LIFESTYLEThe Ultimate California Road Trip

The days leading up to our departure were pure madness to say the least. We were both scrambling trying to finish up last minute things and how to fit it all into my Mercedes. The night before we headed out we had a going away party where David played a show and all of our friends came out for a proper send off. We left on a Wednesday around 9pm after the Ocean Beach farmers...
Jade Carlson5 years ago135925 min
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The days leading up to our departure were pure madness to say the least. We were both scrambling trying to finish up last minute things and how to fit it all into my Mercedes. The night before we headed out we had a going away party where David played a show and all of our friends came out for a proper send off. We left on a Wednesday around 9pm after the Ocean Beach farmers market where I had to go and fill up on all my favorite things before departing for an undetermined amount of time. We were literally just out of OB when we realized David forgot to grab the tent and I had forgotten to grab the weed… classic! It wasn’t that far to turn around and drive back but we just decided we would deal with it later.

The first stop in Encinitas, where I had to drop one of my paintings to a friend, was exactly what we needed. His roommate happened to be the weed man of all weed men and hooked us up with some goodies for our road trip. From there we headed to Los Angeles so I could drop more art off to my friend Koko. When we arrived she greeted me with the best adventure send off package full of snacks, face masks, hair masks, HOT SAUCE, and caffeine. It was a quick 10 minute stop but spending any amount of time with the real MVP of friends is always worth it. David and I were cruising around LA on our way back to the highway, when I realized that it was our last chance to have some real deal LA cheap ass tacos. Let’s be honest, SoCal is the Mecca of fucking awesome Mexican street food, and we weren’t going to kook it. We stopped at one of my classic spots where I used to live in LA and I loaded us up. The caffeine and al pastor tacos fueled me to just south of Pismo beach where we pulled off at a rest stop and slept for the night.

 

I was still exhausted from the night before so David started the drive into Big Sur. I couldn’t quite remember where my favorite little hideaway was, but when we came around the corner and saw the vibrant purple flowers with the mountains behind them, I instantly knew we were there. If you’re driving North on the 1, the flowers (depending on season) will be on your right hand side with the mountains behind them. There is a huge pull off on the left hand side, but the trail that leads to the cliff and the beach is a hidden gem. I wont tell you exactly where it is, but if you walk along the pull off, you might see a little secret opening in the bushes. Go down the steps. They’ll lead you through some more bushes and wild flowers before putting you in the big open field. It had been overcast the whole way there, but curiously, a few minutes after pulling off, the sky cleared up. We parked the car, hit the trail and chilled on the cliff for a while soaking up the sounds of nature. I was so excited to have this be our first stop in Big Sur and for me to show David one of my favorite spots.

From there we continued the drive north and pulled over at whatever location sparked one of our interest. The drive that day was so mysterious and beautiful. Fog was lacing the mountains as we were driving in and out of it and when we would hit open patches of visibility, it was the most incredible of views.

 

We made a pit stop in Santa Cruz to check out the surf at Steamer Lane. After spending some time watching the waves, by not much surprise, David got the urge to hit the water one last time before trading in the beaches of California for Canada this summer. The only problem was that he didn’t have a board with him, but with this guy “there is no problems, only solutions.”  He asked a couple people to use their board to catch a wave and finally came across two dudes who agreed and, off his crazy ass, went into the freezing cold ocean with just board shorts and a t-shirt. Surfers are so committed to the waves, it’s insane. He caught two waves and came out of the water shaking like a leaf but smile for miles. After giving back the board and greeting the friendly surfers, off we went on a road-snacks mission to Trader Joes.

I slept for most of the drive from Santa Cruz to San Francisco and he woke me up just south of where I use to live a couple summer back. We drove the coast through the city and then crossed over the Golden Gate bridge to take the scenic drive through the Marin headlands. We took our time and made a few stops at some of my favorite views of the city.

After a short but sweet visit to one of my good friend from the bay, who kindly welcomed us with some dank Thai food, I drove us to a rest area just south of the entrance for The Avenue Of The Giants. It was the perfect spot to stop for another comfy night in the Merc.

We didn’t realize the night before, cause of the darkness, but we had parked in a spot completely surrounded by Redwoods. Pretty magical way to wake up, minus the sore back. Still, none of that mattered, because I was so happy to show David this place and experience it with him for his first time. We drove through the whole Avenue of the Giants and stopped at my favorite pull off.

If you have never been there before, I highly recommend it. There is nothing like playing amongst the giants. Everything is green and mossy and the way the light shines through the massive trees is magical. My favorite part of visiting this place is always grabbing my skateboard and taking a cruise down one of the most relaxing roads. We spent most of our morning there, playing around, before heading to the Humboldt coast. Next up was one of my favorite town in California; Arcata. We stopped at the co-op to have lunch, load up on snacks and take a stroll around town before exploring some of the Humboldt finest coastline.

 

I wish we would’ve had more time to go explore further north on the coast, but we still made a little way up to Trinidad which has some of the most picturesque views. We spent a little bit of time walking around the docks and taking in the beauty that was surrounding us.

 

Heads up, On the way out of the town, before hitting the highway there is a tiny street to the right hand side that you can take. If you want to see the most insane houses and views along with some secret beaches and pull offs to hike to the edge of the cliffs, take the turn. Beware; this road is sketchy as hell and goes down to some small gnarly one lanes with a complete drop off to the ocean. It’s definitely worth the risk. It’ll take you to my favorite NorCal view. There’s a small dirt parking area next to a wooded area. Follow the path that leads out about 500 feet to a tree with a swing and then, further down, to a lookout spot on the edge of the cliff with views of the rugged coastline from the north and south. When you continue on the road you’ll end up at Moon Stone Beach. Its a large open area with surf, rocks to climb and a cave. I can’t recall a single time that I went to the NorCal coast and didn’t make a stop here.

We were headed into the mountains to Weaverville where my family lives and It was time to say goodbye to the Pacific Ocean. Before going to my families, we stopped at my favorite swimming area, Helena where there is also a natural spring to fill up your water bottles. After a quick naked dip, we drove up the mountains to my uncle’s farm. We stayed the next two days with him there, having bbqs and going to the river. It was a really amazing time, as always.


Wishing we could’ve stuck around NorCal so much longer, but knowing we hadn’t got any closer to our final destination, the time had come to start heading back down the state. We were on a roll so, instead of taking the main highway to get to Tahoe, we decided to take the back roads, which added more time and miles, but in the end was worth it. We drove east towards Lassen National Park, but little did we know, the park was closed due to snow. We still decided to try to get in as far as we could before having to turn around. There was so much snow, I couldn’t believe it; and not only on the side of the road, it was literally dumping. We played it safe and went back on our itinerary.

-I always have this overwhelming sense of clarity when I’m at Lake Tahoe; something about the way the mountains kiss the lake reminds me that, at the end of the day, we are all beautiful and we all belong to nature.-

We didn’t spend much time here but we did manage to capture an epic music with a view, which is one of David’s music projects he has been working very hard on. Wait for it, we got to create so much on this trip. (I’ll be adding our instagram handles at the end of the article so you can check it out).

I really wanted to make it to Mono Lake before sunset and we made it just in time for dusk. By the time we left every little bit of sunlight was gone and the coyotes were howling off in the distance. We took the long stretch of dirt road back to the 395 and continued on down to Wild Willy’s Hot Spring. We arrived pretty late and made a late night wrap with veggies before passing out.

After what was definitely the coldest night of the trip, pretty high in altitude, surrounded by the snowy dusted High Sierras, we woke up fairly early, with the sunrise. The cold, which had been caused by our stone asses not closing the sunroof properly the night before, and the weird sleeping position in the front seat of the car, helped us to catch the hot springs before everyone else filled them up. We geared ourselves up for the short walk to the warm water and arrived as a couple of early birds were leaving. We had my favorite spring, the heart shaped one, all to ourselves. There is nothing like being naked in a hot springs, in a field surrounded by snowcapped mountains.

From there we were headed to another spot that David hadn’t been yet and I was SO STOKED for him to see Alabama Hills. It’s like entering another planet. There are these crazy rock formations with a snow capped Mt. Whitney in the background, which is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States. It’s a great place for hiking, rock climbing, off roading or just climbing a rock to have a picnic with an epic view. Alabama hills and the entrance to Death Valley are so close together that I highly recommend stopping there on your way to the famous national park; Even if just for a quick stop.

Last but not least, we were entering Death Valley the final stop on our Cali road trip. The last time I was here, my friend and I had the idea to skate on the salt flats, so of course it was on the list of things to do this trip as well. The ground is so dry from the sun that it’s almost like cement; you just have to watch out for the cracks. The road down into the park is filled with breathtaking views including sand dunes, salt flats, colorful badlands and snowy peaks. What a fucking place.

We stopped to walk around the sand dunes and soak up some sun and then proceed to drive up to Dante’s View to go watch the sunset. David was insisting about taking me there and I don’t regret following his call, cause this viewpoint lands in my top 5 favorite sunset spots. We hung out there for a while and had a cozy meal enjoying the last bit of sun setting our journey in California. The drive out of the park in the night time was like a dream. It was so dark and it was the first time I had seen the milky way that clearly.

 

At the end of this insane 5 day California road trip we drove around 2000 miles up the coast and then back down on the eastern side of the Sierras. – with still having to cross the country to get to Quebec.

 

I think it’s safe to say I have found a partner who is just as down to send it as I am. Check out our Instagram’s to keep up to date on our latest adventures.

@nebulajade

@po.zay

 

Jade Carlson

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