Why California?
Ask anyone who knows me well, and they’ll tell you that California has always been number one on my list of places to visit. The idea of driving along the coastline on the Pacific Coast Highway aka Highway 1, visiting the art scenes in Los Angeles, San Francisco and cities in between while hitting up beaches along the way is exactly what my restless yet intrinsically beachy soul needs.
“What are you waiting for? Make it happen — book a flight, pack your bags and go!”
So many people would tell me this when I described my idea to them. Lol I wish I could make it that simple! I'm pretty much a workaholic, but mostly because I love what I do. It's hard for me to take a break that easily when I'm in the middle of creating. Another part of me also needs everything to be established at home and in my career. A lot of it depended on timing for certain project deadlines, family events, on-going freelance... the list went on.
I ended up booking my ticket with two good friends and before we knew it, we were planning our two-week road trip from LAX to SFO.
So, how was it? It was by far the most refreshing and liberating trip I've ever taken 🙌🏻. We explored LA for 5 days, road-tripped on Highway 1 to Big Sur for 5 days in a Jeep Wrangler, and spent the last 4 days in San Francisco.
During the trip, I managed to take some delightful photos of places I used to only dream about visiting. That's when I came up with the series #birdidrawscalifornia – when little ideas become a reality. All of these places were abstract ideas in my mind, as represented by the sketch. Superimposing the sketch with a photo I captured from that spot, made the idea sink in that these were ideas coming to life.
The #birdidrawscalifornia Series
Places to Visit
As promised, here's a list of places we visited that would fit your Instagram aesthetic 😏besides your typical touristy spots, check out these ones for a more local feel!
Los Angeles: The Broad Museum; LACMA; Melrose Avenue; Runyon Canyon;
Venice Beach, Santa Monica: rent some bikes or scooters and ride your way from Venice Beach to Santa Monica Pier!
Malibu: The Getty Villa and The Getty Centre (two separate places, but the Villa is gorgeous!!)
Laguna: The Pirate Tower at Victoria Beach
Oxnard: Silver Strand Beach
Big Sur: Pfeiffer Beach; Los Padres Forest (we drove through this super bendy 40km long road, and it was absolutely thrilling!); McWay Falls; Bixby Creek Bridge
San Francisco: SFMOMA; Baker Beach; Painted Ladies; Exploratorium; Golden Gate Park
So there you have it! Photos absolutely don't do the west coast justice though. Everyone needs to make the trip out there to see why it's so amazing. I'm certain I'd go to visit all the time, or even move out there... one day 🙃
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