Thursday, April 19, 2012

the west coast is the best coast


I'm on a big high after spending a few days in California with some of my best friends, eating my own body weight in fresh avocado on toast and having my love for the West Coast reaffirmed. Making the most of my time in America has been a real priority and visiting my friends who are also on exchange at their respective universities has been high up the list-particularly with two of them at Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. Seeing everyone after a few months of absence was really, really lovely. People who understand my filthy wit! Familiar bodies with which to lie in bed watching Apocalypse, Now! Friendship is a fine, fine thing.

Some of my highlights included spending a lot of time in Jim's crusty but loveable Toyota 'Shandy' (complete with a 'Badass Bitch' bumper sticker which I like to think was akin to Uma Thurman's 'Pussy Galore' paintwork in Kill Bill, but about 100 times smaller.) I also cycled through San Francisco with Charlie and huffed and puffed up for a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was blazing and we spied two porpoises down in the bay below us. 

We took the Highway 1 from San Francisco to Monterrey, stopping at the brilliant Swanton Berry Farm Stand which is a couple of miles north of Davenport. Jim and Kate were cold and wet after a naked dash into the sea (see above) and we were collectively seduced by their super delicious Mexican Hot Chocolate, cooshty sofas, variety of pies, honesty box and free reign of a backgammon board. Certainly worth a visit if you ever find yourself on that stretch of road with a rumbling tummy. 

The guys in California have is pretty good. There's nothing quite like being so close to such breathtaking scenery and having sunshine on tap to make life look pretty good. I found myself fantasising about running away to the Golden Coast, wearing a permanent tan, learning to skateboard and driving an obscenely hyper-masculine 1980s car. 

10 comments:

Emma Lavelle said...

This trip looks incredible! Great snaps. I can't stop daydreaming about a road trip down the West coast of america, and this has just added further fuel to that dream! xx

Anonymous said...

omg i love the photos, what camera did you use ??? please need to know, they are lovely !!!

Joana Chaves said...

Loving these! Such a Summery vibe :)

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discotheque confusion said...

Hey Anonymous-I used an Olympus mju ii with a mix of basic kodak gold and fuji superia film (200). Would definitely recommend the camera-no frills and easy to use.

Ally said...

Your trip looks like so much fun! Those cars are really beautiful, and I would love so much to go to an American diner right now (Waitress is such a good movie!). I'm hoping to go to the US next year for a few months and do some road tripping too, your posts are making me want to pack up and leave asap.

ouestladiscotheque said...

Beautiful photos as always... I must must get some of my old films developed! so jealous of your Californian adventures, I recently lost a good friend to the sunshine land and hate that I haven't been to visit yet! C xx

Jess P said...

Wow this looks amazing. I'm dying to see the west coast. Lovely pics xx

Patrice J said...

Love that photo of the steering wheel!!

Christin Chang said...

the colors of the photos are amazingggggggg

Anonymous said...

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