California… Heeeeeere we coooooome!

I must say, passing the “Welcome to California” sign felt damn good. At this point, we’ve come over 3,000 miles and San Francisco seems closer than ever. However, before we can even start to think about the city by the bay, we must first pass through Death Valley. Scary, ominous, and desolate Death Valley. After almost getting our one banana confiscated at the produce checkpoint, there is pretty much nothing but desert and heat for hundreds of miles. Apparently, the Saab couldn’t take the 90 + temperatures, and our newly repaired air conditioning crapped out after only a couple of miles. Our goal is the coast. Once we see ocean, that’s where were stopping.

We ended up in San Simeon, California. Close to Cambria and about a hundred miles south of Monterrey, I found this place using a map on my iPhone and booked us a cheap motel knowing practically nothing more than that it was on the Pacific. The Sea Breeze Inn couldn’t have been more diametrically opposed to our previous nights stay in Vegas. We had a simple, quaint little room right on the ocean. It couldn’t have been more perfect.




San Simeon is beautiful. The population is around 400. There are a couple hotels, a handful of restaurants, and amazing views of the ocean every which way you look. If you ever wanted to disappear somewhere and not be bothered, this is the place to be. We ate some pretty great Mexican food and had margaritas made with agave wine. Then we went down to the ocean and got a little stoned. It was pitch black and we couldn’t see the cliffs we were climbing until the morning.









Shortly after getting on the road we saw a sign that read “Elephant Seal Viewing Area.” We decided to pull over to take a look in hopes that we’d catch a glimpse of at least one happy little seal frolicking on the beach. Instead, we came upon thousands of these gigantic beasts piled on top of each other for as far as the eye could see. This was seriously one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.




Finally on the home stretch, we had about 5 hours to go up the treacherous curves and cliffs of Highway 1. The drive was both frightening and awe inspiring. We stopped in Big Sur for lunch and will definitely be back to camp in the future. Through Oakland and across the Bay Bridge, we played that damn “California” song with tears in our eyes. No irony, just joy.



San Francisco we have arrived!!!