5000 Miles Away From the Beach.

Today marks one year to the day since I flew to California. One year ago I was sat in Heathrow Airport waiting for my flight to take me on my adventure, the biggest I've ever had. I was reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac, an American writer of the Beat Generation, and these words stood out to me, I've had the page bookmarked ever since:

"What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-by. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies." - Jack Kerouac, On the Road 

I thought of how appropriate the words were in that moment. Just a few hours before I had said goodbye to my family and I was now alone, but I was only excited for what awaited me. Going to the USA seemed like a dream come true, I had waited years for this and had completely surprised myself by not being nervous at all; I realised I was ready.

Just a few highlights

Now this quote is relatable again. It reminds me of all the people I've met and had to say goodbye to over the last year, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I've had the time of my life and had experiences I could only dream of before. I can't believe it's been a year since I went, time has flown by. It has been a hectic, crazy time and I've struggled to keep up with this blog but I'm determined to finish it, even if it is a little late!

I now have to look forward to what comes next, to keep the memories I have made, the lessons I have learnt, and use them. I have to look towards another dream to pursue and I have a few, most of them involve travelling of course. I think once you've experienced just how easy it is to pack up a car or book a cheap plane ticket and go see a new place in a day, a weekend or a week you don't want to stop seeing new things. It's a big world we live in and I want to continue to experience, in Jack Kerouac's words, the "crazy ventures" it can bring.

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." - Henry Miller

I have two more posts on New York and San Francisco and then I will finally have finished documenting my time in America, 5000 miles away at The Beach!

Roadtrip up the Pacific Coast Highway: Santa Monica, Malibu and Santa Barbara.

We had wanted to do this trip for months and so after university had finished we finally had the time to actually plan it and go. We wanted to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, famous for its beautiful coastal scenery to Santa Barbara, stopping along the way at Santa Monica and Malibu. 

Our first stop was Santa Monica, we walked along the pier, famous for being the end of Route 66 and went on the Ferris Wheel which had amazing views of the LA area, mountains and coast. We then had fun relaxing on some swings on the beach. We also walked down the main street which is great for shopping and got a burrito at Chipotle for lunch.

Santa Monica Pier

Route 66

Santa Monica Ferris Wheel

View from the Santa Monica Ferris Wheel

Waves

Santa Monica's Main Street

We then drove further up the coast to Malibu which is known for its beautiful beaches and stopped to have a walk along the beach.

Malibu Beach

Surf/Swim

Driving up Pacific Coast Highway

We had booked to stay in the Holiday Inn at Carpinteria which is before Santa Barbara on the coast. We dropped our bags in the room and walked down to the beach to watch the sunset. The view of the mountains on the way really reminded me of those in Hawaii, it was hard to believe we were not even that far from LA. It was a quiet town with not much to do but it had a great beach for the sunset. We found a spot and had fun taking photos. We went to I-Hop to have pancakes for dinner and then went back to the hotel to relax in the hot tub under the stars.

The Mountains of Carpinteria

Carpinteria Sunset

Silhouettes

The next day after breakfast we continued driving and reached Santa Barbara. It was a very windy day making the walk down the pier a bit of a struggle, however it was clear just how picturesque the town was, with the mountains, ocean and old style Spanish buildings. It almost felt like you were in another country.

Santa Barbara Pier

We stopped by Tourist information to get some information, we were given a map and told to start at Santa Barbara's Courthouse in the Old Town which is a lovely area with lots of shops and restaurants.

Old Town Santa Barbara

The Courthouse, built in 1926 after an earthquake destroyed the earlier building, is an example of how the town has been influenced by the Spanish Colonial style. It has beautiful interior decoration with patterned ceilings and walls, large murals and also tile mosaics. The mural room's paintings reveal some of Santa Barbara's interesting history and the extensive murals make the space very dramatic. However, the most impressive part of the Courthouse is perhaps the view from the clock tower. You can see 360 degrees, to the coast, the mountains and to all the pretty tiled buildings of Santa Barbara.

Courthouse

Patterns

The Mural Room

Mountain View from the Clock Tower

Ocean View from the Clock Tower

After we had visited the Courthouse we walked through a little area, La Arcada, which had some nice small shops and restaurants. There was even a fountain which had turtles swimming inside. The atmosphere was very relaxed and felt quite European.

La Arcada

Mozart Trio

We went to the Santa Barbara Mission after lunch. Built in 1786 it was the tenth mission of twenty-one in California, which sought to convert Native Americans to Christianity to help their attempt at colonisation. Over the years parts of the mission have been rebuilt due to earthquake damage. The missions are the oldest buildings in California and have historical significance for the state. This was the second mission I had been to and it was smaller than the first, however still interesting and pretty to see. It is intriguing to see some of California's history, where it began and how it has influenced the state to this day.

Santa Barbara Mission

A Franciscan Friar

Spanish Colonial Style

The Chapel

I loved this road trip, the places we visited were so picturesque and I wish we could have gone for longer. I'd like to drive all the way up Highway 1 to San Francisco so I guess it just means I'll have to go back and do it one day!!

March 22/23: Venice Beach and Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Time. That word is constantly on my mind. I don't have much of it left here in the USA, I have to make every second of it count, and I have to fit in as many exciting things as possible. The past seven weeks have been so hectic that I have struggled to do blog entries, and so here I am attempting to catch up again! I promised myself that I would complete this blog, and so I intend to do so no matter how late it happens. I hope you have enjoyed reading my past entries and continue to do so with these next few. I still have more adventures to come, and here are some that have happened since March, this is the first of four catch-up entries.

After going to watch our basketball team play in the Big West tournament at the Honda Center, and also celebrating 3 birthdays in the previous week, on March 22nd we finally made the trip to Venice Beach, which certainly did not disappoint. It has a reputation for its cool and relaxed vibe and its weird and wacky street shows. It is definitely different to anywhere I have ever experienced before and is worth a visit. I'd really like to go back again. The boardwalk fulfilled expectations with its crazy atmosphere and this included not being able to escape the smell of weed, but I think that just became a part of the Venice experience! It was also very cool to see the world-famous Muscle Beach. It was just like the image created by its reputation, shirtless men everywhere!

I had read in my guidebook that there were men on rollerblades who went up and down the boardwalk playing electric guitars. I was excited to actually see one and take a photo. His quirkiness sums up Venice Beach! Another funny musical highlight from the day was repeatedly seeing a man who was playing baby reggae music, which he was trying to sell, walking up and down. It wasn't a mixture of songs, it was just reggae "Incy Wincy Spider" on repeat. We must have seen him about ten times that day, and that song remained stuck in my head for the rest of the day!

One of the things I loved most about Venice was the murals. Being very interested in art I always like to see new street art, and Venice certainly provided an abundance, variety and a lot of colour as shown in these photos below.

One of the street vendors' work:

Another highlight was seeing some dancers called the LA Breakers, they were pretty amazing at what they do and seemed to make a substantial amount of money from the crowd!

The next day I met up with family from Seattle who were down in California for Spring Break. Firstly, we went to Huntington Beach where there was a Beach Cruiser car show which was really interesting as you got to see cars as old as the first Fords. Here's a photo of a very beachy Volkswagen which had a straw roof, very Huntington Beach!

We looked around and spotted some local wildlife such as this bird, and then hung around on the beach for a while before heading to lunch.

After lunch we headed down the coast along Pacific Coast Highway to Mission San Juan Capistrano, which founded in 1776, has some of the oldest buildings in California and the oldest buildings I've seen since I got here! Missions were initially used to encourage Native Americans to practise Christianity and were the first real attempt by Europeans to colonise the region on the west coast. I loved finally seeing some history, it was very beautiful.

I love the not very enthusiastic slogan "Worth a Visit," but it definitely is:

The ruins of the "Great Stone Church," which was devastated by an earthquake in 1812:

The bells of the mission:

The mission is famous for its annual "Return of the Swallows." It is said that the swallows flock to San Juan Capistrano on March 19th every year.

The "Sacred Garden":

The Baroque altar of the Serra Chapel, which is the oldest building in California still in use:

That weekend was one to remember; I saw two completely opposite sides of California, one modern and crazy, the other traditional and with religious elements. It was great to spend it both with friends and family, and I'm grateful I got to see such interesting places.

Hope you enjoyed reading, 3 more catch up blog entries to follow! Next up Spring Break!

Jen