Summertime in SoCal
Driving south the Pacific Coast Highway via Big Sur towards Santa Monica, Venice and Los Angeles, CA.
First time driving down Highway 1 along the Pacific Coast, you certainly want to see it all. Stop at every vista point, smell every beach park or cove and taste all the free fruit samples alongside the road farms, right? Overall this adventure proves to be a magical and fascinating experience that can only be compared to Honolulu’s Kamehameha’s Highway or Sorrentini’s Peninsula alongside the Amalfi Coast.
From north to south, California’s Highway One it's one of America's most scenic state highways in the country. It runs from Capistrano Beach in Orange County to Leggett in northern Mendocino, with an approximate total of 750 miles.
Our journey, like many avid explorers of the central coast, started in San Francisco. As we explored further south Santa Cruz, Monterey and Carmel we couldn’t help to get off the car, stretch, pack some snacks and check Point Lobos for some fog, coves and wildlife. Being there for the first time with my family, I was happy to show them what an actual summer feels like on this side of the states. Not long after, we embarked on the journey south via Big Sur with Los Angeles as our final destination. The goal was to spend as much time driving the scenic route, and so we did, amounting to a big amount of hours of the day on a car, with incredible views nonetheless.
Once in the southern part of California, and following the assumption that everyday in LA is summer, we took the chance to be outside as much as we could. So the next days were spent outdoors, at the Santa Monica pier, inside Venice’s canals, Griffith Park Observatory and Silver Lake and Echo Park spots.
Without a doubt, short trips like this reflect the potential of tourism and sites in California, as one weekend you can be at the mountains, surrounded by snow or the Redwoods, and the next you can be by the desert and end your time by the beach, sand and the waves of the Pacific. Overall, the whole coast constantly brings to mind how small we are indeed, and how much is there still to be explored.
Photographer & Author: Francesco Stumpo
Camera: Nikon D3100 & iPhone 5C & 8, Bell & Howell Auto 35/Reflex 35mm (Film)
Film: Fujifilm Superia 35mm ASA 200 Color
Processed: Photoshop CS6, Lightroom and VSCO.
