Back in August Kiades and I (Cas) went on a small week long vacation in California.
It was a trip.
The sort of trip you need a vacation from your vacation from.
It had it’s ups and downs and a lot of amazing things to see but, a lot of experiences I never thought I’d have. Mostly because I never thought of them. I’ll give you a small description between some photos.
Starting off our trip we landed in New Las Vegas for our layover. Then we missed the flight from Las Vegas. We slept overnight in the airport.
Fun times~
We took a nap at our hotel before immediately going to the Japanese festival in San Fransisco. It was awesome. I loved the Japanese center. I miss it greatly.
Got mistaken for locals. More than once.
Took one of the US’s most dangerous roads… At night.. In a Prius. Never again. (Them views were worth it before nightfall.)
I don’t have any photos of after dark, so here’s a few through the day before sunset.
I can’t help myself with flower photography. I normally keep it to myself though. Maybe in the future I might share more.
(Good advice here. If you go to a beach made of stone, bring good footwear. Do not, I repeat, do NOT go barefoot.)
The next day we got to see the redwood forests!
But before that, we were greeted by this feral cat outside our cabin.
I wish I had more time to see these trees. I could spend years amongst the giant sequoia.
To put it another way.
Each Cas unit is five foot tall.
That tree is a lot of Cas units tall.
While on this trip I developed a fondness for Banana Slugs.
After a couple of days in the woods we got back on the highway to head back down, this time towards the Bay area. Along the way seeing some of the sites.
Rocks.
Got to see Chapman’s Gem and Mineral Shop on highway 101.
Drove through the Avenue of the giants.
More trees. Yes, I love trees. And these trees.. These trees were amazing.
Met a man who ran a gift shop in the Avenue of the Giants who shared my love of Banana Slugs. 💛
Sadly missed Confusion Hill by about a half an hour. Still got a picture of Bill Cypher from the cartoon Gravity Falls (it’s a good show, trust me).
We slept overnight at a lake cabin.
I woke to spot mink hopping along the shore line. Which was pretty cool.
Saw the Lower Lake Stone Jail.
Found a tower made out of bicycle parts.
Detoured back through San Fransisco so Kiades could fulfill a promise to get me some coffee… Also for one more trip to the Japanese center and those mochi donuts.
Went to the Mystery Spot. Loved it. The workers there were awesome people.
If you like campy silly mystery tours (even if you know they’re fake but you come for the show) then this is the place for you. And yes, I did get a patch here too.
(Be warned if you get vertigo easily though.)
Went to the board walk in Santa Cruz. It was awesome. I have no other words to describe the experience.
Kiades and I spent the day here hanging out, watching seagulls, riding a few rides, and playing arcade games. I very much want to go back.
Next day I wanted to check out a pizza place I heard about. It was worth it.
The place is called Pizza My Heart.
I love this place. Not just for the pun in the name, not just for the cool sharks they got hanging up, or the neat surfer decor everywhere. Yeah sure, those things too-
-But also because the pizza was so good. So good that Kiades went to buy a Tshirt (with free slice of pizza).
And finally… The whole reason we went to California in the first place.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium!
It was so cool. Crowded, but cool. So cool, I’m just gonna dump some snap shots here.
Incoming jelly-spam. Don’t judge. You know they’re majestic.
So now this Cas can say they have touched the East and West coast (as well as the Gulf).
And last but not least. the finale picture before the journey home.
However you spent your summer, I hope it was a good one. Here’s to the rest of the year.
– Cas The Monster
– Kiades NOT eaten by a giant clam Aeon
