Big Sur, California

Over spring break, I managed to de-stress for a few days all the way on the other side of the country, out in lovely Big Sur California. Though all the folks out there were still in their jackets, I was happy in weather that seemed warm to me! The combination of foggy and sunny days was a nice break from the snowy tundra, and this trip was all about the photography. No matter where I was, shopping, hiking, and all the like - a camera was by my side. I easily shot 20GB worth of memory, and I have spent much of those evenings and the past few days sorting it all respectively.

I re-discovered my love for black and white, along with reflections. To share a few of my favorite black and whites from the trip:

The rest of the trip consisted of foggy forests and sharp coast lines - my poor father was probably having to concentrate to drive a lot along highway one. It's very windy, and not quite the straight shot we're used to when travelling on New York's Northway. It was beautiful too, we drove many times along the coast, to travel north to Carmel, as well as south to San Simeon to see the gorgeous Hearst Castle.

The dining room of the castle - one of seven estates that belonged to a millionaire in the 1800's. Much of this room is furnished from European Gothic-era churches, therefore calling it the Gothic Dining Room. Every night, he would dine with guests that would stay with him at the estate, anyone randing from famous movie stars to sports players. Below is the indoor pool, or the Roman Pool, with gorgeous tiling of venetian glass, 10c gold, and blue, with statues copied from antiquity adorning the ends.

Our hotel was an amazing rural sanctuary as well. About an hour south of Carmel atop cliffs 1,000 feet up from the shore, the Post Ranch Inn was only surrounded by local campsites and hiking trails, as well as many national forests and a fog-covered ocean. It had three types of "rooms." There were tree houses - modern looking wooden houses on stilts, hobbit looking homes with grassy roofs, and ours, a duplex type building with one room on the two floors. I lived on the bottom floor down a flight of stone steps, while my parents were above me. Though I didn't get to take a shot of our rooms (most gorgeous from the shore I'm sure, but to take a shot would mean falling off a large cliff), I have shots of a tree house, the hobbit house, and even what the library was constructed like. They all had names as well, and my house was named "Peace."

Down below are other places around the hotel, the first being the restaurant on the premise where they would have a different menu each night (there wasn't many other options, we ate there almost every night). Below that is me in the infinity pool - my first experience in one! To sit in a vanishing edge pool and overlook the ocean was an amazing opportunity.

Overall, the vacation was amazing. Much of the photography I took will be in use for my photography class this semester - and results and photos will sure to be up from that at the end of the semester. For now, many of the artsy shots are visible on my DeviantArt, and slowly I am getting up many other shots of my travels as stock art for my fellow artists on DeviantArt [woodsy hikes, rocky outcrops, shorelines, animals, and many cool trees]. My fashions from the trip are of course on LB and LV!

Cheers all!