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Asilomar State Beach – tide pools

by Kaylah Stroup July 14, 2015

The one thing I was REALLY excited about along the coast was visiting tide pools. I feel like I know quite a bit about mammals, I can identify the vast majority of things that live on land but the ocean is another story. It’s a mystery to me, and for that reason I am beyond intrigued by it. I’m not landlocked in Ohio. I’m less than a mile from Lake Erie, but like I’ve mentioned more than a few times we don’t have cool things living in the lake. We have some fish, I guess, but in all the time I spend wandering the beaches I really just find trash. So tide pools were my priority on this trip!

I did a bit of research on tides and the best places to go along the coast; one name I kept seeing listed was Asilomar State Beach. As luck would have it the timing worked out so that we’d be pretty close to there around low tide.

I couldn’t get out of the car, and down to the water to rip my shoes off fast enough. We were in what I thought was the perfect spot to find things. It was rocky, and the tide was low but it was actually too low. Everything that I was finding wasn’t covered by water and really just looked kind of gross. It was exciting but a little bit of a let down since I had hyped tide pooling up so much in my mind. I thought it would be this activity I would just go crazy for and instead I was just like “Oh, that’s cool but it looks disgusting…” I poked around trying to find these vibrant, lively looking anemones that I thought the area would be full of but eventually gave up deciding maybe tide pooling isn’t as easy as photos make it look and it wouldn’t be something I’d get to experience on this trip.

We eventually got back in the car, and moved on down the road a bit hoping for better luck. Jeff could tell I was bumming and was insisting we keep on looking despite the fact I was just ready to get to our next destination. I was disappointed (read – crabby) that everything I was finding was either dead, wouldn’t let me near it, or like at the last spot, gross looking because it wasn’t under water. I was shooting the little dude above when Jeff shouted “Kaylah! Get over here!” I was all “Don’t yell me! Gosh!” I walked over to where he was to spot this insanely beautiful starfish. I let out my squeal of approval to which Jeff gloated “Is it okay I yelled at you about that?!”

This was my very fist time seeing a starfish in the wild, not in an aquarium, and excuse me if I sound dramatic but it was magical. It’s so crazy that that’s a real living thing. Nature is wild, y’all! From there things picked up. The starfish was definitely the highlight but I also finally found some anemones who were actually under water and they were every bit as beautiful as I had imagined.

The tide came in a lot quicker than I had hoped and it was time for us to move on so I didn’t get to spend as much time as I wanted checking out the tide pools. Moral of the story here I guess is that tide pooling is all about timing but when you get it right the reward is so great!

This really, truly sparked a love! I’m already researching hot spots to check out along the Washington and Oregon coast (hopefully we’ll get there sometime in the next year or so). I am dying to get back and immerse myself in this world of critters I know so very little about. I feel like I just got this tiny taste of what’s like and I want to learn so much more.
xoxo

You can find more posts from our road trip under the “travel” tag.

Pacific Coast Highway : Part 2

by Kaylah Stroup July 9, 2015

Remember how I said at first I wasn’t super impressed by the coast? That’s because the whole time I was waiting on stuff like this. This what I pictured the Pacific Coast Highway to be. Cliffs, bridges, tight winding roads and fog that just wouldn’t quit. I guess I’d only really seen photos of this stuff but I can understand why. It’s nearly impossible to take a bad photo of something so beautiful.

I’m not even sure what to say about these photos or this point in our trip other than I know for a fact we did not spend enough time here. I mean we definitely spent our fair share of time soaking in the sights, both completely in awe. We didn’t do much poking around or driving off the main highway, which I definitely regret now. I’ve been hearing all sorts of recommendations and seeing photos from places we were so close to but didn’t see. It hurtssss!

Before the trip I decided to not do much research on the Pacific Coast Highway. To be honest, it was insanely overwhelming. The majority of the time the things other people consider a priority aren’t the same as mine, and I figured it’d be a lot like the desert where we could just drive and find things. Clearly we found a fair share of spots to stop and take photos but I know we missed so many amazing little beaches, and hidden gems. In retrospect it would have been better for us to have planned more time to spend on the coast, and to have done more research on must see spots. Regardless, I still had an amazing time. It’s so crazy to think that just a day’s drive away is Death Valley where I experienced the hottest temperatures of my life (more on this another day!) The PCH feels like another world. The fog only added to the mysteriousness of this place. I’ve never been anywhere so beautiful.

After traveling it I can see why the Pacific Coast Highway is such a popular road trip for people to take. I definitely want to do it again someday, there’s still so much left to discover!
xoxo

You can find more posts from our road trip under the “travel” tag.

Pacific Coast Highway : Part 1

by Kaylah Stroup July 6, 2015

After Morro Bay we continued up the Pacific Coast Highway. The further we got, the more I fell in love. Is it okay to admit that I wasn’t impressed with the coast until this point? Because I wasn’t. Maybe we just weren’t hitting the right spots, or maybe it just differed so much from my expectations that I wasn’t into it. This stop though, at William Randolph Hearst Memorial Beach, won my heart. The temperature was cool, it was foggy out, and the water was the most beautiful color. I could have stayed here for days.

A short drive up the road from there is Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery. We saw signs for it, and it was on Roadside America but I was not prepared. I assumed there was a chance we might see some elephant seals there. I didn’t realize the beach would just be covered in them. I have never seen in elephant seal in person so needless to say I was captivated. These puppies are maaaaassive. Males can grow 14-16 feet in length and be 3000-5000 pounds. They’re also very loud, and very smelly. Totally worth the stank to see these beasts cuddled up on the beach together. I loved watching them. I ooooh-ed and awww-ed as they played and just about lost my mind over how cute they were when they used their silly little flippers to flip sand on themselves. (You can spot one doing that in the second photo down. Right in front of the flowers.)

The elephant seals were really awesome but the squirrels at this stop stole my heart. I noticed them as soon as we got out of the car. I was excited to get a nice close shot of one of them with my 100mm lens. Then all of a sudden one of these little cuties runs right up to me. There were signs not to feed the wildlife but I figured picking something off the ground that someone else had already tried giving them as a way to lure them in was a nice little loophole I could use and not feel guilty.

As I’m squatting there, trying to photograph and love on squirrels, an older couple comes up to me inquiring where the elephant seals were. In the middle of their sentence a squirrel just jumps into my lap. I immediately started looking at the squirrel, looking at them, looking at the squirrel, looking at them – trying to get these people to notice. They either noticed and didn’t think it was interesting or they somehow did not see this incredible thing happen. As soon as they walked away I managed to get Jeff’s attention and he snapped a really cute shot of this squirrel sitting on my lap. I got one too, you can see it here! As soon as the squirrel hopped down I burst into tears. Yes, literally. I’m an emotional person, whatever. It made my day. Shoot, it made my month. I’m still over the moon. My sister-in-law was asking me about the trip and what my favorite part was. Without even thinking I blurted out “SQUIRRELS!” Haha. California, I love your squirrels. Even if I didn’t fall stupid in love with the state I would come back just for the squirrels.

We made a stop just down the road from the elephant seal rookery to shoot the fog on the road. I feel like the above photo of our rental car might be a little out of place in the post of cute animals, and the ocean but you gotta admit, it’s a pretty sweet shot. I’m not sure why but I was so fond of that little car.
xoxo

You can find more posts from our road trip under the “travel” tag.

Morro Bay

by Kaylah Stroup June 30, 2015

After Salvation Mountain, day two of our road trip wasn’t shaping up to be too great with both Jeff and I super tired. He’s a bear when he’s tired, and I’m the actual worst when I’m hungry. Basically we were a dream team on day two. Not! A hotel wasn’t in the plans for a few more days but we needed it. We sat down at Starbucks after scarfing down In-N-Out (because duh!) and decided to head to Morro Bay for the night. It was only a few hours away, and we figured it would be a great place to rest up.

Aaaand we were totally correct! Our hotel was right by the beach, I could even see Morro rock from the window. We ordered a pizza and relaxed while waiting for the sun to get a little bit lower in the sky. While we ate I browsed instagram photos tagged “morro bay”, “morro rock”, and anything else I could think of that would show me photos of nearby things. I found a few photos featuring jellyfish (which I later learned are velella). I was super excited. I was hoping to find one on the beach. We really don’t have anything interesting living in Lake Erie, unless you believe in Bessie, so even dead finding something like a jellyfish is so neat to me.

We walked to the beach a little bit later and there they were. Hundreds (thousands?!) of velella! Jeff’s comment was “Well, here you go!” The first thing out of my mouth was “Grosssss!” But I’m not going to lie, it was pretty cool and I was darn excited. They were impossible not to step on. I tried avoiding them the longest time but eventually gave up after seeing barefoot surfers, and joggers just walking on them like it was no big deal.

Even more exciting than tons of velella? Sand dollars! I have never actually found one myself. I own a few but I have no idea where they came from. I was walking the beach when I spotted one. It was whole but broken on the underside. I was pumped though! A few more feet and I found another. This one was perfect. Then it was just one after another, they were everywhere. I even found a live one complete with a barnacle buddy.

We watched the sun set for what felt like days. Sunsets here, I swear, only last a few minutes. The sky is beautiful but only for a very short amount of time. I feel like we watched the sunset on this beach for so much longer than I’ve ever experienced in my life – and it just kept getting prettier. Then it got foggy. Are you kidding me!? Y’all know how much I love fog.

So quick recap here – velella, sand dollars, prettiest sunset I’ve ever seen, surfers, mountains, and fog. Basically, it was heaven. Have you ever seen one of those silly commercials for California with Arnold Schwarzenegger saying how fun the state is? This should be in one.

Morro Bay, you are pure magic. One night was not enough. I definitely would love to go back and explore the area again someday. If it were possible, I would seriously fly out there RIGHT NOW.
xoxo

You can find more posts from our road trip under the “travel” tag.

Salvation Mountain

by Kaylah Stroup June 29, 2015

The first night of the trip was rough. We had planned to sleep in the car the majority of the nights like we did without any problems on the last trip. Our first night it got late quick. All of a sudden we’re both incredibly exhausted with nowhere to pull over and sleep. We ended up sleeping half the night in the car outside of a gas station then in the middle of the night we drove an hour away to a rest stop where we finished off the night.

We awoke before the sun came up, and headed to Salvation Mountain, everyone’s favorite spot in the desert, to catch it at sun rise. I had seen so many photos of Salvation Mountain. It’s been featured in a few movies, numerous places across the internet, and of course everyone and their mother has instagrammed it. On our last trip we were actually extremely close but I didn’t really consider it a priority because of the popularity of the spot. This trip I really wanted to see it.

We arrived just as the first morning light was beginning to show in the sky. My first impression was that it was much smaller than I had pictured but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a sight to behold. It was awesome to basically watch this colorful mountain appear right in front of us as it got brighter and brighter outside.

One of my favorite things about Salvation Mountain, other than the fact it’s a giant colorful thing in the desert, is that there were cats. Lots of cats. Okay, not tons of them or anything but I saw at least four. The photo above is on the inside and all along the branches in there the cats we jumping around, cleaning themselves, and observing us. As much as I don’t love seeing cats outside, especially in this heat I was ecstatic to see them. What an awesome playground for them!

We were the only people there for a little while until a group of rowdy teenage boys pulled up and decided they needed to climb all over everything. It was a great way to start the day. I’m really glad we stopped.
xoxo

You can find more posts from our road trip under the “travel” tag.

Saguaro National Park

by Kaylah Stroup June 24, 2015

Saguaro National Park was our very first real stop of the road trip. I very clearly have a thing for cactuses so this was obviously somewhere I’ve wanted to go since the second I realized there was actually a national park filled with them. It did not disappoint. If I didn’t love cactuses before this park, I 100% do now.

Actually as soon as we got out of the airport in Phoenix and onto the shuttle to the rental car place I was losing my mind over the all the incredible things growing in Arizona. As we were pulling out with our rental car the guy had to check Jeff’s license, saw we were from Ohio, and said something along the lines of “Oh, I went there last year. You guys have a lot of green stuff…” Being in Arizona is like being in a totally different world.

It’s a blast to see so many different things I can’t identify or that I’ve never seen in person before. Speaking of, in the park we had so many encounters with wildlife! Tons and tons of lizards, jackrabbits (which are WAY cuter than the bunnies we have in Ohio!), and even a coyote who I did not take a picture of. He was casually crossing the road. Jeff and I just stared in awe. Eventually Jeff said “Aren’t you going to get out your camera!?” to which my response was “No, I kind of just want to enjoy this…” I didn’t want to ruin the moment shuffling for my camera. It was so awesome just to watch this beautiful thing sauntering along through the massive cactuses.

In hindsight I wish we would have spent more time there. It was hot, and we were definitely not used to the high temperatures yet. I actually had to change into shorts beside the car in the middle of the park because I was roasting. I was also having a hard time photographing what I saw. Like no picture I took could seem to capture the beauty that was surrounding me. It’s certainly an amazing place, perhaps my favorite national park I’ve visited so far!
xoxo

You can find more travel related posts under the “travel” tag.

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