9.7.13 : avenue of the giants.

The morning after my star-filled night, I hit the road fairly early after the unwelcome sounds of a screaming kid nearby stirred me from my cozy hammock cocoon. One of the first pull-offs on the coastline had an incredible lineup of cairns, which I ended up seeing quite a lot of on my trip. 

After a few more stops along the way to capture the ever-changing coastal views and a detour to drive through the Chandelier Tree , I entered the Avenue of the Giants, which is a famous scenic stretch of the 101 that runs through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. I  was warned to be careful that I don't accidentally spend all day in there, as it's fairly easy to get caught up in exploring. Those warnings were on point, because I absolutely could have spent several days among those majestic trees. 

I stopped for a hitchhiker at one point, but resisted the urge to give him a lift knowing I like to go my own pace and explore (and because my mom might kill me if he didn't turn out to be a serial killer and get to me first). Instead, I passed on some cold drinks and jerky and wished him well as I continued my way north. At one point it was so pretty that I just wanted to sit on the trunk of my car and enjoy the surroundings, so I stopped and brewed a French press to enjoy in the cool air.  

It was by far one of my favorite portions of my trip and I look forward to future trips to more see more redwoods. Those suckers really are breathtakingly impressive. 

 (You'll see more of me in these photos, but it's mostly for scale purposes!)

9.6.13 : lighthouses and coastline.

On my way out of San Francisco, I took a detour that pointed me towards Point Reyes Lighthouse. Following the winding road ended up costing me about two hours of my time, but seeing it fog free (a rarity) made the trip well worth the loss. Passing only a few people on my way down the long staircase, I had the place to myself. A deafening foghorn sounded every few minutes, which rendered my hearing useless for a few seconds afterward each time it went off. It was a beautiful place that really did feel like it was at the ends of the earth. I can only imagine what a lonely existence living out there might have been at times.

The coastline varied greatly across the 200+ miles I drove that day, but it was as beautiful as ever. I arrived at Point Arena Lighthouse after it'd already closed, but as luck would have it, that granted me the ability to explore without any other people around. The coastline at that particular viewpoint would have been incredible to watch the sunset from, but alas, I needed to make camp before sundown and my destination for the night was another hour away.

9.4.13 : San Francisco Day 1.

San Francisco spanned multiple days and was a rare portion of the trip in which I stayed with friends and was able to enjoy some company throughout my explorations of the area.

David and Brooke Condolora are friends of mine from college and also happen to be former clients of mine (I shot their wedding). They're an incredible artistic couple (he works for Pixar and she works independently as an illustrator and designer) and as such, were a great inspiration to get to spend some quality time with on my travels. I highly recommend checking out some of their work:

Brooke's physical goodies shop: http://idlemouse.org

Brain & Brain (their husband and wife venture into game design): http://brain-and-brain.com

Brooke's personal site: http://www.brookecondolora.com

My first evening took me on a laid-back stroll around the island of Alameda, where they live, but the second day there was basically spent finding every angle of the Golden Gate Bridge to photograph.

Brooke and I happened upon a handful of interesting little finds throughout the day, including a creepy old bunker and a nude beach full of very active nudies (nudites?) climbing rocks and playing beach volleyball.

I couldn't have asked for better weather, as the city was not covered in the deep layer of fog I'd heard it often is. They must've known I was coming.

This was before I’d begun to tote my tripod around with me for self-portraits, so it was nice to have Brooke along for the day to get a photo or two of me as proof I’d been present.

And now, I shall inundate you with photos of the Golden Gate Bridge.