santa barbara

After staying in a tiny little hostel in a tiny little town we headed out at 6 am to drive further south landing in Santa Barbara. The early morning payed off with vast blue skies without a single cloud dotting the sky. A word to the wise though, despite it being a town in California with beaches it is definitely not a California beach town!

Three things we loved:
1. Blood orange & vanilla frozen yogurt
2. Empty sandy beaches
3. Taking off our sunglasses when the sun finally set!

Monterrey Aquarium

While in Monterrey we naturally had to visit the aquarium! As we weaved through the parents & children in maze like configurations (for a Monday morning it was packed!) we saw creatures of the deep, penguins, flamingos, and entire section devoted to jellyfish (amazing). The aquarium was so rich in sea life that we were completely exhausted by the end! Anyway there is not too much to say so enjoy the pictures after the cut!

Refugio Beach

If I had the skills and money I would build a tiny shack on refugio beach (there was a small patch of grass with a medium-sized lemon tree to shade our imaginary windows) it would be painted the same robin's egg blue as the abandoned life guard stands and our diet would consist of nothing but picnic fare.

We made our way down the previous mountain and to the shores again; spotting what I had been lusting longingly for so long, climbing rocks. My strongest memories of living in california at a young age were these giant rocks on sandy beaches (while wearing an over-sized sweater and neon leggings of course) so I was craving a visit to nostalgic times, thankfully they didn't disappoint. In addition to completing lost memories, we had the joy of friendly campers! I can't help but think they took a little pity on us (with our tiny little tent and sleeping bags compared to RVs and air mattresses) lending extra wood and an axe to hammer in our tent spikes, but thankfully their kindness & conversation created the most amazing camping experience yet.

laguna seca

After leaving Monterrey (we will post aquarium pictures shortly), we found a little camping site (by little, I mean one of many on top of a mountain) situated next to a formula 1 raceway. It probably doesn't sound ideal but was easily the most secluded nature friendly campsite we've come across so far! Not to mention the view was amazing to wake up to!

During the afternoon we climbed trees, hiked trails & ran away from bees, all the while listening to the distant zooms and zips of the drivers below. We finished the day as any great camping trip should: with marshmallows both flaming and toasted to a tasty golden brown. At night we cuddled up around our lamp, drifting off to sleep while the strong mountain winds ruffled our tiny tent.

-Jay

heart's desire beach

Since we've started this trip I've gathered a small bundle of landscape shots, but rather than flood the page I thought I'd share this particularly gorgeous scene we got to peek in on the early morning of northern California (extremely soothing after a rough night of camping). And after a bit more driving we were treated to a beachy oasis and a maze-like 8 mile hike to the top of a mountain; complete with climbing structures, tightrope wooden pathways, and endless ocean breezes.

Three things we loved:
1 a far-from-perfect-pathway that made us feel like we were in the Goonies
2 trader joe's dried mango
3 a beach that only we were on