Vicente Flat & Cone Peak

I'm back at it! Yes this blog has been neglected for the past few months but we have not neglected our adventures and travelling. It seems these days we live for the weekends and try to make the most of each one. This weekend was no exception. We conquered the highest peak in Big Sur, climbed 5,000 feet of elevation and hiked a good 22 miles in less than 48 hours. Insane? Yes. But worth it. As I write this I am still hobbling around because my legs are dead but it was truly an epic adventure.

Our friends Eric and Paige and Bobby and I left bright and early Saturday morning and started our trek at about 9:30 at the Vicente Flat trail-head right off of Highway 1 in Big Sur. We got the most perfect weather, blue skies and sunny, not too hot and not too cold. Every step on the trail afforded an amazing view which took our minds off the steep terrain.

It was about 5 miles to the Vicente Flat campground and we were definitely not disappointed. There was a stream running right through  middle of giant redwoods with lush ferns and wild flowers all around.

We set up camp and ate lunch, and mentally and physically geared up for what was to be one of, if not the hardest, hikes I've ever done. There were many points throughout the hike that we thought about turning back but we pushed through. It was about 12 more miles to the top of Cone Peak and back.

                                        The Peak looming in the distance. Just off from the right.

Group shot a few miles in.

photo op. Only a little farther to the top!

made it!! 5,150 feet

We all collapsed at the top and took in the view. There was even snow at the top! It was such an accomplishment and we were all so stoked to have done it. But we couldn't dilly-dally for long because we still had to make it down and it was getting late. The steep descent was still very challenging but our spirits were high and we made it to a great vista point just in time for sunset.

Before long, the sun went down and we were hiking down through the redwood gulch in the dark with our headlamps. We got back to camp and scarfed down some dinner, made a fire and then hit the sack, absolutely pooped but extremely proud of our day's work.

Waking up in the redwoods is nothing short of spectacular.

We slowly hobbled got out of our tent and made some breakfast and the boys set up Eric's hammock over the river.

I could have laid there all day!

After some hammock-ing, we packed up and started the hike back to the car. We stopped half-way for lunch and could not have found a sweeter spot for a break.

on top of the world!

we enjoyed the view the whole way down.

This trip was physically exhausting but was worth every step. The peacefulness of the mountains and the ocean is unlike anything else and I always leave renewed and refreshed.

And just for fun, I'll leave you with this picture. We had some serious fun with long exposure and I think we captured it. 

Bobby Boss Art

Bobby's art has become our newest adventure. For a few years now, Bobby has been painting and creating art as a hobby, mostly doing commission pieces for friends/family, giving out paintings as wedding gifts to friends, or doing art for our home. It was always a far off dream of ours to launch Bobby's art to reach people around the world but we didn't really know where to start. Last year we would think things like "Well, if only we could make a Facebook fan page for people to follow him", or "Maybe we can figure out how to make prints in the next year..." or "How do we make a website to showcase and sell artwork?"....well, we have done it! It has been such a blast watching Bobby Boss Art grow and to see the tremendous support he has received. His Facebook page has gotten a lot of attention and has led to some new followers and collectors from different parts of the world. We have linked up with a giclee printer in SLO county who does amazing reproductions of the art, and we have a logo!

the 'Boss' is Bobby's artist signature.

One of the latest exciting opportunities to come our way was getting to hang Bobby's art in one of our favorite coffee shops in SLO called Higher Groundz. It is hanging for the entire month of November!

He has received a lot of positive feedback from people in the community!

Another exciting thing to happen was that Bobby was asked to show his art at a Harvest Festival at Kelsey Winery in SLO along with Colleen Gnos, who is a prominent figure in the surf art industry. Bobby was very honored to have been asked to show with her and jumped at the chance to showcase his art. Now, we knew nothing about creating an art booth or doing an art show but we took a leap of faith and went for it...and I must say it turned out pretty good.

we pulled it off with less than a week's notice thanks to my awesome parents who scared the crap out of me surprised us at our doorstep the night before to help us get ready and set up!!! It was a beautiful weekend and Bobby got to network with some new people interested in his art and even sold a few pieces too!

Bobby takes his inspiration from the ocean and loves to capture and recreate memories from our favorite places. He has been able to capture other people's favorite places in paint through his commission pieces and that brings so much joy to him to be able to do that for others. Bobby Boss Art is growing each day and we are excited to see where it takes us!

For more information about the art, visit www.bobbybossart.com!

Enjoy the view!

Yosemite in the Fall

Bobby: Dude, I'm bored. Wanna go to Yosemite?

Me: Heck ya! I'll book it right now!

....and that's how our latest adventure came about. We have literally not gone anywhere in a month that is blog worthy so we were overdue to say the least. We have been in crazy Bobby Boss Art mode this past month (more on that later) which is really an adventure in itself!

So we packed up and drove up to Yosemite National Park last Friday night and camped in Lower Pines campground in the heart of the valley. We scored an amazing, long exposure shot of the valley from Tunnel View when we arrived at 10:15 PM.

...so we were off to a good start already! Well that night in the tent I just about froze to death and, despite the fact that I was in down sleeping bag, I realized Oh yea, it's almost winter and we are at 5,000 feet= more layers! Well we survived the night (the next night I slept with a hot water bladder=saved my life!) and we started off the morning with oatmeal and hot chocolate by the river that our campsite backed up to. If only every morning was like this...

the fall colors were amazing & Half Dome in the distance made for a great view.

After breakfast we hopped on our bikes and rode over to the trailhead for Yosemite Falls. This was not a walk in the park. We hiked 7.5 miles and climbed 3,000 feet to the top. Needless to say, we were dead tired after we finished. There was no water in the waterfalls this time of year but it was still beautiful. Here are some shots from the hike:

 view from Columbia rock- about halfway through the hike.

been there, done that Half-Dome!

 Fall in Yosemite is amazing.

 green moss.

view from the top of Yosemite Falls. snow on the distant peaks.

When we got done with the hike, we hopped back on our bikes and headed back to camp...and then we saw this:

the sun was hitting Half Dome just right to where it was literally glowing!

We got back to our campsite and promptly scarfed down ate dinner, made a fire and then made banana boats for dessert. Best thing ever! To make a banana boat, cut the banana down the middle (keep the peel on) and scoop out a little bit of the fruit to make it somewhat hollow in the middle. Then stuff it with Reese's peanut butter cups or chocolate squares and marshmallows (and really whatever else you wanna stuff in there) and then wrap the banana in foil and throw in the fire until it all melts and is gooey goodness! Definitely our favorite thing to make around camp fires. 

The next day, we got up, packed up our campsite and set out on a bike ride around the valley. Seriously, bike riding is the best way to see Yosemite because there are paved bike trails everywhere and you can pull off whenever you see something you wanna check out. So we biked 13 miles around the valley and saw some great views.

We had such a wonderful weekend together and Yosemite never ceases to amaze us. On our way out, we snapped one more photo at Tunnel View:

 Thankyou Jesus for creating beautiful places!

And in other news, this week we are in crazy mode getting ready for 2 art shows to feature Bobby's Art! So exciting! I'll definitely be sharing about it on the blog next week! Stay tuned!

Highway 1 Bike Ride

Biking has become my new favorite thing! I recently purchased a road bike and have been on it every chance I get...which means dragging asking Bobby to come along on rides with me. This weekend we set out on our longest ride yet. It was a perfectly beautiful day on the central coast so we loaded up our bikes on the car and drove up to San Simeon, which is about 45 minutes north of SLO. We decided to ride on the northern part of Highway 1 because it's generally less populated and less developed, making it a more enjoyable, scenic ride. 

 check out those bike shorts!

made it to Big Sur! 21 miles one way

 Ragged Point

 made it up the steepest climb of my life!

not a bad view for the way home

By about mile 38, we were both dead but plowed through to the end and were so stoked to finish! 42 miles. not too shabby. I love that we were able to reach such an awesome destination and make a day out of this adventure. 

Our goal is to do a Century ride next year and do some bike touring along the coast. 

Until then, I'll settle for weekend rides like this ;)

Spotlight on Jalama

Bobby and I recently returned from a 10 day, California vacation, or as Bobby called it, Surfcation.  We were trying to figure out what to do for the 10 days and thought about flying out to Costa Rica or somewhere else tropical and then we were like "wait...we live in a place that most of the world comes to for vacation!" So we set out with a vacation state of mind and explored all of our favorite places along the southern CA coast. It was an absolute BLAST! We went to a different beach every day and spent hours in the sun, surfing and relaxing. It was nice not to have an agenda, as we moved on whenever we felt like it. 

We started out with 3 days in Mission Viejo,spending time with our families and old friends and hit up our favorite beaches in San Clemente and Laguna Beach. 

San Clemente Pier

Then we moved on to Malibu where we stayed with some friends and explored the beaches, went for bike rides, and Bobby was crazy so excited to surf he got up at 4:30 every morning and surfed in the dark until sunrise. And I have to mention, we spent a day at the home mansion of the creator of 'The Wonder Years'....only in Malibu. 

Sunset view from the mansion

Next, we headed up the coast to Carpinteria and camped there for a night. We got up the next morning and it was raining in Santa Barbara (what??) so we continued out to Jalama (pronounced Halama) which, incidentally, is my new favorite place!! 

Jalama is a beach campground located about an hour north of Santa Barbara, directly on the coast out from Lompoc. When we were out there, we felt like we were in Mexico or Hawaii because of the warm wind and tropical looking water surrounded by the rolling hills. There is no other development out there besides the campground and no cell service so it felt very isolated and disconnected from the bustle of life. Here are some pics:

 view from our campsite

offshore, Jalama waves

Another bonus is that there is a burger shack at the campground that serves up the famous "Jalama Burger" and it was delicious! Everything tastes better when you eat it on the beach anyways. :)

Moral of the story is that if you are looking for an affordable ($25!), beautiful, relaxing, epic getaway, Jalama is the place to go. Even one night out there is worth it.  We will definitely be heading back soon.

We came back from our vacation feeling sunkissed and rejuvenated and feel so lucky to call the Central Coast of California our home. Everyday is a vacation here! 

Now to start planning the next adventure! Hope you all enjoy the rest of summer!