Chay man and his Van(agon)

My boyfriend Chay has this love and borderline obsession with Vanagon campers. For those of you who are not dating or married to a guy that loves these cars, the camper is a VW van that has a roof that pops up into a bed, has a mini kitchen, and a bench that folds out into a second bed. They are like Mary Poppins purse, where you literally feel like nothing more can be squeezed into this one thing, yet there is always another surprise around the corner! It cracks me up to see how the van transforms into this mini house, and Chay loves the versatility so much that he decided Thursday night that he was gonna drive up North to buy one from this guy in Oakland. Random? Yes. Irrational? Not for him, he has been secretly researching for months. One of my best friends, I call her Mel dog, was in town and was coincidentally driving to Carmel the next day, so what did we do? Spontaneous road trip!! Only my favorite kind! 

Once we picked up the van after a 12 hour drive with sig alerts, re routes, and eating way too much salty food in the car and feeling like crap, we headed to Portola Valley to spend the night at Mel dogs house. ( I owe you pita chips and hummus Mel, Chay and I didn't have a chance to pick up dinner...oops, sorry!) 

For the drive home, you can either take the 5 which takes the shortest amount of time, but you are driving through some places that looks like the movie, "The Hills Have Eyes", and you don't wanna break down there. You can of course take the coast but it takes more than twice the time, but is gorgeous! I am alllll about atmosphere, and Chay knows that. Being the amazing guy that he is, he offered up the coastal route to make me happy, and he did! We got coffee in Carmel and cruised all the way home in his new camel colored Vanagon. It was long, but amazing! If you have never done a trip like this, do it! There is nothing like it.Take a look...

 Chay was not really into the pics while we were driving the windy coastal road with the shards of rock and 300 feet drop off to our right...blah blah blah, it would only take a second..oh yah and he was driving stick shift...for 12 hours.

 I love the architecture of this old bridge. So vintage right? Totally. I felt like we were in some far away land like Lord of the Rings or something. I could not get enough, it was just breathtaking!

 These were all taken in the long stretch through Big Sur. I'm definetly taking a trip there for a relaxing weekend. Another place I did not realize was so enchanted and dreamy was Carmel! It is the ultimate sleepy beach town.

 Oh, Cali, how I love you. The colors and saturated hues of gold, yellow, blues, and greens make up the palette of the gorgeous California coast.

When we started getting closer to Santa Barbara, the sun started to come out! It was beautiful, but there is something special and romantic about overcast and chilly drives by the ocean. It is so overwhelming and glorious, I am in awe of Gods creation! How can't you be?!

 
I especially love the saturation of colors in this pic. The broken fence, rocks jetting out of the water, white wash, and lush landscape were captivating. I know I keep using words that usually make me gag when a host of some travel show use them...captivating, glorious, breathtaking, etc, but seriously! Take this drive and you will see what I am talking about...in love!