a better way to celebrate this supposed landmark event. it is strange, i feel like every day has been my birthday since i have changed my life and started on the path of my heart. it may be cheesy, but queso doesn't make it any less true. we hang out and imbibe, catch up and laugh so hard that i squeal and D snorts a bit. we head out to adama for some of the most amazing vegan food i have ever had. the loveliest treat from easy E and dznuts, we got this cauliflower appetizer, but it was so delicious that we ate it all before i could take a picture of it. sooo damn good.
i had the gardein piccata (non-meat chicken) and holy shit, i haven't had chicken in two years, but this tasted exactly like i remembered. the garlic mashed potatoes? um, yes please. i gobbled that shit up.
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| spinach, artichokes, capers, and choice of garlic mashed potatoes or a grain |
my eric got the mole enchiladas, which i also gobbled on, equally fantastic!
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| shredded gardein in sprouted wheat tortillas, cashew cream, beans, and choice of grain |
eric tipped them off it was my bday and they brought me a delicious vegan chocolate cake. yum! d and i can never take a pic together because we are always laughing so much. i wouldn't have it any other way.
dz and E share our love of 'flasking' it and even have a spare for us. (i brought a bunch of shit with me on this trip that i haven't used at all, but forgetting my flask is something i regulary regret. this is a problem i don't my having, nothing a quick trip to the van can't help. anyway…
we go out for some drinks and good times are had my all.
and i feel completely at ease turning thirty as i soon realize some things, the good ones, never change. i witnesssed this as these events took place late in the evening:
the pictures were too dark of our orange tree raid. damn that was fun too.
the following day, E had to go to work, but the 3 amigos went for an awesome hike to a waterfall.
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| can't help but make out |
we have a chill night at home complete with awesome food and some flux playing. the next day the three amigos head out on our bikes to the earth day festival.
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| and we are off to the earth day celebration! |
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| oh, hey medicine shoppe, i used to design your ads |
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| bike valet! |
this was awwwwesome. a little taste of comfest a bit early. we stroll around and i listen to an informative lecture on raising alpacas. i have literature, J and i am totally in for whenever you want to start the alpaca farm. they are incredible.
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| look at these adorable creatures! hey little dudes! |
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| can we kick it? yes, we can. |
it was so nice to start off festival season!
we got a wonderful treat in the form of a visit from the patel family.
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| take note: this kid will take over the world. |
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| LOVE this child! |
i also got to meet another one of eric's friends, tim and then he met our friends. yay! new friends!
mrunal and ripal then take us out to great thai food at galanga. we just can't get enough! i had an amazing tofu dish.
it was so nice to see them and visit. the entire family is wonderful, each member interesting and dynamic. i feel so lucky that they traveled such a distance just to see us. ahhhhhh.
also in santa barbara is my dream business: a cat hotel. the official name is the cat house hotel, but you get the idea. i am not sure who boards a cat, but apparently people in santa barbara do. only in the town for a weekend, i am pretty sure i am blacklisted from this establishment by the look i received when i asked the teenaged employee how i could "get in there and hug them?".
this is what i want to do. complete with awesome jungle gym types structures and cats…everywhere, i was in heaven!
we went almost every day of our trip. i wouldn't be surprised if there is a 'most wanted' sign with my picture on it. but..i love cats, i love every kind of cat, i just want to hug them all, but i can't….
the next day, d went to her soccer game and my eric and i went back to the earth day festival. we saw a capoeria demonstration that was mesmerizing.
we stumbled upon an old timey fiddle session. the sound was fantastic!
i also listened to a beekeeping lecture that was incredible. i instantly added 'bee keeper' to my ongoing lists of dreams and desires. i still haven't figured anything out other than i want it all. and i will die trying to accomplish all of them as well. ain't that life?
we all reconvened at the house and drank fantastic bridlewood wine and hung out. the next day, i opted to stay home and do the family dishes and finish up laundry while eric went to a coffee shop to visit with tim. plus a little impromptu jam sesh!
i am sad to leave danielle and E. they are so easy to be around and…well, it was just the most lovely visit. i couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration. and i completed my only wish: to not turn 30 in a cubicle, so it is all uphill from here.
on our way out, we went to visit E at his work, bridlewood winery in santa ynez. the drive out there was incredible.
it was so lush green and all foggy, i felt like i was watching scenes from 'gorillas in the mist'. california feels like another country. so breathtaking and different…just as i think it can't get any more beautiful, something else magnificent comes into view.
bridlewood is beautiful and E is so knowledgable. we enjoy a tasting and the wine is fantastic. we couldn't help but leave with a little sample.
we stopped at cute little dutch town, solvang, a wee town, trapped in time. and with a hankering for sugar comparable to eric nassau.
we proceed to morro bay to visit the wonderful joe brady and partner katrina. they live on a horse ranch in los osos. it was so beautiful on top of a vista. visiting with the horse was so much fun!
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| give me kisses! |
the land is incredible. i love the vegetation, the flora, the…everything out here.
joe takes us in to morro bay for some beers. it is a quaint town but with a certain energy.
i find joe and i have a lot in common as graphic designer ex-pats. we chat it up and at the buoy where everyone is chill and friendly. we hang out with joe and katrina in there home, imbibe, enjoy and then take a late night walk to visit the horses. sooo cool.
the following day, we set out for a hike with joe right from the property. if i hiked these kind of trails on the reg i would have an ass like the amazing one we saw on the waitress/yoga instructor in LA. a girl can dream…
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| we found this, it says 'surrender'. we added: 'never!' |
we then head up the coast again, stopping at the elephant seal viewpoint
these creatures are so incredible and captivating. i could have stayed here all day and watched them throw sand on themselves, make fart-y noises and flop around on the beach. despite being totally smelly, they are adorable in every possible way
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| hey little buddy! |
we continue up the coast with some of the most breath-taking views i have ever seen. i am not sure if their is anything better than mountains, wildflowers and the ocean?
this is the part of the story where…well, i am not sure exactly how to describe my feelings. i am not sure if it is being on the road for nearly 3 months or if it is natural progression of life? it is hard because sometimes your account of a place is dictated by your experience…a one day experience doesn't give you enough information to make a judgment. basically, our 3 days in big sur was a combination of shit just not working out, some of the most incredible scenery i have witnessed, pushing of physical (and often hand in hand with mental) capabilities, some beautiful nature and many, many life lessons.
i think mostly, we have learned what would be best for us on our next visit to big sur. we kind of went into it with very loose plans. i have also realized how checked out i have been involving the planning of our trip. i think i was so burned out from my corporate lifestyle, that i took a hiatus from any real decision making. i certainly have earned such a break and clearly, it was needed. the experience in big sur reminded me: it is time to check back in.
we were told of a forrest road that you could camp at. we drove up the windy, dirt road with extreme ledges. round and round and up and up, we continue to go away from the water. eh? huh? we stop at a turn off…and are so over driving this way that we conclude that it would be fine to camp…right here. i am surprisingly ok with this decision. we pull out the camping chairs and i even relax with my book. as reality sinks back in…we realize we really have no idea if this is an appropriate place to camp. while it would probably be just fine, did we really want to have the wonder and worry to find out otherwise? just as we were beginning to ask ourselves these questions, a motorcyclist pulls up and we have a chat with him. after lengthy banter, he agrees to ride to the top of the mountain to investigate if their is more 'formal' camping options and then report back to us. awesome! thanks, random guy! he returns with info that their is in fact camping, but we decide that we are going away from where we want to go anyway….and frankly, we are just over it. we decide to go in the direction that is a part of our journey and check our andrew mol era state park. this is what i am talking about: normally, andrew molera state park, with its beach access could possibly be worth a $25 a night stay. however, on our journey there, we decide to stop at the nepenthe restaurant, which was constructed by a student of frank lloyed wright, had amazing ocean views, a campfire and pretentious/maybe cool patrons. we opted for a beer and scenery.
in doing so, it put us at our camp sight at nearly dark. just enough time to haul the basics in to set up camp, heat our makeshift dinner and by that time, i am done. a sudden wave of annoyance hits me like a brick to the face. despite my debatable disposition, as we arrived to our what-we-both- thought-to-be-way-too-expensive camp sight, a young deer was just chillin in our path. such beautiful animals, i wish i could have appreciated him/her. however, i wanted to be settled. we do so. have dinner and drink our bridlewood wine. we choose to go to the beach and i am thinking that some night beach time and view of the stars will sort our my sour state. while we were making dinner though, those noisy bandits, aka: raccoons were so nearby i could almost make out their zorro masks. not having camped in awhile, i am weary of every sound. walking, in the dark, to what we think is the way to the beach is hardly relaxing after a long day. we can hear the ocean, but just can't seem to find ourselves there. without shame, we decide to head back. we have no idea where we are going anyway. we bunk down for the night. having been more or less pampered by dear friends on the trip thus far, a night in the tent is less than restful. we wake early and have to again, pack up. annoyed by spending 25 bucks on a patch of grass and a parking spot, we venture on. we were told about sikes hot springs. although eric left up literature on my computer about it and i think i even read some of it…i still had no idea what we were getting into. BUT….this was the far better move. we could park our van for 5 bucks and then hike into some extremely beautiful wilderness. 20 dollars cheaper than the lameness we encountered the night prior….lesson learned.
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| we are going in.... |
however, this hike was no joke. when eric said 10 miles in, 10 miles out…i though, sure, i am up for anything. i had no idea what 10 miles, with a full pack, in strenuous terrain would look or feel like. the trek started out fierce too…i quickly realized i was in way over my head. instantly fatigued and disenchanted…the reality of completing 10 miles was looking slim. the goal of hot springs was tempting, but doing that in a day would have made it entirely un-fun.
we opted to do half…to the first campsite, the terrace. oh, if we only had more time. again, lesson learned. next time in big sur: go directly to the big sur ranger station, pay 5 bucks a day to park your car and hike and camp in sheer amazement. apparently, 30,000 people a year also agree. this is where it is at, but you need adequate time….and we didn't really allow ourselves that. what can you do?
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| thom c. would be proud, i hiked most of the day with my coffee! |
we make it to the campsite in perfect time…as soon as we get set up it becomes inundated with other weary hikers. we are all for sharing and really, we have a plush spot and are left alone.
we relax and enjoy our dinner. we play with fire for most of the evening.
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| how cute is this man? |
physically exhausted, we go into the tent for some much needed sleep. i figured, after such strenuous hiking, i would just pass out for the night. then, it begins to rain. it sounds like popcorn in our tent. on a slight incline and with sore muscles, eric and i communicate in some form through out the night.
a few hours of sleep, maybe? then, in the morning….my soap leaked in my DOP kit, so i imagine that is why my left contact would not go in pain free into my eye. basically, i was putting soap in my eye. a frustrating start to the day….
although i learned something very interesting about ones mentality. the way in, having no idea what the journey held, i seemed fatigued and frazzled. on the way out, knowing this was in fact, a very fucking difficult hike…i mustered the strength, bucked up and charged through that shit! from now on, i will always assume something is crazy difficult…until i see otherwise. and also know that you are capable of challenging yourself.
we make it out alive!
then on we go to santa cruz!
the drive on the 1 is so incredible. we get into to town and meet up with my long lost friend from elementary school, kat kim. we meet up at a wonderful indian joint, sitar. (eric and i were daydreaming about indian food through out most of the hike out of the woods, so it was on!)
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| nomz! |
we went to the beach and check out all things surfing
we head to a local coffee shop to do some work and then kat welcomes us to a perfect spot in her backyard. it is so nice to reconnect with her, a kindred spirit for sure.
her backyard garden is totally relaxing…it is just what we needed after a few nights of challenges. a great night sleep, a shower in the morning, and some re-org of the van…and hot damn, i feel like a million bucks!
kat was so awesome...she sends us on our way. next stop, san francisco!!
take care, friends.
take care, friends.
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