Issue #22: California Snapshots
An epic road trip to get our fill of sunshine and palm trees
San Diego was home to us for that strange time period between March of 2020 and March of 2021. The world was shut down and we found ourselves living in a backyard cottage of a wonderful family. They went from strangers to our pandemic pod who we spent countless hours playing board games and watching movies with. While the year was challenging for one million reasons, we focus now on the magic relationships and memories we made.
So whenever we get the chance, we try to make a journey back to visit everyone. This year, there was an opportunity to extend a work trip for my husband and spend some time in the ☀️ sunshine (9 whole days), so we took advantage. The fact that it was in December when the days are short, gray, and cold here was extremely motivating.
For two reasons, we made the drive instead of flying. First of all, we love a roadtrip - for the snacks and the scenery. But more importantly, there is a weird dog virus going around right now and this way, we could avoid leaving Marty at the boarding facility. We visited San Diego, LA, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Russian River, and the fabulous Mount Shasta drive by.
I figured I could help bring you a little warmth in your inbox and share some photos from our adventure. While doing that, I will also share my recap of senses. I love journaling on the last day of a trip and writing down the things I remember feeling, tasting, hearing, seeing, and smelling along the trip. So, let’s see if it helps you transport yourself to the places I was standing.
A Brief California Recap
I saw…
Stunning sunrises, colorful sunsets over the Pacific Ocean, dolphins swimming in the water, surfers paddling out zipped up in wetsuits, Christmas lights strung on palm trees, a dusting of snow on distant mountains, the misty marine layer, bright flowers blooming, skateboards, rollerblades, that strange Southern California phenomenon where everything seems trapped in time (except the teenagers we visited who definitely aren’t trapped), less of my phone screen than usual, the old route we walked daily during the pandemic with all the usual animal characters, my bare toes, and iconic California sights like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Painted Ladies, the Hollywood Sign, and the Redwoods.
I smelled…
Nonstop floral scents, salt water, the cart that wanders around North Park with fresh churros, the scent of powerful cleaning supplies at one of the hotels we stayed at, the wood burning stove at a friend’s, sunscreen, and every candle I sampled at Pigment and Communal Coffee, however none of them matched that magic smell of the California Coast.
I heard…
The sound of Rob Lowe’s voice (sped up to 1.2) reading his audiobook on the drive, waves crashing against the shore, rain hitting the Airstream we slept in near the Redwoods, teenage slang words that I did not understand, football games, loud noises from the military bases nearby, dogs barking (one of our favorites makes the sound of a seal when he gets excited), the ice cream cart strolling by our window in San Diego, birds at sunrise in Santa Barbara, hikers huffing and puffing near the Griffith Observatory in LA, honking horns in LA traffic, Christmas music on quietly in the background at most places, and each of us saying “wow” at least 50 times (just like Owen Wilson).
I tasted…
Fish tacos from at least five different places (including one with strawberries), our favorite vegetarian sandwiches from Ike’s (why won’t they open one in Seattle?), new Trader Joe’s chocolate covered pretzels, peach rings, good red wine, green juice I actually enjoyed, the worst Airbnb coffee ever, lattes to remove the taste of the bad coffee, the Sugar Plum cheese danish from Starbucks, a passionfruit danish from Tartine in San Fran, and a blood orange margarita in Santa Barbara that I wish I could recreate.
I felt…
The spray of the water at Sunset Cliffs, hugs from people we love so much, warm air and sunshine on my face while walking the dog, snuggles from a giant Rottweiler, warm afternoon rain, wind from driving with the windows down, a sore butt from sitting on concrete benches at a high school soccer game, a tad bit car sick on the hills in San Francisco, and the magic of new pajamas (I bought these and cannot stop wearing them1).
Other Interesting Things
We’ve all heard by now that Taylor Swift is the Person of the Year and realized her movie today to rent. It’s a great article, but one of my favorite quotes was:
I tell Swift that the show made me think of a meme that says, “Do not kill the part of you that is cringe—kill the part of you that cringes.” “Yes!” she exclaims. “Every part of you that you’ve ever been, every phase you’ve ever gone through, was you working it out in that moment with the information you had available to you at the time. There’s a lot that I look back at like, ‘Wow, a couple years ago I might have cringed at this.’ You should celebrate who you are now, where you’re going, and where you’ve been.”
Someone shared this sweater and I feel like I’ll probably be purchasing it in the next few days.
Honestly, I haven’t really switched to holiday music… I’m not totally in the mood. But I will always check to see what people think are the best songs and I definitely do not agree on this choice.
My goal for the holidays this year is an absorption vacation. I read this substack post this morning that explains that term and I’m going to be intentional about how I spend our quiet time this holiday season.
Laughing at this list of Gen Z slang terms and just saying them out loud makes me sound 1,000,000 years old. Also, this list is already outdated because I learned at least five that were not on this list.
Finally, here is a picture of my dog with the 11-month-old Rottweiler mix that we were visiting. Everyone stopped us to ask if he was her puppy, even though he’s clearly a mature and distinguished teenage dog. It was delightful to see people’s reactions to these two as we toured around our old North Park neighborhood.
I’ll be back with some holiday-themed things next week and then a nice big end-of-year recap. If there is something specific you want to see a best-of list for, comment and let me know.
Hope you felt just a little bit of that warm sunshine when you read this. And if you live somewhere with warm sunshine, I could use a bit in Seattle if you could send it my way.
Cheers!
Steph
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