Los Angeles

Miles: 95

Route: Santa Barbara, CA - Los Angeles, CA

Alex and I drove up the California coast a couple years ago and we loved visiting Santa Barbara so we made a point to stop there during our journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles. We only had half a day so we got an early start and headed to State Street. Alex tolerated my browsing in the various boutiques and we made our way down to the water for lunch on the wharf.

Standing on Stearns Wharf.

Palm trees for days.

After enjoying the beautiful view we walked back to our car and started the short drive to LA. We made fast progress - until we hit the infamous traffic we had been hearing about. Thankfully we were in no rush and once we arrived we headed to Beverly Hills to walk around for a bit before meeting up with our hosts, Jayme and Adam.

Upon arriving at Jayme and Adam’s West Hollywood abode, we both had the same thought: ohmygod they have an entire house! Alex and I have always had an appreciation for space given how little we had in our former NYC apartment and our travels across North and South America have only reinforced that stance!

Adam gave us a proper tour of their amazing home (and our own guest bedroom!) and we relaxed for a bit before dinner. Since Jayme had a work event, the three of us headed to GRACIAS MADRE, a popular vegan Mexican spot nearby. Gracias Madre is a beautifully designed restaurant with a really nice outdoor patio and it was packed for a Tuesday night. Alex and I were excited to expand our horizons with a vegan meal - it seemed very fitting for LA - but apparently nut allergies are very vegan-unfriendly. We were able to find a few entrees that could be made without nuts, but since so many of the dishes have nuts (or nut milks) the menu actually recommends that diners with nut allergies do not eat there. Neither of us had ever seen such a stern warning before, but we were glad they take allergies so seriously! We felt bad for being so high-maintenance but were happy we didn’t need to leave the restaurant. For all of our concerns, the meal ended up being delicious and we were really glad to have tried something different.

Alex woke up Wednesday morning with a sore throat and headache, which we hoped would improve as the day went by. We grabbed our sneakers and headed to Runyon Canyon for some exercise and sightseeing. It was a hot and muggy day but once we reached the top of the hill, we were treated to some amazing views of LA.

Great view of the Hollywood sign.

Taking in the Hollywood Hills.

Even on such a hazy day we were treated to great views of downtown LA.

Saw another group trying to take a picture and my trusted offer-to-take-their-picture-so-they-will-take-yours move worked out famously.

Given my love of celebrity gossip I also knew this was a popular location for spotting famous LA natives and we were not disappointed - we walked past Amber Rose in full glam mode with an entire posse following closely behind. She may not be that famous but I felt like we had checked “see a celebrity” off our LA to-do list.

The hiking trails varied in intensity and after two hours we definitely felt like we got a pretty solid workout. Unfortunately, Alex really wasn’t feeling well so we grabbed juices from Liquid Juice Bar and headed back to Jayme and Adam's place. Alex decided to stay home and rest for the afternoon so he could hopefully recover in time for ACL; I headed to Venice Beach for some eating, shopping and walking.

Jayme had suggested a stop at Gjelina for lunch and I was happy to partake in some healthy LA-style fare. Kale hasn't quite caught on in the Midwest (or South America!) yet.

This picture doesn't do it justice but the roasted eggplant was one of the tastiest things I've tried in a while.

A pretty quiet day on Venice Beach.

Walking down Venice Beach.

I spotted this colorful house while walking around the more residential part of Venice and it reminded me of the streets of Cartagena.

Even though I was sad to be without Alex, it was nice to spend a leisurely afternoon exploring an eclectic part of LA (and shopping at my own pace!). Alex ended up doing a lot of resting and napping and felt a little bit better by the time I returned. For dinner Jayme and Adam took us to Sugarfish, a sushi spot known for its “trust us” fixed course menu, which was great (and also felt very “LA”).

We had such a great time catching up with our hosts and really enjoyed our time on the West Coast. Next stop: Austin for ACL.

Pacific Coast Highway

Miles: 350

Route: San Francisco, CA - Santa Barbara, CA

Sarah and I drove up the California coast during our trip out here in 2012 so we were pretty excited to do the drive again this morning. That said, when we did it in 2012 we were driving a rented convertible...which isn't quite the same as our trusty Avalon. Regardless, the drive south was just as beautiful as we remembered and we pulled off frequently to take some pictures.

I was warned that the south-bound route would be more difficult than the north-bound one since we'd be on the outside of the roadway, closer to the edge of the cliffs that make the drive so memorable, but I didn't notice a big difference. In fact, it was incrementally more convenient to pull off to see the sights since the parking areas are all off the south-bound side of the road.

Anyway, not much more to say about the drive...I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Our first stop - going to be a good day of driving.

Taking in the sights.

Classic Big Sur.

The view for another vista further south.

Instagram post done, Sarah could pose for a picture too.

Elephant Seals near San Simeon.

Once we arrived in Santa Barbara we headed down to the water to find some good seafood for dinner. Brophy Bros. did not disappoint - we'd highly recommend a stop here if you're ever passing through Santa Barbara! Despite how much Sarah loves to share food, we both ended up ordering the same thing: Cajun spiced sea bass with vegetables on the side and clam chowder to start. It's a good thing we each got our own because it was so good I don't think either of us would've been willing to share a bite!

Santa Barbara Harbor.

Tomorrow we'll linger in Santa Barbara for a few hours then make the short drive to LA for a few days - I've never spent any time in LA and Sarah was little when she was here last so we're excited to explore the city!

San Francisco

Miles: 740

Route: Salt Lake City, UT - San Francisco, CA

Sarah and I made the long drive from Salt Lake City to San Francisco on Friday. We'd originally planned to meet some of our friends at Lake Tahoe for the weekend, but the King Fire nearby led several meteorologists to forecast smoky conditions outdoors on Saturday - so we all decided it would be better to just meet in San Francisco. Though our drive was extended by an extra four hours on Friday, we both love San Francisco and weren't complaining about having some additional time there.

The 12-hour drive (including gas and lunch breaks) was mostly like driving through Mars (until we got to familiar territory in California): the salt flats in Utah extended for miles and miles, then in Nevada the desert was only interrupted by the occasional mountain. It wasn't as boring a drive as our time in Kansas, but it definitely felt more isolated. One benefit of the isolation, though - no traffic. That is, until we arrived in San Francisco...

The sign should read: "Welcome to California...and Congratulations on Making it Through the Desert!"

An ideal time to be stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge.

Our first stop in San Francisco was not the apartment of Billy and Tierney, our hosts for the weekend; rather, we decided to head directly to dinner at the Tadich Grill. This is one of our favorite spots in town and also one of the first places Sarah tried cioppino - and she was eager to see if it was as good as she remembered! (It was.)

Even though the shrimp prevented me from trying it, the cioppino certainly looked delicious!

After dinner, we made our way across town to Billy and Tierney's apartment and, after chatting for an hour or so, went to bed early. The full day of driving (and large portions at dinner!) had wiped us out and we needed some rest.

On Saturday, we woke up around 8am and went for a run. I tried to find us a route that was relatively flat, but we still had to navigate up and down a few hills - it's pretty hard to find a flat few miles in San Fran! We ended up at the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts before working our way back (uphill!) to clean up at home.

Perfect way to start the day.

We met some other friends - Blythe and Cody - around noon at the Ferry Building to grab some lunch before taking a ferry to Sausalito. The ferry ride was awesome - a perfect way to enjoy the cloudless weather we had for the day and to meet the rest of the crew Blythe and Cody had assembled for the day's festivities!

Indian Summer in San Francisco.

When we arrived in Sausalito, we walked the short distance to Bar Bocce to enjoy the weather on the beach, have a few drinks and, of course, play some bocce!

After a few hours, we decided to head back to the city and Blythe and Cody were nice enough to host the party at their amazing apartment. Seeing the types of places our friends live in out here is definitely an incentive to settle on the West Coast when we're done with our travels...

A few hours later, we all headed over to the Great American Music Hall for a concert by The New Mastersounds, which was a great way to end the evening - very fun, lively music that everyone seemed to enjoy!

Today we got brunch with Billy and Tierney, ran some errands and watched football for a few hours. We ended the weekend with dinner at Palm House with another friend, Carl. Though we weren't expecting to have the whole weekend here in San Francisco, we had such a great time vising with friends and seeing the city! Tomorrow we'll get up early to drive down the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Barbara.