100% of Steem Dollars from this post will be donated to Project Curie. You can read more about Project Curie here.
Hi friends! I'm currently writing this while staying in an Airbnb in San Diego. I was contacted about a month ago by @the-alien about the possibility of speaking at a conference held by @neilstrauss. I thought to myself, "A chance to meet some incredible people, talk about Steemit, and an excuse to road trip down to San Diego? I'm in!"
First Stop - Santa Cruz
Last Tuesday my boyfriend @victor-lucas and I packed our bags and hopped in our Prius. Highway 1 is a beautiful highway that hugs the California coast line. We waved goodbye to San Francisco and went on our way. On our first day we headed down South about 5 hours to eventually reach the beach town of Cambria. Our first stop was a beautiful cafe in Santa Cruz. I'm usually online for at least 3-4 hours per day working on Project Curie, and a road trip was no excuse to stop working! We reached Santa Cruz and looked for a high rated cafe with strong coffee and stronger wifi. We wound up at The Abbey Coffee Lounge at 350 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA. Both @victor-lucas and I have high standards for cafes. Victor used to work at Big Bear Cafe in Washington, DC, which is arguable the best cafe known to humans. It spoiled us for any other cafes to hang out and work in. However, upon entering The Abbey we were both blown away with the open environment, cozy seats, and strong coffee and wifi. It had a community atmosphere that fostered both chatting and getting work done. Here are a couple photos from our stop:
Second Stop - Big Sur
Big Sur is known worldwide for its stunning cliffside coast line and redwood forests. If there is ever a situation to call the beach "epic", Big Sur is the place. It truly is breath taking and wild. The hours of driving through Big Sur on Highway One are filled with many turnouts, each with breathtaking views. There is almost no development in the area, so the natural beauty remains untouched. There are some amazing hikes in the area. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to stretch our legs, but I will later post about one of my favorite backpacking trips in Big Sur - the 22 mile in and out journey of Sykes Hotsprings. Here are a couple of photos from my favorite Big Sur pullout:
Third Stop - Elephant Seals of San Simeon
Just as we were closing in on our final destination, we saw signs for an elephant seal colony! When we have chances to see wildlife up close, we always jump at the opportunity. We hoped out of the car and ran over to watch the hundreds of elephant seals play with one another. What a funny site! They are massive! There was an alpha male getting in fights with all of the other males. Many of the females looked as though they were just hanging out spooning one another. Occasionally one would shimmy out of the spoon train and waddle over to the ocean to lay in the lapping waves. I really don't know what made this site so funny, but Victor and I just stood there for a good 30 minutes non-stop laughing.
Fourth Stop - Cambria
We arrived in the seaside town of Cambria at around 9pm and went straight to our Airbnb for the night. We were excited for this Airbnb stay - our "bedroom" was actually a private yoga studio by day. When we arrived a cute welcome basket was waiting on our bed. We fell asleep right away, and the next morning we were able to use the studio for our own daily yoga practice! The kitchen was stocked with organic food for us to eat, and this stay has inspired us on how to model our future Airbnb ventures. We left in the morning well rested, stretched out, and with happy bellies - what more can you ask for!
Your road trip looks like so much fun :)
I would have probably laughed at the seals too, they look so funny, as if they are really trying to get up to grab a remote or a bag of chips or something, but they got too fat and are stuck endlessly reaching while a channel they don't like plays in the background.
Thank you! It was/is a blast.
LOL you have perfectly described elephant seals ;-)
Spooning like seals lol. Love it
Lol yes, definitely my favorite stop :-)
OMG the seals! They are real!
Yes! And they are such a joy to watch :-) (Though I definitely wouldn't want to get any closer, some of the older males could literally just crush me)
Really? They arent harmful are they?
Really nice nature photos, and looks like the Airbnb worked out really well for you. I haven't tried Airbnb yet but your experience encourages me to book one!
Thank you! Airbnb is amazing. I've probably used Airbnb around 20 times and only once did I have a mediocre experience. I really recommend it and can't wait to hear about your first experience if you decide to try it out. If it's your first time perhaps try one that has many reviews just to stay on the safe side, also there are a ton of unique Airbnbs out there like luxury tree houses and house boats.
The 1st picture is amazing. By the way, what is Airbnb? I heard that for the 1st time yesterday on the post made by @kaylinart about how to not spend so much for a vacation and airbnb is among them.
I know it is a place to stay for the night aside from hostels and hotels but I dont have a clear understanding of what really is it, why its called airbnb.
Thank you! Airbnb is a company that allows you to list your home/apartment/ect for someone else to stay in for 1 night up to months. You can also join the site just as a traveler, and it allows you to find homes/apartments/ect to stay in. I prefer it to hotels because it utilizes space that is already available (the guest room of someone's house for example) and is much more personal. And often times it is cheaper! It stands for "air" bed and breakfast.
Good to know that. Unfortunately, we dont have it here in the Philippines for now :)
cool place!
California is awesome! :-)
Beautiful scenery and good cause!
Thank you :-)
Awesome, I love driving down 1, the views are breathtaking! Although, I gotta admit that I'm a little terrified of elephant seals haha. That AirBnB breakfast spread looks divine!
Can't wait to read about how the conference goes. :)
I would've been terrified if we were a bit closer, those things are huge! It was delicious - the first all organic Airbnb spread that I've seen. The conference was wonderful thank you, I'll post about it soon :-)
Beautiful pictures! I bet the drive was amazing! Can't wait for part 2! :)
It was awesome! A bit windy and some sharp turns but it's always a fun challenge to drive California's roads :-)
Yes yes yes--more pictures of California please!! That Big Sur stop is one of my favorite places. What a lovely trip and an epic Airbnb find! Blessings on your journey~*~
Thank you :-) More pictures are on their way! I look forward to more yoga posts from you :-)
Yay, yoga! I look forward to more from you as well!
Cool pictures. I did a similar trip some times ago, but the weather was not with me on that day... (foggy foggy)
Very nice pictures!
PS: for good coffees, you should travel to Italy ^^
Awesome! Yes we definitely lucked out with the weather, half of the time I'm on the 1 it's foggy.
Also 100% to the coffee in Italy :-) Though to be honest I'm more of a french press sip a large cup of coffee person and when I was in Italy I had to adjust to the fast paced espresso bars.
The seals are like so enjoying life. Wish I could be like them. :-)
Yes they are, or at least so it seems! I am often like them to be honest ;-)
put the one stretching out next to your next yoga post maybe?
It's fabulous. I dream a road trip..I enjoyed another indirect trip tanks to you.
💑😍💕👍😊
Are you still in Sandiego? if so i would like to meet up and learn more about steemit.
Great story, an epic adventure and a chance to be a Steemit ambassador? Color me #jealous! Steem on!
I was one of the lucky ones to see @anwenbaumeister present at @neilstrauss Mastermind Intensive. The buzz she and the founder helped create about this place prompted me and a bunch of us to join. Happy to be here!
@anwenbaumeister I'm 3 days too late but I really love your travel posts!
Very informative, colorful pics and keeps me reading.
Thanks for somehow taking me there - looking forward for your next post!
Awesome! If I can swing Amsterdam, hopefully all the Airbnbs there won't be snatched up!
Was such a pleasure having you speak to us in San Diego! Like I said in my intro post, you really impressed us with how knowledgeable you were about the platform.