California Roadtrip
I apologize for this post being a little out of date but I wrote it during summer 2020 (pandemic summer), and I’m only just getting around to posting it now, so try and take yourself back to the absolute joys of lockdown life when reading. Enjoy!
As you all know there’s a pandemic that’s kind of destroying the world right now, and any hope for international travel with it. After months at home, my family and I really wanted to get out and have a change of scenery, even if we couldn’t go far. After lots of debate, we settled on a road trip through California. I live in the bay area, which is northern California, so we chose to go south and try to soak up some sun at your more typical California beaches. For anyone that’s concerned, we were very careful about our precautionary measures so we weren’t at risk for catching Covid. We always wore masks in public spaces, practiced social distancing, and disinfected/cleaned all the surfaces in our hotel rooms after we checked in. Now with all that said, let’s get into the trip!
After leaving our house we first drove to Carmel. Although it was colder than expected there, I really enjoyed the interesting scenery. If you’re heading down from the bay area I highly recommend stopping in Davenport to break up the drive a little bit and take some pictures. We enjoyed Sharkfin Cove which has a giant rock in the middle of the bay that looks, surprisingly, like a sharkfin. There’s also the Davenport Swing at the Davenport Pier; however, be warned there’s quite a scramble down a cliff to get to the beach and then a reasonably long wait. That being said, all the photos I’ve seen from the spot look awesome.
The shark fin rock in Shark Fin Cove
We stayed in Carmel for a couple of days and spent most of our time relaxing and hiking. The main state park was closed, so we did a hike along the coast. The Carmel coast is beautiful and super unique. There aren’t your typical white sandy beaches. Instead, you can see lots of cliffs, black rocks, and rough ocean. The scenery makes any photos you take look super dramatic.
Carmel Coastline
After Carmel, we drove through Big Sur which I think was my favorite photography spot. Big Sur is super remote and there isn’t a lot there so be forewarned if you’re planning a trip there. The one hotel that we were planning to stay at is 18+ (my brother and I weren’t 18 at the time), but looks truly amazing. I would have loved to stay in Big Sur for an extra day just because I felt like the scenery was so picturesque. One of the best parts of Big Sur was that since we went during the pandemic, there was nobody around. We got all of the attractions we stopped at mostly to ourselves which was super nice. We did your typical tourist attractions: drove over and took photos at Bixby Bridge, and then headed to McWay Falls. Bixby Bridge is the more famous bridge, but I highly recommend stopping at the smaller bridge just north on the road for a different perspective.
Bixby Creek Bridge
As I said then we went to McWay falls which was absolutely stunning. We were a little confused on how to get to the viewing platform so just know there’s a tunnel with a path that starts in the parking lot of the national park entrance which is on the opposite side of the road. Let me just say, there’s a reason this spot is so famous. It’s absolutely stunning! Because there was no one around, my brother even got to throw up his drone and get some awesome shots.
McWay Falls Bay
After driving through Big Sur and stopping at a couple of sites we continued onto Santa Barbara. In Santa Barbara, we did a variety of things. If you’re down there and looking to explore the city I highly recommend taking an electric bike tour. These bikes almost have a motor that will make climbing the hills and getting around much easier. It’s a great way to see the city and get yourself oriented. We also did some surf lessons which were awesome and a great way to stay active during the trip. Now onto food: If you like Mexican food I highly recommend Los Arroyos in Montecito. The food there was amazing and we went back multiple times during our time there. Other than that we enjoyed spending time at the beach and relaxing. For my brother and me, it was much needed after a stressful end to our school year.
After Santa Barabara, we headed down to our farthest south stop, San Diego. Again, we spent much of our time here shopping and relaxing at the beach. Although it was closed due to Corona, if you’re looking for a hike we were really looking forward to Annie’s Canyon. I researched and saw there’s a cool slot canyon hike that takes you up high so get an awesome view of the lagoon. For our final stop, we started northward and stayed in Malibu for a few days. Malibu was super pretty and had some amazing beaches, but I was a little surprised. Honestly, there wasn’t much infrastructure around except for one shopping center with some cool shopping and the Malibu Farm pier. In terms of places to eat, we really enjoyed Malibu Farm and SunLife Organics for some clean and yummy acai bowls.
Well, that concludes my trip through Southern California. I hope you enjoyed this recap and maybe are inspired to get out and see the world, even if it’s just around your hometown. I think taking this time to relax and explore put me in a much better mindset to continue staying positive during all that is happening in the world right now.