The Adventures of Adrian & Cameron

The stretch of California coastline from Santa Barbara up to Santa Cruz was really one of our favorite parts of an overall magical trip. We camped at Pismo State Beach and felt like were right back home with all the 4-wheel drives and flag bearing in the little dune side town.

As we continued up the coast, we made our way to the adorable town of San Luis Obispo, greeted by a free band in the park, locals dancing in the grass, and all the lemonade we could drink. This town sits squarely in a lesser-known area of wine country. We were fortunate enough to stay at an Airbnb that was a remodeled creamery on a working vineyard with some spectacular back deck views.  The creamery was charming; filled with antiques and memorabilia from the owner’s career as a film director.

From here we visited Morrow Bay which was windy and cold but stunning (this will be a theme), mountain biked, hiked to a Pirates Cove, and walked the quaint streets and boardwalk of SLO which overlooks a creek running through the town. This area is one to return to or possibly even live! As we drove further up the coast to Santa Cruz we got our first glimpse of redwoods, which is always magical, no matter if you have seen them before. We biked to the boardwalk and amusement park, did some hiking and got a beer at the Monty’s Log Cabin Bar, which was just exactly as I remembered it from a visit to California just about 20 years ago!! The people were still friendly and still discussing the local economy and soaring cost of housing. Will it be the same in another 20 years!!??

Again, LA was a place Adrian had spent quite a bit of time through work, but he was excited to show me around. For me, it was quite unexpected. First, our great Airbnb was the mother-in-law suite of a very traditional home in a Northridge neighborhood. Our host was a local middle school PE coach who was wonderful, and invited us to a Memorial Day cookout. The house was on a big 1+ acre lot, had a full garden, large swimming pool and chickens! The host, Robert, even gave us fresh eggs. We were even surprised to hear the whistle of a train go by. It felt very rural. However, not more than 10 minutes away was the LA I was expecting- the 405 freeway, glitzy Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive as well as the canals and contrasting beauty/seediness of Venice Beach. We had an amazing tour of Laurel Canyon and spent a wonderful afternoon at The Getty Museum.

Santa Barbara was just a few hours north and was really one of the most beautiful cities we had ever seen. Along the ocean there are greenways for walking and biking, lush green grass for picnicking and lounging, and parks. All this is set with palm trees and a panoramic mountain backdrop where lights from the floating neighborhoods twinkled down in the evening. There was a slight rain and what the locals called “May Grey” that kept the weather cool in the morning. We snagged a ritzy bonus free night at a seaside resort and used the location to walk and bike the charming downtown area. This included a direct view of the Marina and Pier and was where we started our lucky streak of Pier restaurants with reasonable beer/wine and fabulous waterfront views. We ate breakfast at an adorable café and were waited on by the lovely lady who had started the business over 40 years ago! Our short stay was over but that was just alright. We were excited to begin the drive up the dramatic and beautiful California coast.

Joshua Tree was a place that Adrian had been to before, but he could not wait to return and share it with me. This is a large national park spanning at least two desert areas including the Mojave and Colorado. We stayed in the Cottonwood campground within the Colarado desert part of the park. It was the more traditional desert landscape and very hot during the day as expected. The camping area itself was located near a true oasis with wonderful hikes.

It has been very dry in Joshua Tree- yes, even for a desert. The Joshua Tree only grows in two places on earth: The Mojave Desert and somewhere near Jerusalem. We were surprised to learn that the area was originally settled as a cattle farm with lush fields and a flowing river within the last 100 years.. Even then, though, water was the most important commodity and there was even a deadly shoot out over water rights. Many of the hikes were through the areas that were previously flowing with water or were home to springs, but currently dry. This did not taint the beauty of the otherworldly landscape.

The now endangered Joshua trees provided a Dr. Seuss-like shadescape that created polka dots of relief against dramatic rock formations. These rocks were often stories high and as large as a shopping malls. We would not have been shocked to see a dinosaur or a giant Komodo dragon dart out at any moment. Ok, we would have been- but they would have absolutely fit right in! The sunsets, too, were spectacular as the rosy desert sun melted in to the earth in exchange for the black velvet of the night sky. In this dark sky sanctuary, the nights were always punctuated with a dazzling number of stars.

The town of Joshua Tree was also with its own charm, offering a rowdy saloon with loud country music and good time feel. This offered up an absolutely mouth- watering post hike burger and beer that may be the best we have ever had. Then, we saddled up and were on to the city!

Palm Springs has long been a haven for the powerful and famous, so we felt like it was the obvious place to spend the week. Seriously, though, Palm Springs is beautiful. It is a lush, tropically landscaped city with a combination of mid-century modern and Spanish architecture nestled within the backdrop of arid desert mountains. It developed fame because of its mineral spring oasis that provided some relief from the relentless southern California heat. Well, it was plenty hot and we certainly appreciated our little AirBnB condo‘s front and back porches as well as the gorgeous courtyard with pool, hot tub, and very curious hummingbirds.

We enjoyed the bicycle loop around the city, riding through the famous neighborhoods of gleaming mid-century modern homes with unbelievably artistic landscaping utilizing native desert plants. The neighborhoods went on for miles and each house was as unique and stunning as the last. As an appreciator of this type of design, I wished I could knock on every door and ask for a tour! I did head out for a solo hike on what I thought was a short and moderate trail out of the art museum parking lot. Thirty minutes, two times lost and almost all of my water later- I scrambled down that mountain as fast as I could. I returned to our condo beat red and jello-legged.. I was a little reassured to find I was on the “hard” trail but decided to keep my solo hiking adventures to more obvious routes.

We walked around the quaint downtown on Thursday evening as it was blocked off for a weekly art and music festival that included free entry to the art museum. We certainly enjoyed Palm Springs but had mixed feelings. We were encouraged by some of the water conservation projects, especially with no-grass lawns, that seemed to be developing. However, it is hard to appreciate all of the lush beauty without considering the cost to the Colorado River and surrounding environment. We refer to this portion of the trip as the “the guilty pleasure”.