If you're going to San Francisco....

So here we are sitting in an overcrowded coffee shop just off of Ocean Beach in San Francisco. The ocean fog and the steam of the coffee and tea dance and mingle seamlessly in the air around us. The caffeinated barista yells orders over the chatter in the room in an animated voice "A-dam, I gotchya non-fat mo-chaah". Luckily we arrived on a weekend where there are no events going on. The city is apparently much less crowded than usual. Yet the line is still out the door in this cafe.

Last night we went to a local spot, a fire-pit birthday celebration on ocean beach. My mom's college friend Cristi lives in Oakland and invited us to this relaxing celebration on the beach. It was nice conversing with these very smart and kind people. They seemed to understand our intentions and us theirs. We shared laughs, good food, and drink. Cristi pointed out how interesting it is that even in our modern, fast paced day and age, at the end of the day, we all end up around a fire by the ocean... such a natural feeling :)

We drove up North from Santa Cruz yesterday along the "Great Highway" next to the Pacific coast. Passing through towns like Half Moon Bay and Pacifica gave off good vibrations. The area where the cliffs meet the ocean stirs up a nostalgic yet new feeling of exploration, excitement and happiness.

I have many hopes. My hopes at the moment are that we are sufficiently documenting this experience. It is somewhat difficult to truly live it and reflect on it simultaneously. This is such a profound exploration of cultures throughout our country. Everyday is new. The people are new, the places, the feelings, problems, successes and even gas prices change constantly. The gas prices are mostly expensive but we're always in search of the elusive number just below $4.00 a gallon.

Its refreshing how progressive the people in California are. Its not a matter of being "liberal" or "conservative", its just a matter of doing something of change and of importance. People seem to understand our intentions here. They see the value in sustainability and social change. Although there are still problems. The inequality is still very clear, as with everywhere in America. And although they charge .25 in every grocery store if you want a bag to carry out your items, they don't even give you a re-usable cup this coffee shop i've been loitering at all morning. Every person sitting around me is drinking out of a disposable cup that will surely end up in a landfill as there is no recycling bin in site... Oh well. At least I don't have to explain myself here every time I mention I don't eat meat.

I realize that this is becoming quite a rant and i'm not really coming to any conclusions but sometimes it just feels nice to express these vague feelings and put them into form. One feeling that is very strong in my heart is the feeling of change. Something big is going to happen soon, and it is happening already. It has to, literally to save our lives. Its so apparent through our travels and talking to other people our age, and older, throughout California. I recently watched a new film called "Dam Nation" at the Patagonia outlet in Santa Cruz. Its all about the demolition of detrimental and old-fashioned dams throughout the U.S. It talks a lot about the environmental problems these dams have created and how little energy they actually create. Many of these dams throughout Washington specifically have nearly wiped out the entire Snake River Stockeye fish population, and how the amount of power this dam produces is equivalent to only 3 wind turbines. Renewable energy is so clearly on its way in. Its the most exciting time in our country right now! With Obama's executive actions and the changes in our country and the EPA. It's so exciting and it really is great to see our money going to things like changing the health of the world and ourselves, rather than a war in Russia or something... Anyway now i'm really ranting and getting into political stuff that will surely get someone talking. But hey, maybe thats what I want to do. But just think about this, if we can't even breathe because of all the pollution in the atmosphere, do any other issues even matter? If theres no air to breathe it doesn't really matter if gay marriage or medical marijuana are legal does it? This is the number one issue and somehow people can't see it.

Alright i've sufficiently talked about all sorts of things probably no one wants to read about, so i'll just do what I do best and post some pictures ;) these are some new film images I got developed in Santa Cruz!

 This is a view from a view tower on the top of a very long road through the desert of California. This picture was taken on some of the first days of our trip, just outside of Yuma. We were so happy in this moment because the car didn't break down going up-hill in the 100 degree weather with very high winds!

 This is an older image taken on one of our last days in Tucson before we took off. All the cacti were blooming as if to send us off with a fond farewell.

 One of my favorite images. The watchtower at the top of the hill looking out over the California desert.

 Walking along the beach with friends outside of Camp Pedleton in Southern California. This is where we learned how to surf!

 Rocky beach, waves, and light leaks :)

 Sunset over the ocean. These images were taken on Film that was cross-processed using different chemicals, thats why they look so funky! I love the effect.

 Another image at the beach where we learned to surf.

 California Poppies double exposed with the lake outside of Julian, California.

 A double exposure of the road, our car/ home, and the desert.

Thanks for reading :) We are heading to Northern California and Oregon very soon. We are really looking forward to seeing this part of the country, we've heard such great things! We will surely have lots to post about and inspirations to share.
Much love from your favorite vagabonds ~