a dreamy california roadtrip

With a diabetic cat keeping us close to home these days, our overseas travels have been curtailed. No matter, as long as you have places like the central California coast to retreat to.

That's exactly what AJ and I did in late March 2015, and let me tell you it was a giant slice of heaven. Brace yourself - I am about to wax poetic, as I am known to do from time to time on this here blog.

I was already expecting a great trip. But this one surpassed my hopes on so many levels, I am now counting it as one of the best trips of all time. We purposefully tried to keep this one simple - no big plans, no jam-packed days, light on coordination and details, all intended to keep focus on enjoying the place and the company of each other. Indeed, we did it right.

That was our doing, but Mother Nature had to play her part too. And good grief, did she. We we're graced with weather that bordered on perfection, light crowds, spring wildflowers a'poppin, scenery that dropped the jaw, and wildlife akin to what's expected in Alaska. No joke.

Note - we had two wildlife highlights: watching a whale hopscotch up the coast, leaping out of the water about every 20 seconds an uncountable number of times; and an up-close-and-personal sighting of California condors, the highly endangered and largest bird in North America that is becoming a conservation success story. I've never seen one before, and now I can say I've seen about 10 percent of their population in the wild. 

Layered on top of that, AJ and I stayed in two of most romantic little bungalows EVER. Jeez loueez, it was like another world. One was the Big Sur Inn, a complex of outbuildings clinging to the side of a redwood encrusted canyon; the other a little cabin we happened upon in wine country, surrounded by craggy oaks, views of the vineyard, and a black lab puppy dog to keep us company. TOO MUCH!

I traveled down to CA a few days before AJ, heading out to Point Reyes National Seashore to go backpacking and visit some old haunts. I then picked up my lady in San Jose, and we headed south to the Big Sur coast to camp and hike. We departed the coast at the southern end of Big Sur and hit up Paso Robles wine country, finishing the trip camping in Pinnacles National Park. The trip was easy, and is highly recommended.

See below for pictures, and you can always see more on my Flickr page.

The Point Reyes Peninsula, one of the CA coast's stunning features. Did you know this landmass started in Mexico and is now north of San Fransisco? Its true.

My campsite in the green green hills of a springtime CA.

The beach in front of my campsite.

Beach rocks.

Crash-a-splash!

Some springtime color.

Gettin my backpack on.

Hiking out of Pt Reyes took me into the forested woodlands of the Peninsula.

I headed out the next day to the Peninsula's point.

The view of the outer coast on the Point Reyes Headlands is simply stunning.

Stoked to be out and about on the Pacific.

I saw whales every single day on this trip - one of them passed right through this scene.

 Time to get AJ! So I left early enough to catch the sunrise over San Fransisco...

...along with a handful of a few other lucky folks. Alcatraz is the island you can see.

The City through the cables of the Golden Gate.

Got my girl, so we split for the coast.

Yep - just what the doctor ordered for the soul.

 Julia Pfeiffer State Beach.

Can you believe this beach has PURPLE sand?! It does.

My lady friend enjoying the sunset on a near-perfect temperatured evening.

Whale watchin - leaping whales were seen.

Soakin in the rays.

Goodnight, sun!

Our next destination, Andrew Molera State Beach.

The view looking down the coast - classic Big Sur.

 Getting up on the bluffs - more purple sand!

 Coastal hike details.

The trail going through crooked oak woodlands.

For this hike, you had to ford the Big Sur River.

We checked into the Big Sur Inn for the evening, probably the most romantic place in the whole wide world.

 Our room, up the stairs.

Our room, Top Antique.

The library at the Big Sur Inn.

 A pre-dinner drink with an amazing view.

The legendary Nepenthe Restaurant, perched about 1000 feet above the Pacific Ocean.

Seeing as it was 70+ degrees outside, we dined al fresco - with an enormous view.

The oak trees and the sunset.

The next morning, the fog was thick as we drove down the coast....

...but it gave the water an eerie, gorgeous turquoise color.

Before we headed inland, we had to stop and look for moonstones at Cambria...

...and check out all the elephant seals as the fog burned off.

We then headed over the coastal mountains to Paso Robles. That's Point Conception in the distance, just north of Santa Barbara.

And now...we taste.

J & A at Lone Madrone Cellars.

 AJ at Daou Cellars.

The view from Daou.

Wine country details.

 Our uber-charming bungalow in wine country and surroundings.

After a bit of tasting, we headed further inland to Pinnacles National Park. I've never been, even though I've passed the exits on the 101 and the I-5 for years and years and years.

Gorgeous red rocks dominate the place. Feels very wild wild west.

Truly unique landscape in the middle of nowhere.

The colors and details of Pinnacles.

Afternoon light on the spires.

And the coup de gras - California condors. Cherry on top of a fantastic trip.

a visit to my washington homeland

I have lived many places across the good 'ol U.S. of A., but San Juan Island holds an extra special place in my heart. It was my first home outside of southern California, and therefore seemed wild and totally foreign. I landed on that rock a little nervous and feeling a bit like a stranger...but initial nervousness gave way to a state of total stokedness. I loved experiencing life in a very beautiful and very different place. I then spent the next six years in and out of Friday Harbor, the main town on San Juan.

The Islands can't help but cast a bright, cheery spell on you. Even when away from them for a while, they have a way drawing you back to its craggy shores and easy living. All these years later, I still get to go back for both business and pleasure. What a lucky guy.

This past week I got to take a bunch of colleagues out there to visit the Friday Harbor Labs. My goal was to introduce them to this special place in order to get more coverage for the incredible marine research that goes on here, how it changes student's lives, and the beautiful setting it gets to sit in. The trip was successful, and everyone left totally pumped to tell the story of this great place.

The labs on a beautiful sunny winter day.

 

 View off of the lab property.

The main lab, Fernald.

 The dock and the Centennial, FHL's research vessel.

 We went nightlightling - you drop a light into the water off of the dock, and peer over the edge to watch what is drawn towards the light. Lots of things came up - fish, worms, shrimp, squirmy things. But the prize for best in show went to a baby octopus.

The algae growing off the dock illuminated from beneath.

 Sunrise over the San Juan Channel - the view from my deck!

 Tour of the labs included a fish feeding!

Sculpins in a dye-bath that will illuminate their skeletal structure.

 Several specimens - a shark, a ray and some skates.

Mt Baker popping up over Lopez Island at the beginning of one of my favorite San Juan hikes.

The view across the Straits of Juan de Fuca with the Olympic Mountains in the background. Kind of looks like the view across the Santa Barbara Channel in SoCal towards Santa Cruz Island, yes? Yes!

The Olympics up close.

In my entire 6 years living on and off the island, I only ONCE saw Mt Rainier from the south end of San Juan. There it is again, catching the setting sun - over 150 miles away.

One of the most idyllic views from San Juan Island - Cattle Point Lighthouse with the Whale Rocks, Lopez Island, the mainland, and the Cascades in the distance.

An easy day in early March - what luck.

Friends soaking up the islands and this view for the first time.

Almost looks like Monterey Cypress.

The outgoing tide at False Bay.

Sunset over False Bay.

this place is friggin nuts for the seahawks...

...and they should be! The Seahawks have been so much fun to watch over the past couple of years. I don't want to sound like a bandwagoner, nor will I go so far as to say the 'Hawks are my team...but how can you be against these guys? Not only do they play seriously great football, but they have stacks of extremely likeable characters - from the coach to the QB to kicker. They seem to be a reflection of this quirky city - on the front page of the Seattle Times recently was a picture of the team doing yoga, strengthening both body and mind.

Everyone's into it. The Seattle Aquarium has a helmet-wearing hermit crab named Marshawn Pinch and a charismatic bivalve named Clam Chancellor. 12th Man flags are flying EVERYWHERE, downtown skyscrapers leave their evening lights on in the shape of a massive '12.' I was at a party the other night and nearly every lady there had blue nail polish on all fingers except one - the ring finger, which was painted green. AJ and I were walking home last night and a couple of kids were leaning out their car window chanting "Sea-Hawks, Sea-Hawks, Sea-Hawks!"- we could hear them for miles. The furnace repairman came to my house yesterday and wouldn't shut up about the game. While I was picking up cat food at the pet store, a lady asked the clerk where the Russel Wilson jerseys were for her wiener dog. Where I work at UW, our scientists have put seismometers at the stadium to measure the earthquakes from the dancing and cheering fans. Its insane around here.

Its been super fun to live in a town where a Superbowl team is from, and where there is so much support. I imagine its like this for any team going to the Superbowl, but it is rare these days for an entire populous to be totally totally on the same page. Everyone is rooting for the Hawks, and it makes it great to be in Seattle.

 Cupcakes from a colleagues birthday party this week.

The 12th Man flag in the Seattle Aquarium's main tank - AJ and I were there this week for an awards ceremony, yet all anyone could talk about was the Hawks.

The seismologists at our school are using the Seahawks to not only test their life-saving earthquake sensors, but to also show the public that science is FUN!

Skittles-laced cookies at a local joint this week - free for the taking.

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook this week - instead of peanuts, all Alaska Airlines flights are passing out Skittles. And for the entire season, if you fly wearing a Russel Wilson jersey, you can board first.

 Scene from downtown tonight. Hometown pride!