The past two weeks I have been on the road ping-ponging in California. Last March was my first jaunt out to this beautiful state and since then, every time I visit, I fall more in love with the Golden State. I was fortunate to spend some time with some pretty awesome people and a huge GRACIAS goes out to them. They certainly know how to show a girl a good time!

Map courtesy of Etsy shop VassiSlavova

I will keep this one short since my photos usually are more telling than my words!

Vacaville:

Sandwiched in between San Francisco and Sacramento is a town called Vacaville, and home to my awesome west coast momma, Laurie. My “adventure friend” (as we like to call it), we always show each other a good time…from Costa Rica, NYC, road tripping to San Diego…and now Tahoe and Santa Cruz. We also do fun things at “home”, like hike through the beautiful hills of Vacaville and eat super delicious strawberries.

Tahoe:

Although the wildfires pretty much smoked out the views, I can see how beautiful this place can be. Laurie and I hiked down to Emerald Bay and dipped our toes in the refreshing Lake Tahoe emerald clear water.

Santa Cruz:

Apparently Laurie and I brought the sunny weather to Santa Cruz! We had a beautiful two days hanging out with our Costa Rican friend, Peter. We walked the West End of Santa Cruz, drank one-too-many amazing black gold coffees at Verve, ate a very local home-cooked meal, and housed scrumptious ice cream at Penny. The ultimate highlight was surfing in a 4/3 wetsuit (well, a 4/3 wetsuit really is not that much fun) at The Hook with Peter. It was 2-3 feet glassy perception. Saw some dolphins, seals, and even a giant jelly fish.

Huntington Beach:

Well, you would think that the further south you go, the warmer the water would be…nope, not in HB. I still rocked a 4/3 wetsuit and surfed some pretty awesome waves at The Cliffs with my surf chica Stephanie. I arrived just in time as the waves were chest to shoulder high, with some beautiful head high sets rolling through. After the second day my arms were spaghetti..paddling in a wetsuit is a killer when you are used to no neoprene!

Of course, one of the best ways to fuel up is to hit up Sugar Shack on Main St…and desert is the eye candy BEAUTIFUL pieces of art surfboards at the Robert August Surf Co factory.

San Diego:

OK, so it is true…go a little farther south and the water does warm up! Hello spring suit…and less tired arms. Although the waves were a tad bit smaller, it was still glassy perfection. Surfed two beautiful days with my gal Silvia in Del Mar (and one uneventful, wind chop day). To top of the California ping-ponging, I spent Labor Day with some great friends BBQing. What more can a chica ask for?!

Pura Vida,

Kristen