I Left my Sock in Sacramento
Armed with a Chrysler Convertible, a Canon 1D Mk III and a notebook, this is the record of my American adventure.
In 2010, I decided to drive from San Diego up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco and then head out around Yosemite and back.
The full book is available on my blog. You’re welcome to read through the whole experience or, if you prefer, order a hefty coffee table book with all the writing and images you see below to explore in your own time.
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Sacramento
We walked into town. The main street was a recreation, much like Old Town in San Diego. Full of tourist trap stores, more Disney than anything else. Once we went through this area however and got into the center everything changed.
Yosemite
It is very hard to convey the sense of scale of the trees. In a picture they often look like regular trees because there are no context clues, it is only if you see them with a person, or see a car driving through the gap in the Clothespin that you really understand how large these trees actually are.
Stockton
We briefly stopped in Stockton and were harassed about voting until we made it clear that we were tourists and so helping us vote would be a felony.
Napa Valley
We then went to a small vineyard which also doubled as an Art Gallery on several floors. I had drawn the long straw so was able to do wine tasting and my associate remained designated driver.
Big Sur
We started on the bit of the PCH called Big Sur, which is some of the most impressive coastline and windy windy roads!
San Simeon
The following morning, I dragged myself out of bed at about nine for breakfast, and decided against the pool as I may drown (and enjoy it as a preferable alternative) and I drove us to Hearst castle. It is very impressive, he was a newspaper magnate and was worth an absolute fortune...
Malibu
Out of Santa Monica and through Malibu was beautiful, it was a really nice way to start the drive. I was driving that morning, and about twelve, we went to pull off the main highway to try and drive along a bridge to a private island we saw, unfortunately it was a proper private island and we were thwarted by the large iron gates!!
San Luis Obispo
An evening stop on our drive along the Pacific Coast Highway, San Luis Obispo was a surprising place.
Santa Barbara
Next stop on the drive was Santa Barbara, downtown. We parked in the main area by the pier and had lunch at a faux English fish and chips pub at the end of the pier.
Santa Monica
We wandered around town for a while just getting a feel for the place. Santa Monica is awesome, it has a really good vibe!
San Diego
Once checked in we wandered down to the gas lamp quarter to have a look around and find some dinner. Most of the buildings were from prohibition era and got ignored by the city and its residents afterwards as it became a bad area with a lot of bootlegging.