by Jeremy Wells
Jamie and I recently spent 10 days covering some of our favorite land in the world. The central coast of my native, golden state of California.
We love traveling, whether it’s a Hill County refresher trip a few hours away or an exotic getaway half way around the world. But like many people lately, we’ve been watching our budget and the exchange rates and decided to stay close to home for this summer’s vacation. We set our sights on California and decided to make it an À la carte vacation of sorts by renting a car in San Jose and making our way south stopping at various spots along the coast until we reached our final destination at Terrenea Resort. This is a brand new five star accommodation in Palos Verdes that we recommend to anyone looking for a luxurious retreat.
One of our first stops was San Jose where we had a great time staying with some artist friends. (shameless plug: she makes amazing plush animals which would make perfect Christmas gifts.) Doing art full time has its drawbacks and its benefits. A photography research trip to Big Sur is definitely on the list of benefits. And so we proceeded south along the infamous Highway 1. We had no reservations, no agenda, no commitments — but we were on a mission. Our clear objective for the day was to search high and low for beauty. We started our photographic journey in the lovely coastal town of Carmel. If you have never been to Carmel, we highly recommend it; amazing shops, world class golf and historic-eclectic architecture. The architecture of the town is as unique as the people who inhabit it. It is perfectly congruous with the land itself, new buildings on top of old, modern next to arts and crafts, Spanish next to English — all with the global and time-worn influence one would expect of a quaint little seaside village.
We continued driving south along the breathtaking Big Sur coast. In and out of fog and blue skies, every corner of the highway brought stunning vista after stunning vista. It truly seemed like we had rediscovered some ancient Eden. Other than the highway and a few telephone poles along the way there is almost no trace of development. We immediately found our travel groove where Jamie would drive and I would check the land, keep good music playing, meter the light and prep my camera. Scarcely 5 or 10 minutes would pass without a sudden swerve to the shoulder for me to hop out and scramble down a 300′ cliff to get my shots. This whole routine is a bit more tricky than it used to be now that we have a two-year old in tow, but to her credit she’s been accompanying us on trips like this since she was three months old and is a trooper.
At one point, I came across a hidden cove that I think may be one of the most beautiful landscapes my eyes have ever beheld. The water in the cove was a full range of deep denim and eggplant blues in its deepest colors to a tropical turquoise and bright white where it crashed on shore. As I looked closer, I noticed a small waterfall cascading down a cliff landing idyllic on the sandy shores. Truly a small slice of heaven.
Rounding out our trip was a stop at the amazing Hearst Castle with all of its world class architecture and collection of antiques. We experienced so many beautiful moments on our journey. We eagerly anticipate the wonderful task of re-telling these stories on canvas.
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