Oddly enough, when pulling up a myo map and trying to put down locations I've been to in the US by memory, I discovered that most of my experiences in CA have been centralized. Of course I've been to nearly every city within 100 miles of LA, but everything out of that area has been to national parks {we're total camping buffs, which got me accustomed to long road trips and made me a pro when it came to car sickness} and the one point way up north that is San Francisco.
To me, this seemed like a direct challenge from my parents to go out and explore California myself, before I leave it forever. I've already made some tentative plans to road trip up our coast with some friends next summer {whether these turn into an actual plan or just turn out to be a sort of teenaged fever dream is yet to be seen} and I'd like to see some of the things I've missed out on. Having spent an entire lifetime itching to get out of my state without ever having really seen much of it seems unfair, doesn't it?
So, in the end, this is a glorified list of places in California I have seen, have yet to see, and would like to see. Let's enjoy the Golden State together, shall we?
1: San Francisco
Honestly, San Francisco is kind of a touchy topic for me, for a variety of reasons. However, despite past personal experiences I've had within the area, the city is undeniably one of the most beautiful and interesting places in the state, and it would be terrible of me to not give it another chance. {Besides, I haven't taken my cheesy Golden Gate Bridge selfie yet. I need that selfie in my arsenal.}
2: Big Sur
Now, here's a place I know well. I've never done any of the really exciting things to do in Yosemite–like, for example, climb Half Dome with my dad, because I'm very mortal–but I've spent many weekends and summer nights camping, hiking, and horse-back riding around this area. Sometimes I wonder why my parents don't just buy a cabin here. {Sadly, we haven't been in a while! Need to nag family about that.}
6. Joshua Tree
So, in the end, this is a glorified list of places in California I have seen, have yet to see, and would like to see. Let's enjoy the Golden State together, shall we?
1: San Francisco
Honestly, San Francisco is kind of a touchy topic for me, for a variety of reasons. However, despite past personal experiences I've had within the area, the city is undeniably one of the most beautiful and interesting places in the state, and it would be terrible of me to not give it another chance. {Besides, I haven't taken my cheesy Golden Gate Bridge selfie yet. I need that selfie in my arsenal.}
2: Big Sur
Hello, my inner outdoorsy buff! Big Sur is one of the few 'wild' places {aka national parks} that my family hasn't dragged me to yet, which is a shame, because it's lovely! And also huge. I'm more of a forest person than a beach/ocean person, and Big Sur has both, so yay !
3: Lake Tahoe
Anybody who's worth anything in suburban SoCal has been to Tahoe at some point in their lives. I haven't. Go figure. Anyway, Tahoe is beautiful, and has everything from boating to hiking to skiing. The lake itself is vast and has a small island in the middle {Fannette Island} which hosts the remains of the Tea House.
4: Mammoth
YES there is a place with snow within reach in California. It's Mammoth mountain! Skiing and snowboarding are your go-to activities during the wintertime, when the mountainside is coated in gorgeous, powdery snow, but whenever you get tired of isolation and sweating inside of your parka, there's
5. Yosemite {and similarly, Bishop}
Now, here's a place I know well. I've never done any of the really exciting things to do in Yosemite–like, for example, climb Half Dome with my dad, because I'm very mortal–but I've spent many weekends and summer nights camping, hiking, and horse-back riding around this area. Sometimes I wonder why my parents don't just buy a cabin here. {Sadly, we haven't been in a while! Need to nag family about that.}
6. Joshua Tree
In terms of camping, it doesn't get much more idyllic than the aptly-named Joshua Tree National Park. It basically never rains, and although you do have to watch out for rattlers, the serenity and isolation of the park is a welcome break from the modern world. Plus, it's alway fantastic for star-gazing–one of my family friends owned a telescope that he would bring out with him when we did group camps, and we'd have fun pretending that we could figure out which random clustering of stars was which constellation.
