Travel Log 2011: Tahoe

Last month, I attended the beautiful wedding of one of my best friends in Lake Tahoe. After a few days there, I have to admit that it was hard to leave. It quickly and easily became one of my favorite spots in California. Hopefully I'll get back there soon!

Squaw Valley 

The Sierra Mountains 

Travel Log 2011: San Francisco, Part II

Post II about my adventures in San Francisco. We spent a good amount of time hanging out in The Mission and North Beach, where I chased the ghosts of Beatniks past through the alleys. Safe to say, I officially heart San Francisco.

Dolores Park : where all the cool cats hang  

Chillin' at Dolores Park

The Mission is filled with amazing street art.

View from Coit Tower

 Neal and Carolyn Cassady's old home - 29 Russell Street. Jack Kerouac (one of my all-time favorite authors) lived with them for several months and began writing sections of what later became his most famous work, On the Road, and his most experimental work, Visions of Cody.

North Beach 

 This cracked me up. I found it in The Beat Museum.

City Lights Bookstore. It's an independent bookstore and publisher that was founded by Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. It's major claim to fame is that it published Allen Ginsberg's controversial poem, Howl.

Inside of City Lights 

Vesuvio is right across the alley from City Lights and it was a popular hangout for writers including Kerouac and Dylan Thomas. (If you didn't already pick up on it, I have a slight obsession with Beatnik writers and I made a point to see these places while I was in California.) Aside from being a historical space, it's also just a really cool bar.

Modern girl dressed like Bettie Page in Beatnik bar. You'd think she was posing for me or something.

Inside of Vesuvio

The Buena Vista - the best Irish Coffee I've ever had outside of Ireland.

The beautiful Palace of Fine Arts

View of the city from Lombard Street

Travel Log 2011: San Francisco, Part I

Well my first trip to San Francisco was everything I expected and more: it was an absolute blast. There's an endless amount of interesting things to do and see. I was so inspired by the environment that I managed to take a ridiculous amount of photos, so I've divided some of my favorite images into two posts. Stay tuned for Part II tomorrow.

View of San Fran from Sausalito  

The Golden Gate Bridge  

Japanese Tea Garden 

Grateful Dead house in The Haight

My new friends. Self-proclaimed "real San Francisco street kids." 

...still Haight-Ashbury... 

The Castro  

Travel Log 2011: Muir Woods

I can't even begin to describe Muir Woods and a photograph hardly does it justice. Just go there. Seriously. Hug a redwood that's older than a millennium and get in touch with your inner nature freak.

Travel Log 2011: Sonoma and Napa

Wine country. Need I say more?