8.29.13 : sunrise in malibu.

As some of you know, I recently drove up the entirety of the West Coast, starting in San Diego. Spurred by a wedding I was shooting on September 1st in Santa Cruz, I left August 29th and had planned to take a week to travel up to San Francisco and back. Somewhere along the way, a spark was ignited within me, and I made the decision to keep going. By the morning of September 8th, I'd crossed over into Oregon. Conveniently, I had family in the area, so after making it up to Coos Bay, I headed inland to my aunt and uncle's house in Roseburg, OR to do some much needed laundry and consider my next move. I made my way over to Crater Lake on September 11th, but had started to feel the nagging of responsibilities calling me back to San Diego.

Before I left Roseburg, it was suggested that I simply go back to pack my stuff (and sell what wouldn't fit), then come back up with the intentions of finishing the coast.  So I did.

On October 2nd, I moved to Roseburg. My poor little Honda Civic was packed to the gills with everything I owned, including my dear cat Loulou. Once here, I took a few days to settle in before hitting the road again on October 9th. 

Making my way back to Coos Bay to pick up where I left off, I drove the remainder of the coast all the way up to Vancouver, BC, where I spent a long weekend during their Thanksgiving holiday. I had some detours inland in Washington to see some friends, but headed back to the coast to complete what I hadn't gotten to on the way back. 

By the morning of October 18th, I'd successfully finished the coast. 

So now, I am faithfully parked on the couch in my temporary home in Roseburg, editing through the thousands of photos I managed to snap on this great adventure of mine. My goal is to post a blog every single day representing the entire trip. I'm certain that will be easier said than done, but I plan to stick to that resolve as diligently as possible.

So, today, you get to see day one…my very first stop to watch the sunrise in Malibu, CA. 

sunset surf.

Whenever I go through my archives of photos I inevitably find a few here and there that I never edited and shared for some reason or another. This is a shot from last August when I took my camera surfing with me. I've been craving some surf action lately and have been waiting anxiously for the water to get a little warmer so that I can tolerate it. This photo definitely made me want to get back out there and catch some waves.

sunset surf session.

I've realized that one of the most effective ways for me to deal with a bad day, week or month, is the ocean. When I lived in Greece, nothing took away my worries like floating in the Aegean Sea, so it would make sense that surfing provides that same therapeutic effect for me now. When I finally managed to get off work yesterday evening, I immediately shut off my phone, donned my wetsuit and hit the waves. They weren't good waves, but they were good enough to surf and just bad enough that I had them almost all to myself, which was wonderful. I let myself get thrashed around for a while as I caught a few in, but spent the better part of my time out there paddling around and enjoying the peace of mind the water grants me. Nothing has the ability to melt away bad thoughts and bad days like the ocean. Luckily, I have a great little camera that had an affordable waterproof casing, so I'm able to combine my love of the ocean with my love of photography. I know photos don't always do moments justice, but just imagine being out on that board, the pier to your right and the beach behind you as the sun slowly sinks into the horizon. The only sounds are the seagulls diving for their dinner and the water lapping at the edges of the board. It truly is one of the most incredible feelings to be out there.