California Bottom to Top: A Short Photo Essay

Temescal Canyon

Circumstances converged in such a way that Greg and I traversed California from south to north over the course of January.  Regular readers might know that we recently transplanted ourselves back to the Left Coast from New York City.  What you might not know is that before we left California five years ago, we took ourselves on a three week farewell road trip. (You can read about that trip here.) That trip definitely stuck with us and probably contributed to the siren song that eventually brought us back, so this accelerated travel through the state combined into a full circle moment for me. 

Now, January's travel weren't all fun and romantic adventures--most of it revolved around moving heavy furniture from my in-law's place in San Diego to the Bay, where we now live, in a very glamorous Penske truck. Nonetheless, these trips presented images in rapid-fire succession that really served as reminder of just how amazing this state is. I found beauty from vantage points both expected and very unexpected. I thought I'd share a few images.

 

  

Torrey Pines State Beach in Del Mar is one of my favorite places to run pretty much anywhere.

And nearby Torrey Pines State Reserve has beautiful hikes of varying lengths.
 

 


The drive from SD to Oakland was long, but we did get to break the long journey in LA and I was able to sneak in a short hike in Temescal Canyon.



There's something special about Cali skies. You might just find yourself staring at the most spectacular sunset from someplace as random as self-storage. 



The world as viewed from a Penske truck.


 
Beauty from a McDonald's parking lot in Fresno.


 
Night visions. 



An invitation from friends took us to Lake Tahoe.

I don't ski, so I enjoyed the beauty of the lake while remaining cozy inside the house.

 

In between trips, we've been starting to get to know and feel at home in Oakland. 

 

A final trip at the end of the month took us up through the rest of Northern California, giving us blurred, twilight glimpses of Mount Shasta, while en route to Oregon. . . but that's the start of another journey.