Pacific Coast Highway

“Life is a journey, not a destination….You are the artist, paint what you will.”

For our challenge this week, John from Journeys with Johnbo encourages us to share images that focus on our journeys, possibly the modes of transportation which took us there. Or to even share images of places we discovered while on our journey.

I think my love for travel started when I was a child. I couldn’t tell you when exactly it started. But if I had to guess it was the trip, we took out west when I was about six (6) years old. It was so exciting because this was my first plane ride. And from what I remember we saw a LOT of the country – everything from The Hoover Dam to The Grand Canyon; San Diego to Disney Land, and lastly to San Franciso. I remember it being so much fun I cried (literally) when we had to come home.

“A photograph is a return ticket to moments already gone.”

Trip out west – Stop at the Grand Canyon Dad’s missing because he was the one taking all the photos (I’m the one in red pants).

Yes, I’ve been very fortunate throughout my life to travel to many places here in the U.S. and to other parts of the world. And I’ve pretty much been on all forms of transportation, too: planes, trains, automobiles, sailboats, cruise ships, helicopters and yes, even The Goodyear Blimp!

But one of my most memorable adventures was another trip out west which Michael and I took Christmas of 2011. We couldn’t decide where we wanted to go, so we narrowed it down to three (3) places. We wrote the names on pieces of paper, folded them up and dropped them into a bowl. I don’t remember which one of us drew the winner, but we landed on a road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway.

Our motto for the trip was “No map, no plans, no place to be.” It’s a line from Toby Keith’s song “South of You.” The only parts of the trip planned were our airline and rental car reservations. And so, on Christmas Day we headed to the airport and boarded a plane to San Diego, CA

Once we landed and picked up our sporty Mustang convertible for the trip, we headed to our first stop just outside of San Diego (Carlsbad, CA) for a quick visit with our nephew and his family.

Our activities for the day included lunch, a walk on the pier, and a visit to Mission San Louis Rey de Francia – Oceanside, CA. You can tell the boys were quite warn out from our day’s outing and scooting around in the convertible!

The real adventure of “no map, no plans, no place to be” started when we left San Diego. Our first stop that day was lunch in Laguna Beach. It’s definitely the artist colony it’s known for.

We didn’t stop much that day because we were too busy enjoying the coastline scenery. But, by the time we reached Los Angeles and navigated our way through the traffic, we decided to call it quits for the day.

We pulled into Malibu, just in time to grab a place for the night. And, since we didn’t have any reservations, we had no idea what we were in for when it came to hotels. We were lucky enough though, to find a wonderful little inn on the ocean and were greeted the next morning by a cute seagull at our balcony door (which was at the foot of our bed).

Day 3 – More driving, but we didn’t care, the scenery was amazing. We stopped for the night at Moonstone Beach in Cambria. THIS was the downfall of “no reservations.” We ended up in a dive of a motel. It was one of those places where you wouldn’t dare take your shoes off, let alone get under the covers! But it was a small price to pay for a beautiful sunset.

After that fateful night when we were ready to stop for the day, we would go to the nearest restaurant/bar and ask the locals for their recommendations……they never failed us.

**Sunset at Moonstone Beach in Cambria**

“Due to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across country from coast to coast without seeing anything.”
~Charles Kuralt

This is one of Michael’s favorite quotes and it’s so true. We may not have been driving coast to coast, but the quote is still appropriate for our south to north journey on the PCH. Afterall, if we had chosen to take the interstate look at all we would have missed.

Our last stop just in time for New Year’s Eve was San Francisco. We decided to return the rental car and walk or take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) instead. We wrapped up our trip with a nice dinner catching up with some longtime friends.

Thanks, John for this wonderful challenge. It was fun re-living this road-trip and all the wonderful memories Michael and I enjoyed together.

Next week it’s Sofia’s turn. Be sure to follow her at Photographias so you don’t miss out on her theme.

Until next time,

~donna

So, here we are the last week and the last day of the month! I hope you are enjoying the weekly themes I’ve put together: “Thoughts,” “Life in Black and White,” “The Magic Lantern” and now this week’s theme, “For the Love of Photography.” For this topic, I will be sharing some of my favorite photos (both mine and others) and recommending links to other photography blogs. I’ll try to limit the words to a brief description, captions and camera settings so the photos can tell their stories!

This week’s “For the Love of Photography” theme is the Pacific Coast Highway. A few years ago my husband and I traveled the PCH between Christmas and New Years, starting in San Diego and ending in San Francisco. Our theme for the trip came from a Toby Keith song, “No map, no plans, no place to be.” Literally, the only reservations we had was the airline flight and rental car. Each day we would drive until late afternoon and stop at a local watering hole to ask the locals for recommendations on where to stay for the night. Most were awesome, others not so much………but that’s a story for another day.

“Malibu Sunrise” Settings: TV 1/2500 sec; AVf6.3; ISO 400; Exp. -0.7; Focal Length 24mm

“Somewhere on the PCH” Settings: TV 1/2000 sec; AV f/4; IS 400; Exp. +0.7; Focal Length 35mm

“Somewhere on the PCH” Settings: TV 1/6400 seco; AV f/4; ISO 400; Exp. 0; Focal Length 40mm

“Somewhere on the PCH” Settings: TV: 1/8000 sec; AV f/4; ISO 400; Exp. 0; Focal Lenght 24mm

“Contemplation” Settings: TV 1/6400 seco; AV: f/4; ISO 400; Exp.0; Focal Length 58mm

“Big Sur” Settings: TV: 1/1000 sec; AV f/16; ISO 400; Exp 0; Focal Length 47mm

“Taking Flight” Settings: TV 1/8000 sec; AV f/4.5; ISO 400;Exp. 0; Focal Length 100

“Pigeons Point Lighthouse” Settings: TV 1/3200 se; AV f/5.6; ISO 400; Exp. 0; Focal Length 360mm

If you’re interested in exploring places from around the world, I recommend checking out “Wallflower Wonderer” http://wallflowerwanderer.com Kirsten (the Wallflower Wonderer) is traveling around the world and visiting some amazing places. Check out her site/blog for wonderful stories and photos of her adventures.

Until next time!

Donna