travels || the south

This is a big year for a lot of my nearest and dearest women.  This is the year most of us, myself very included, will say hello to a new decade, the next little chapter, the big 3-0.
My friend Jessica (best to get to know her via twitter) was the first of us to greet thirty.  We met back in 2008 and just thinking about her and her accomplishments over these short 5 years is quite admirable.  Sometimes I think that we can all start to reflect a little bit when our birthdays come around, of where we thought we would be, or what we thought we would be doing.  Jessica is one of those ladies who is comfortable with where she is at and where she is heading.  And that is damn refreshing.

All of that to say, sometimes life takes you far away, all the way to New Orleans. That is where Jessica lives now and when we were all discussing birthday celebrations, she wanted a few of her nearest to spend a little beach vacation away from all the hustle.  We heard a lot of good things about a few beaches in Florida and booked our flights.  We met up with our all-time favorite, Amy (http://whyhello.tumblr.com) in NOLA and the vacation began...  The photos will do a better job than my words.  Here's to you Jessica, and your exciting new chapter.

Florida

New Orleans

travels || southern california

On our way down to a wedding in San Diego, we made a pit stop in Laguna Niguel and stayed at a friends house.  They have amazing white sandy beaches- and thats where our interests lied, we wanted to live in our swimsuits and this was the place for it.  We pool-hopped, we beach-hopped, we tested the water with our toes and got sand in everything we owned. (my clothes still smell like sun-screen and I think I'll keep it that way for a while).

San Diego was quite striking as well. We ran around in the Encinitas area, which I preferred- mostly inhabited by locals/surfers, it felt like the real deal.  La Jolla's beaches are unlike anything I've ever seen and it made me want to sell all my things and pitch a tent on the beach (you can do that, right?)

Here's to you, Southern California, and all of your glorious, sunny perfection-

travels || big sur

One of the most breathtaking drives this year was winding down Hwy 1 heading south from Oakland toward Big Sur.   We must have pulled over half a dozen times within a 1/2 mile span, it was like every bend of the highway was another, finer, glimpse of the coastline.  Unfortunately, we were in a race against the fog, and by mid afternoon, we could barely see the road.  Which I had no problem photographing either... Here are a few shots from that drive: