California Dreamin'

It's been a while since I've been to California, and I was only there for a short time.  It was during a two month cross-country trip with National Theatre for Arts and Education shortly after graduating college.  The West holds me in complete fascination, and recently I've been itching to get back out there.

With tour mates at Sequoia National Park, 2005.

There's something magical and wild about being in the vastness of the west as opposed to the cramped east (large cities being the exception).  It makes me want to build a log cabin and turn off my iPhone.  For good.  Then the thought of missing civilization, as well as family and friends, creeps in and the thought returns to a dream.

I remember visiting Sequoia National Park.  As you can tell from the picture, it looked like Middle Earth:)  I listened to a lot of Loreena McKennitt during that drive; her expansive, medieval sounding music fit the mood perfectly.  We saw the redwoods, and both brown and black bears during our day trip in the park.  

San Diego was one of the cleanest cities I've ever been in.  It had a lovely waterfront park, Seaport Village, in which we played Frisbee.  There is also a fantastic bookstore called Upstart Crow!

 And then there was San Fransisco...

I was very much in a hippie phase at the time, and spending my birthday weekend on Haight-Ashbury Street suited me just fine.  I bought a little wood carved traveling chess set at one of the shops, and we lounged in a park close by before going to an all-beer bar that had hundreds of brews on tap.  I tried looking up this haven online, but unfortunately it was many years ago, and my birthday ;) so I was unable to find a link for it.  If anyone else knows which bar this is, feel free to mention it in a comment!

 

 

Besides it being so crowded, there were some parts of Los Angeles that were enjoyable.  I was surprised to find out how compact certain landmarks were, such as Grauman's Chinese Theater and Rodeo Drive.  Santa Monica Pier was beautiful, and we had dinner one night at a family style Italian restaurant in Venice Beach that was superb.  We sat on the patio at large banquet tables, surrounded by candles and large bottles of Chianti.  At one point, servers handed out the words to That's Amore and the band played the song while everyone in the restaurant sang.  It was truly unforgettable.

Will and I have been talking about a California visit this fall, and I hope we can manage it!  Is there a place that is in your mind to visit right now?

1. Taken by my pal Adam.  2. Destination 360  3. nps.gov  4. News and Prayer  5. IgoUgo  6. Found SF  7. Thundermoon  8. World Gallery  9. Asymptotia