Big Sur and Beyond

This is a picture of the little concrete area, but the mini-ramp
is not pictured.

We were anxious to get to Big Sur, but Kyle wanted to stop at a small town called Cayucos, because he'd been there before and there was an awesome mini-ramp. Coming from San Diego and Los Angeles, I was glad to be in this quaint seaside town. It was so quiet, it almost seemed abandoned. We had the mini-ramp all to ourselves for the two days we stayed there and skated. The mini-ramp is in prime location, right near the beach and the Cayucos pier, which unfortunately was under construction so we couldn't walk on it. They are probably gearing up for the Sea Glass Festival that is coming up soon. We only missed it by like two weeks. I love sea glass, that would have been neat to check out. At night we slept on San Jancinto Street, which turned out to be a super chill street to sleep on because you aren't parked in front of someone's house, instead you are positioned at the side of peoples' houses next to a fence. Since this street is on the beach, there are also public bathrooms not far away. In the mornings, we'd cook breakfast in the parking lot next to the mini-ramp and do the dishes in the bathrooms near the pier. We went and browsed the antique shops and got some cookies at a gourmet cookie shop called Brown Butter Cookie Company (you can order there cookies online here). We watched the sunset at Morro Rock, which is a pretty cool spot in the adjacent town of Morro Bay. It's a GIANT rock on the shore of the beach. It's a pretty popular surf spot too. The day that we left we took care of some laundry and got my guitar restrung at a shop called Central Coast Music in Morro Bay. Kyle didn't know how to do it because it's a classical guitar and strung differently. After we had all of that out of the way, we got back on U.S. 1 en route to Big Sur!!

These are seals not rocks!

There is tons to see on this stretch of road heading north. We stopped at a beach called Moonstone Beach, where apparently you can find moonstones. We looked for a bit and collected some stones that could possibly be some but I don't know enough about rocks to be sure. We passed an estate called Hearst Castle, which is now a state historical monument. It's on 250,000 acres and has 165 rooms!! It's probably similar to the Biltmore in Asheville. We didn't stop because I don't think they were giving tours at this point in the afternoon and I'm not sure we really cared to pay, but it did look rather magnificent up there on the hills overlooking the California coast. The next thing to stop and see along this road is the elephant seals! There is a great viewing area right off the highway, you can't miss it because they'll be like 30 tourists gawking over the edge of a cliff. Definitely go be one of those tourists... it's like seeing seals at a zoo but they are in their natural habitat. There are soooo many, laying like fatties on the beach. The sun was going down when we got to Big Sur (too many distractions along the way) so we stopped at a picnic area and beach called Sand Dollar Beach to collect wood for the night. Our plan was to camp at this site Avery and Liv told us about, but in the dark we had trouble finding it. Instead, we stumbled upon a road called Nacimiento-Fergusson, which suited us just fine for the night except we couldn't have a fire. This road is super easy to find and also right off U.S. 1. It winds up the mountains and there are plenty of places to pull off and park. Nobody messed with us and we saw a couple vans and RVs doing the same thing. We ended up being right next to the entrance of a trail called the Mill Creek Trail, so we decided to hike it in the morning. This hike made me realize just how special Big Sur is. The coastline is spectacular and all, with it's rocky cliffs, but it doesn't have anything on the lush forest that lies only a few miles from the ocean's edge. It's crazy how quickly the environment changes: from the dry exposed cliffs where scrubby bushes grow to the forests where giant redwoods stand tall surrounded by patches of three leaf clovers and crystal clear brooks. It literally looked like a place where fairies and leprechauns should live. We had lunch on a tree that had fallen in the stream's path where eventually a waterfall had formed by water cutting through the log. It was so beautiful and perfect and serene it almost looked fake. By the time we walked back, it was low enough tide to go hunt for jade at Jade Beach. We found the pull-off, which is right off U.S. 1, but we must have never found the right path. We went down this SUPER steep trail that led to a rocky cove. After reading this article, which says that it is a "simple, flat path," I know we weren't in the right place. With no jade in our pockets, we decided to head towards the campground we were planning to stay at tonight, which is near the trailhead we wanted to get on early the next morning.

You can just baaaarely see the McWay Waterfall in this picture.

On the way there, we stopped to check out the McWay Waterfall Trail. Kyle's mom, Gussie, had given us a tip to stop and check this out. She's visiting soon for her birthday, so she's been researching spots. This trail is easy to find, it's right off U.S. 1 and across the street from a state park called Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. You can't miss it because there will be tons of cars parked along the highway. This is the shortest trail in Big Sur, but it leads to a rewarding view of the McWay Waterfall, which falls right over the edge of the land to the beach beneath and into the ocean. Apparently, the waterfall used to fall directly into the ocean, but after highway construction and other land-altering circumstances produced enough sediment to form a beach. The beach is small and there is no way to get on the beach/you aren't allowed. The state park we were heading to to camp at is called Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, so it can be confusing since there are two parks with the name Pfieffer. This park was kind of pricey, $35/night or $50/night for waterfront. The Big Sur River runs right through the park. The main reason we wanted to camp here was to shower, because it had been awhile and we wanted to start out on our backpacking trip tomorrow fresh. You have to get shower tokens and the machine only took dollars and we had none, so paying to camp here turned out to be completely fruitless. Kyle said last time he was in Big Sur, they rolled into this campground late and left early so they didn't have to pay. Definitely what we should have done...

This picture doesn't even slightly capture how magical the hikes in Big Sur were!

B-A-N-A-N-A Slug!

We got up in the morning early so we could cook a hearty breakfast before our 10 mile hike today along the Pine Ridge Trail, which leads to the hot springs at Syke's Camp. The trailhead is located at the Big Sur Station, where you can pay $5/night for parking. We donned our gear, which I must point out was not very high tech. I was carrying a JanSport backpack and Kyle had a NorthFace backpack with our GIANT 2-person sleeping bag bungee corded to the top. I also had on running shoes that turned out to be a bad idea for this rugged 10-miler. The hike was challenging, very steep with lots of switchbacks. The scenery was constantly changing. The sides of the mountain that were exposed to the sun were arid, with rocky trails. The air smelled like herbs. Before we got too deep into the mountains, there were spectacular views of the ocean. The sides of the mountain that were shaded were lush and green. The trail became moist and slightly muddy in some areas without the sun beating down on it. We saw a giant banana slug, which are very common here. We didn't know what it was until we saw someone later wearing a University of California mascot shirt--- the banana slugs. The trees that grow along this part of the trail are HUGE--- sequoias, redwoods, or both. I tried Googling what the differences were in the two or which were in Big Sur, but I never found a clear answer. The two trees look similar. There are a few campgrounds before you get to Skye's Camp. There is one at the 5-mile point surrounding a river, which is a perfect time to stop for lunch. It was good to get our amateur backpacks off and let our shoulders relax. My feet started cramping about 7 miles into the hike and I was so relieved when we finally got there. The other campgrounds along the trail are clearly marked but Syke's is a little tricky. You'll come to a river and see a sign on the other side that says China Camp is so and so more miles down the trail. Don't go any farther!! There are some campsites immediately along the river, but if you go to the left and hug the shore of the river there are even better spots closer to the springs. I have to say we got the best spot there! Each site is a little different: logs arranged for sitting, fire rings, and a few even had grills! Our spot had a couple logs to sit on, one had mancala carved into it, but we couldn't remember how to play. It was riverfront and complete with a fire ring, a grill, and a clothesline for hanging our bathing suits after we took dips in the springs. The best part is it was the closest campsite to the springs. The water comes naturally from underground, but the pools themselves have been manmade in order to contain the water. There are 3 springs and I named them. There's the Party Pool, which is the largest and holds 5-6 people. There's the Friend Spring, which is the medium one and holds 3-4 people. Then there's the Lover's Tub, which holds one person comfortable or two if they are snuggling. That's why I call it the Lover's Tub. Kyle and I liked this one the best. We think it was the hottest because it was so small.

Lover's Tub!!

On the first night, we drank a bottle wine (yes, we did carry a bottle of wine 10 miles into the forrest) and rested our aching bodies in the Lover's Tub. We were dozing off in the hot sulfur water under the starry night sky. It was lovely. It was soooo hard to tear ourselves out of the tub and run through the chilly air back to the safety of our tent and sleeping bag, but this became the routine every time we went to the springs. We were tired from the hike so we spent the next day reading, collecting wood, and taking multiple dips in the springs. We had to rest our bodies for the trek back in the morning. Before we hiked back, we took one more trip to the Lover's Tub. My feet hurt every step back. It was so weird... I wasn't winded, my calves weren't tired, my back didn't hurt, but my freaking feet!! I think it was from the tennis shoes not being supportive enough, definitely investing in a solid pair of hiking boots before my next long hike. We were both relieved when we got back to the parking lot. Poor Kyle's backpack rig was so ghetto and I know it couldn't have been easy to carry and my feet hurt for days, haha. We decided to treat ourselves to a hotel room that night in a random town called Salinas. It was a pretty shitty Motel 6, but I guess I should have looked at the 2-star review it got on Trip Advisor. The motel had been recently renovated, so it wasn't too sketchy. We didn't care anyways, because we had a BED and a SHOWER, which we certainly needed. What luxuries!

I spy GodWeenSatan and Maggot Brain!

We spent the next night in Santa Cruz. We got there in the afternoon and checked out the surf at Steamer Lane... there weren't any waves really but of course there were still people out in the water at this famous surf spot. There's this tiny rocky island not far off the shore with like 100 seals on it. It just looks so weird because they are all crammed up there. We walked to the downtown area, which I really liked. There was an awesome mix of stores from local joints to more corporate stores, lots of different cuisine, some movie theaters, cool bars/venues... so much to do! We got some socks from a store called Sockshop and Shoe Company. The socks are made locally in Santa Cruz. Mine were tall watermelon socks and Kyle got sloths wearing bling--- yes, there were very creative design options. We wandering into a record shop called Streetlight Records, that made my face melt! First off, they had two of my favorite records in their window display (GodWeenSatan: The Oneness, by Ween and Maggot Brain, by Funkadelic). Secondly, I was so sad that I couldn't buy some of the records I found. They had a Moistboyz record (a Dean Ween project) on sale for like $10. I buy used records for like $10!! It was brand new! They also had a Blowfly record: he's this old rapper that is super vulgar. He was playing at this bar in St. Augustine called Nobby's the night me and Kyle fell in love. :) But atlas... we left empty-handed. We just happened to be in Santa Cruz on the 2nd Sunday when an antique market is held on Lincoln Street. They block off the street for browsing. We got lost in the shelves at a bookstore called Logos, that also sold records. They had new and used books, so something in everyone's price range. We had a lot of laundry to do after the hike, so we camped out in a laundromat for what felt like forever. I was asleep by the time we got to the street we slept on, because I rode in the back in the bed so I can't remember what it was called. In the morning, we went to this small skatepark called Derby. The entrance to the skatepark is a little weird, it's kind of a gravel path to a park in a neighborhood. Definitely a random place for a skatepark, but it was like a smooth ditch that led to a small bowl. Then off to the city!!

Derby Skatepark

Half Moon Bay Mini-Ramp featuring a Hot Sauce Sandwich sticker on the left-hand side.

We stopped at Half Moon Bay before we got to San Francisco to skate a mini-ramp that is right off U.S. 1. On the way, we went to this town called Castroville. We didn't even stop, but I thought this little town was funny because it is the "artichoke capital of the world." Literally, whizzing by your windows are just 1,000s and 1,000s of artichokes. If you want to see it yourself they even have an Artichoke Festival. Kyle's friend, John, who we are staying with in San Francisco, came to meet us at the mini-ramp. It turns out that Liv, the girl we stayed with in San Diego, was in San Francisco because her friends from back East flew into visit her, so she met up with us too on her way back south. There was a Hot Sauce Sandwich sticker on the mini-ramp, which is our friends' band from Ocean City... yet, the sticker ended up all the way out here on U.S. 1. We grabbed some food at Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, which turned out to be a pretty cool place. They had a super sick Grateful Dead mosaic in the dining area, but we ate outside because it was such a nice day! We were lucky that John met up with us because Kyle's shift connector broke right there in the parking lot of the restaurant. We rode back to SF with him and got the car towed to Half Moon Bay Auto Repair, who fixed our car in a couple days and were really nice.

San Francisco is an incredibly steep city. The houses are built side by side in a staircase fashion--- the only way to build them on all these hills! You know what hills are good for? Bombing, especially according to Kyle. I learned to skate in Florida where there are no hills so this is a whole new element for me. Most of the hills here are way too big for me, but I'm starting small. You know what hills aren't good for? Walking up... it's a freaking workout to go any where around here. The good news is is that there is an awesome transit system here. Kyle has spent time in San Francisco in the past, so he knows his way around on the MUNI, which is the public transportation. We've gone everywhere on that thing: to Market Street, to a skatepark, to the Haight-Ashbury district, to Chinatown, and back again. I had a mission to get new glasses when I came to San Francisco, because my favorite glasses company, SEE Eyewear, has a store here. I discovered SEE when I was vacationing in Charleston. Since then, I have gotten my glasses from that store ever since because I go to Charleston every now and then, but it's been too long since my last trip to Charleston and I need a new prescription. My first order of business was to get my eyes checked. I found a place that took my insurance and that I could walk to and got that over with. Then Kyle and I took the bus to Market Street, where SEE is. We had so much fun trying on all the glasses and sunglasses. Sometimes I wish SEE would sell their glasses online, but that would take away the whole experience. You don't get to try them on and see what you look like in them. I probably wouldn't have even considered the pair I got if I hadn't gotten to try them on! Kyle left the shop with a pair of funky new sunglasses, but I had to wait for my lenses to be made.

I had dropped some film off at a camera shop called Photoworks, so we were going to pick it up on the way home. To my dismay, the film didn't catch and my whole roll was blank. I was super bummed because it was a ton of pictures from the last few weeks, but the guy at the camera store showed me how to load the film so it won't happen again at least. This was a cool shop though and I highly recommend supporting shops like this because they are a dying breed. It's hard to find somewhere to get pictures developed these days and especially buy specialty film (black and white, polaroid, different speeds). They had framing options and tons of paper choices (glossy, matte, canvas, etc.). Another day was spent on Haight Street, perusing the psychedelic shops. We went into a super sick record store called Amoeba. The outside looks kind of like a 50s diner. They had some stuff I've been looking for like Tom Tom Club, but once again we couldn't get anything 'cause we on the road and a car is not a good place for a record and mailing them would be sketchy. The other stores were pretty much all head shops or vintage clothing stores. I impulsively got a new bowl that is a clear water filled pipe that has pink glitter swirling around inside of it, it's like a snow globe. I've seen them online before and considered ordering one. I'm super glad I didn't because finding one on Haight Street is pretty cool. I would tell you the name of the shop so you can get one too, but there are so many head shops that I don't know what the name of it is. We got some ice cream at the Ben and Jerry's shop and walked up to see the Grateful Dead's house on Ashbury Street. The Grateful Dead... some of the pioneers of the whole scene. I remember reading about the "Haight-Ashbury District" and thinking it sounded so magical. We heard some old spun bums on the bus talking about how it was back in the day "Seeing Hendrix in this joint, Jagger in the next--- all free." They'd shut the street down to let the Dead play. It's not exactly like that anymore. All the old heads who were there are now old bums and there are tons of spun out kids who have flocked there in hopes of finding what once was. Now it's mostly just a bunch of heady shops. It's cool, but not exactly what I expected. We did Chinatown too for a little bit, but we didn't stay long... just a bunch of Asians trying to get you to buy cats with swinging arms and chopsticks, although Kyle got a new jade monkey necklace ('cause he loses necklaces right and left). We spent (mostly Kyle) a lot of time skating: bombing hills when we could (walking down the killers), at a skate spot by the beach, at a park called Balboa. There are so many fun hills right around John's house.

I love mosaics so much. 

One leads to these intricate mosaic stairs that I saw on Pinterest awhile ago and put on my "Before I Die" board. I showed Kyle them and told him I wanted to find them and turned out he'd already been! There's 163 stairs and the bottom of the stairs is the bottom of the sea, then it goes up from there into a landscape, then the sun and moon at the top. From the base of the stairs, you get the full picture, perfectly fitting together like a puzzle--- a work of art. Then at the top, you get an amazing view of San Francisco. The cool thing about this spot is the stairs was a community project/idea: the neighborhood sponsored it, a local artist did the mosaics, and a tiling company helped. All because they wanted to make something beautiful. :) The skate spot was down by the beach where Lincoln Street ends at the ocean. Kyle and I skated there from the house once. We tried to do Quintara Street, which is a famous hill to bomb, but some of it was too intense (even for Kyle). We skated what we could and were at the skate spot and the beach in no time because it's downhill the whole time. The skate spot was a bank up to a curb that someone made with concrete. Kyle met a guy there who makes skateboards and he just happened to break his board at that very spot so he got one off the guy for $20.

Balboa Skatepark

We spontaneously stopped at Balboa Skatepark when we were on the MUNI with our boards, but I didn't skate much because I didn't have my helmet and I'm just not sure about that yet. Kyle said he was in San Francisco when the park first opened and already there's a bunch of wear-and-tear. The park is pretty cool in the aspect that the whole thing is covered with skatelite. They had a small bowl that looked fun. One day, we took a walk at this park called Land's End, which is actually a national recreation area. It was a beautiful spot to walk, literally at "land's end." There were some awesome views of the Golden Gate from the path. John took us down to Fisherman's Wharf, to see the touristy side of San Francisco. There were the classic t-shirt shops, selling magnets and mugs. There were street performers: a creepily good Michael Jackson and a one man band we watched for a bit called The Lone Sound Ranger. The Lone Sound Ranger was pretty cool--- he literally had a full band all by himself (no looping), but using rigs and all sorts of gizmos. We ate at a famous bread company called Boudin Bakery. They bake their bread fresh and the whole street smelled delicious. Bread bowls and soup it was! The time we weren't out and about was spent at John's giant mansion, where he has a jam set up. I played bass for the first time and I am so stoked on it. I want to take lessons now and get good!! Oh, the jam sessions that await...

SLAPPIN' DA BASS. 

Since we spent so much time in San Francisco, it's going to work out that we'll see Kyle's mom, Gussie, and his step-dad, Tommy!! She is coming to explore California (great minds think alike) for her birthday, so we are meeting up with her in Yosemite. First, we're spending a few days in Tahoe visiting friends and scoping out a potential spot to live in the fall. I can't believe it's already April! We've still got to go up the rest of the California coast and into Oregon to hopefully meet up with our friend Dom from St. Augustine. Then hit it to Colorado, I believe. Cut through most of the midwest and end up with our friends and family again in Ocean City. Down the east coast and home safely in St. Augustine by April 20th-ish... lots to do!! More than 3,000 miles to go and we've already put at least that on the odometer.

SoCal Brah

My wipeout boo-boos.

San Diego is the only place I have ever been to in California, so it's ironic that this is the first place we stopped at in this great state. Last time I was here, we were visiting my mom's friend, Judy, from nursing school and that was 12 years ago... it's good to be back!! In fact, we stayed with our friends, Avery and Olivia, whose apartment was just minutes away from Judy's. Small world! Our first night was spent playing Spanish and Cards Against Humanity. We skated down to a bar called Tiny's and proceeded to get way too drunk. On the way there, I took the worst spill of my entire life after cruising down a hill, drunk, and hitting a patch of gravel. I had road rash over the ENTIRE right side of my body... Ouch. Needless to say, it wasn't that great of a night for me. I will say that the beer at this bar was pretty decently priced and they had pool tables, so it turned out to be a nice little spot.

Robb Field Skatepark

I spy Avery and Kyle up on those cliffs!

Even though the next morning, I wasn't feeling too hot we still had a full day. We got burritos at this place called Roberto's, which is definitely good hangover food. The one Kyle got was called a California Burrito, which had fries in it! Apparently, it's a thing out here, hence the name "California Burrito," because I saw it at a few other places. We spent some time at the Robb Field Skatepark. Robb Field is a really nice park with not only a skatepark, but also picnic tables, tons of tennis courts, and fields large enough to play soccer in or just sunbathe. Olivia and I read while the boys skated. I will say there aren't a lot of trees good for slack lining, unless you have a really LONG slack line. We hooked it up to a concrete picnic table and a tree, but it started moving the table. It worked for the time being. After we hung out there for a bit, we met up with another friend, JV, and went to this amazing beach called Black's Beach. We parked in some residential area and hiked down an amazing trail, which I believe is called the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This is probably by far the coolest beach I have ever been on. I've never seen cliffs surrounding the ocean quite like that before. The hike down was equally as incredible where we followed worn footsteps through the hills, which appeared to be made of tightly packed sand. There were times on the trail where you felt like you were going to fall into the small canyon dividing the trail that was formed by a stream of some sort. There were places on the trail that were like sand slot canyons where you'd have to raise your arms and twist your body to fit between the tall, sandy walls. There was a little gorge where someone had placed a plank to balance-beam across to the other side. On the last part, there was a rope, attached probably years ago, to help get down a steep section. It made me feel like I was in Hawaii or someplace like that! The boys surfed until almost sunset and then we headed back to OB to try and catch the sunset at the cliffs, but we were a little too late thanks to the traffic. We decided to go check out this Grateful Dead cover band, Electric Waistband, at a bar called Winston's.

This is the really narrow part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Jumping off Sunset Cliffs.

Memorial Skatepark

At Avery's apartment every morning, we had a natural alarm clock--- screeching parrots. Parrots are not native to San Diego but there is a rumor that a pet shop had a bunch escape and now they have taken over! The parrots got us up in time to go jump off Sunset Cliffs, by the time we skated over there we thought we missed high tide, but the water was plenty high, so we all jumped in. I found some sea glass near the cliffs, more green than I usually find on the East coast. Afterwards, Kyle and I went to the Robb Field Skatepark again and then to Memorial Skatepark. I liked this park because it had a bowl with an easy roll in and smaller drop-ins. We went to this awesome grocery store that's in California called the Grocery Outlet. Everything was so cheap... I'm talking $1.20 almond milk and $.99 cent bags of granola. Definitely a road trip staple store. On Wednesday, there's a farmer's market in OB in the evening. They shut down the street and the farmer's market gets hoppin'. There was live music, food vendors, fresh produce, homemade hummus, lotions, jewelry... you name it and with plenty of samples! We got some Indian food from one of the vendor's who boasted it was "the best food in San Diego." It was pretty damn good Indian food and huge portions. Kyle and I split one. There are a ton of thrift stores in Ocean Beach that we explored. My favorite shop we went into was called The Black, which sold oddity items, but the best part was their book selection. It was as if they had personally gathered all the books I wanted to read into about 4 or 5 shelves. Books by Jack Kerouac, Chuck Palahniuk, Charles Bukowski, Hunter S. Thompson. Books about drugs, musicians, autobiographies, novels. It took everything I had not to buy 'em all, but I copied down a hefty list of books I will buy off Amazon for much cheaper. :) Not far from The Black, is a hostel that rivals the one we stayed at in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica in terms of its aesthetic value. The whole place was painted psychedelic. I'm putting this in here 'cause if you don't have anybody to stay with in OB, you should definitely look this place up. It's called Ocean Beach International Hostel. 

Love the art on this hostel. :)

We spent a couple days catching up with some friends and family. We went to Coronado Island to get lunch with Kyle's cousin Quinn, who he hadn't seen in 6+ years! Coronado is a super nice community, with everything you could possibly need available without you having to leave the island (even though it is a little pricer). We took a bike/skate shesh around the island to check it all out and then stopped for lunch at a take-out burrito shop called Clayton's, which was so good we ended up eating there again the next day. They load it up on the sauces and also have the "California Burrito" option, but I chose shrimp instead and was very pleased. The next friends we reunited with were my parent's friends, Judy and Brad. We went to their beautiful home in Point Loma that had an incredible view of Sunset Cliffs. I didn't recognize anything, considering it had been 12 years! Their house had an attachment built on and everything was very modern. The things that looked the most different were their daughters, Bridgette and Nicole, who are both very close to graduating high school. The way I remember them was like the pictures they had on their walls!! I'm sure they didn't recognize me either though. Judy and Brad cooked us a delicious dinner complete with tri-tip steak, roasted veggies, potatoes, a side salad, and some good wine. It was good catching up with them and we stayed pretty late before we headed back to Coronado. We ended up getting to visit with Kyle's Uncle Bernie for a little bit, as he had just flown home from Texas. We were happy our schedules crossed just so...

This a pretty famous skate spot called the "Piano Keys" at
Washington Street Skatepark.

Our next stop was Joshua Tree National Park, where we were we excited to see those odd trees. On our way out of San Diego, Kyle had to skate one more skate park so we went looking for Washington Street Skatepark. This is by far the coolest park we have been to so far in my opinion. It looked like something out of Tony Hawk Pro Skater. The features are very steep and way too advanced for me, so I just took it all in. It was clearly built by a bunch of skateboarders, all underneath a freeway bridge--- there are mosaics, cool designs welded into the fence, a few planters with succulents, and even a grill! And it was pretty much just built by a bunch of skateboarders. In 1999, the amount of fines skateboarders were accumulating in San Diego was becoming unbearable, so some locals banded together and started laying some concrete. Of course, the city was outraged and tried to shut it down immediately. However, this generated publicity and support for the underdogs. The skateboarders won and by 2002 (after they had gotten all the permits, paperwork, and designs drawn up) they began adding to Washington Street Skatepark and shreddin' some more. I was glad we stopped to check it out. When you get to Joshua's Tree, there is pretty much one main road with many campgrounds branching off. We stayed at the Hidden Valley Campground, for $10 a night, which we thought looked the most appealing out of the ones we had passed. It had picnic tables, fire rings, and a compostable toilet (no running water). Two deserts come together in Joshua Tree National Park, the Mojave and the Colorado, which make for a very interesting landscape, then throw in the Joshua Trees and you might as well be on another planet. There are just these GIANT boulders randomly scattered about the desert. The Joshua Trees are such an odd plant. They have these spiky green balls at the end of their branches, which twist and grow in random directions. They were given their name by Mormon pioneers in the 19th century because their limbs reminded them of the outstretched arms of Joshua. We climbed to the top of the boulder mountains and took in the view right before sunset (we didn't want to climb down in the dark).

Funny little trees, aren't they? 

I liked how the Stoner Skatepark was red and black, very sleek.

We left in the morning to head to visit my friend Sadie who lives in Los Angeles--- on Stoner Street, of course. Stoner Street is right off Santa Monica Boulevard, which had me singing the Cheryl Crow song for the rest of the day. When we got to her apartment, we discovered there is a skatepark on Stoner Street, which Kyle visited quite a few times while we were visiting. We tried to get to Venice Beach for sunset, but that damn LA traffic made us miss it. We still enjoyed a doobie on the beach with a back drop of graffitied walls and pink skies. There are these random concrete walls on the beach that serve no purpose as far as I can see, but have been covered in layers and layers of spray paint. It's tradition and allowed by the city to spray paint these walls. We followed the routine of getting impossibly drunk on the first night of our arrival and recuperating for most of the next day... We went to Venice Beach a few times while we were visiting. We went with Sadie once to check out all the vendors. All up and down the boardwalk are all sorts of sights: wackos, art, wood sculptures, t-shirt shops, and more. There is also a skatepark on the beach, Venice Beach Skatepark. Unfortunately, it's pretty much always crowded with a sea of tourist gawking by the railings. The park did look really fun though and it's got an awesome view to enjoy. Another time when Sadie was working, we skated to the Santa Monica Pier and had a little picnic. Then we skated down to Venice again, where we passed Muscle Beach. It looked like something straight out of Spongebob. There were tons of beef head Larry the Lobsters out there pumping iron. Another thing that I thought was funny was the rollerbladers. I feel like for some odd reason, Venice Beach has become a famous place to rollerblade. They even have places where you can rent some! For most of the time, we used the public transportation here, which is pretty awesome--- it just takes super long to get anywhere with all the stopping (but hey, that's public transit for you). We took a bus around the city called the Big Blue Bus. It was cheap and easy to find because there were stops on almost every corner. We tried taking the metro system to this place called The Echo, which has a funky dance party on Saturdays. Sounded like my kind of party... BUT we got really turned around on the metro and ended up just going home after spending too much time trying to get there that we would have had to pay the cover (it was free until 10:30pm). So a word to the wise, maybe plan your route before and include plenty of travel time to get where you're trying to go. Good luck!!! The funky dance party would definitely be something to check out. One night, we walked to this place near Sadie's apartment called Touch Vinyl. They had a band playing, which I do not remember the name of because it wasn't my bag, baby. I think if they got rid of the chick singer and the drummer who laid down that same beat for every song, the bassist and guitar player might have something. Dunno though, because the other two were drowning it out. Needless to say, we didn't stay long. We would have liked to have browsed through the shop, but it was kind of dark in there for the show. If you're interested in looking at vinyl, my advice is to go during regular store hours.

Venice Beach Skatepark

It feels good to be in California. Southern California did not disappoint and I can't believe there's still Central and Northern Cali to explore! This state is so huge and foreign to me I might as well be in another country. I love how many of the city and street names are Spanish--- La Jolla, San Diego, Los Angeles, Coronado... makes me feel at home because many of the places in St. Augustine are also Spanish. Now we're off to take the magical US 1, can't wait to see what lies ahead!