Mission & City of San Luis Obispo

There are times when a trip around the block seems like such an effort and diversion. And there are times when a four-hour roundtrip car ride can seem so relaxing. With relatives visiting from out of town, it was time to drive them back to LA. We decided to meet in San Luis Obispo and share the driving.

As a straight shot down Highway 101, San Luis Obispo (or SLO as more people call it) doesn't feel that far away. It has a real college town feel, with Cal Poly suppying the students and brain trust. Yet it has done a wonderful job of perserving its small town feel and historical roots. As you'll see from this video, the Mission is in the heart of downtown and offers a quiet respite from the bawdy college party scene.

Carmel River State Beach

This video captures that location where my fiancée and I will be married in July. It overlooks Point Lobos State Reserve, where we had our first kiss. Yes, a very romantic spot. The second half of the video contains a special 360º view of the beach, mountains, and lagoon where the Carmel River empties into the Pacific Ocean. It was here that the 1769 Portolo Crespi Expedition erected a cross to signal their supply ship that they'd gone back to San Diego. In those pioneering, something like a cross would be the only sign that Europeans would recognize as a message.

Asilomar State Beach

Sometimes you need to be safe in the harbor, other times you need to go to the rocky shore. The vital, edgy, and cantankerous shores of Asilomar Beach remind me that at times there's very little cushion for some of life's challenges. But in the midst of challenge lies opportunity. The tide pools swell with foam and waves at high tide and starve from moisture at low. The creatures that live there must have a strategy to take life's ups and downs in stride. If I'm going to get through the dry and turbulent times, I'll need to do the same.

Manzanita County Park

Its seems I've found a new way to pump life into my personal travel blog: taking short videos of my weekend hikes around Monterey. I guess it takes innovation and fresh ideas to keep a blog going, and I've found something that I can enjoy once more.

The Winter rain has come to California and I am grateful for it. Yet, after a full week of rainy days, it sure makes to grateful to see the sun again! This video is when I was home all weekend by myself. The Saturday before it was beautiful but I was wiped out from school and didn't take advantage of the day. Sunday was supposed to be the beginning of seven days of rain. I took a chance and got out for this hike. To my advantage, the rain didn't start to be steady until that evening. The result was an overcast, yet far-visibility day with pungent aromas of detritus and vegetation that fill the senses to reassure that nature is truly a revitilizing force.

Winter Vacation in Yosemite

For New Year's celebrations, I went up to Yosemite National Park with my fiancee and her friends. We hiked all around the Valley, in Hetch Hetchy, and up at Badger Pass. I was a bit camera shy in 2009, but the first 3 days of 2010 I shot these videos of the Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequioas and Hetch Hetchy:

Winter Vacation in LA

My first trip of winter break was South to LA for Christmas. My brother and I took the new Metro Gold Line into East LA to sample some of the authentic Mexican cuisine. The following video is the result of our efforts: