The Southern California coast is the global mind’s eye image of California, and for good reason. Perfect skies, calming waves, and a shore dotted with palm trees. Too bad it’s a desert and not the tropics! – Erin
California
A lot of locals avoid Pier 39 for it’s tourists, barking sea lions, and overpriced food. Sometimes, though, when the light is just right, Pier 39 can be…magical. – Erin
I did not appreciate the California coast until I left to see other coasts. Lush and desolate at the same time, the coast here at Point Reyes made me wonder how I could have taken it’s beauty for granted. – Erin
San Francisco is my favorite place to spend Chinese New Year. More people come out to the street fair than in any other U.S. city I have visited, a combination of people buying gifts for family, snagging free samples, or simply taking in the sights and sounds. – Erin
The smell of pine trees instantly takes me back the Sierras. We climbed a short but steep trail, past Upper and Lower Sardine Lake here, to a fire lookout on top of Sierra Buttes North, not knowing just how high we would climb nor just how far we would see. – Erin
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park shows me something new every time I visit. A stroll around Stow Lake revealed these beauties bathing in afternoon sunlight. – Erin
The California coast is a precious thing. Here, along the Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma, San Diego, the best of California comes together: pure, cloudless skies and a rugged coastline kissed by the waves. – Erin