I could compose another post in which I talk about how hard it is to make ends meet in Los Angeles.  I could talk about how Olena and I took a trip to Northern California for a best friend getaway and it was one of the only lights in what, for me, has been a pretty dim season.  But I'm not going to write that way today.  I just want to recount what was one of my favorite trips with my favorite person and add a little positivity to my day, and hopefully to yours as well.

So, if you don't know already, Olena and Austin are rapidly approaching the end of their time in Los Angeles.  I don't get to see them very often now, so our friendships are reliant on their time off and texting.  Most recently, O knew they'd have two days off at the end of November, and we had thrown around ideas of San Fransisco and the Redwoods National Park as places to meet.  As is customary, I was all for the trip, but was skeptical that it would actually come together, seeing as I'm basically a poor person.  However, about a week outside of our proposed dates, we found two beautiful and affordable AirBnbs, and Austin figured out that he could use miles for my flight, and all of a sudden Olena and I were looking at a virtually free two day trip!  

The redwoods have been on my bucket list since I can remember.  Now that I've taken up (amateur) photography, it's been on the top of that list.  O and I packed our bags, flew to San Fransisco Airport, and then took the most scenic and unbelievable 2 hour drive to our AirBnb.  (Also, I should mention 2 hours turned into about 5 or 6 hours because of all our stops: to eat, to get gas, to take photos, to take photos to take photos, to pee, to take photos, etc.) 

Here are some photos from the drive!

I know I've talked about this before, but O and I just get each other like no other.  She is one of the very very few people I can travel peacefully with.  We can always voice our wants and needs with each other and we work together to have the best possible trip for both of us.  Every time I wanted to stop to take a photo, we stopped to take a photo.  Every time she wanted to stop to take a photo, we stopped to take a photo.  I can't stress enough how little animosity there was on this little vacation.  We kept saying the universe was on our side for this trip because anything we planned to do went beautifully, and everything we didn't plan worked out even more perfectly.  It was just two gals, with chunky sweaters and no makeup, being one with nature.  Ron Swanson would be proud.  

We stopped in the Big Basin Redwood State Park to map out our following day, but what I wish I had known was that we had the absolute perfect lighting that day and that the next day would be super sunny and much harder to capture the beauty that is this forest.  However, we still were able to snap a few, and I mean, at the end of the day I still got to see it with my eyes, so I wasn't at all disappointed.  

Finally just around sunset, we got to our tiny picturesque town where we'd be staying the night in a CABIN nestled right in the middle of the redwoods.  It was the most adorable little town with one main street that completely shut down around 9 pm.  It could have been the setting for a show like Gilmore Girls which is like really on trend right now like omg can you believe what the last four words were how dare they OMG.  (I've never seen an episode, I'm just trying to be relatable.  Is it working?)

O and I walked around town, got offered drugs from a long haired, bearded gentleman who we'd just seen get kicked out of the town smoke shop and who used the phrase, "We share here in Boulder Creek!", accepted the "gift" out of fear of what could happen if I said no to this miscreant, found the nearest garbage can to throw out said "gift," made our way to the Italian restaurant in town, ordered for each other making our waiter think we were definitely a lesbian couple, ate our weight in mussels, pesto gnocchi, and crimini mushroom truffle ravioli which I'm still drooling over, drove back to our cabin, concocted our own wine mixture, put on face masks, took unflattering photos, watched old Gossip Girl episodes, and went to bed.  

When we woke up, the light was shining through like this, and there was a rooster cock-a-doodle-dooing.  At 6am.  We woke up, got ready, ate eggs from the owners chickens, packed the rental car, and made our way to the chicken coop to say hi.  The rooster, not so creatively named Roo, apparently loves to be held like a baby, so we had to see for ourselves.  I used to be scared of birds, but this thing was so precious and calm! I was in awe.  

We drove through to the State Park again, seeing what photographs we could take.  Though it was much harder, because the sun was beaming down with barely any clouds to cover it.  It just means I got to learn more about my camera and figure out what settings to use to get the best image.  

Idk I just like, love trees.

As if the trip weren't perfect enough, Olena saw deer on a hill as we drove. She literally flipped the car all the way around so we could park and I could look at them, even though she had cramps and stayed in the car.  That's why she's my best friend.  You can't tell how far they are because I had to use my zoom lens but these little guys are called black tail deer and they're incredibly shy but SO CUTE. 

Olena stopped using GPS on our drive.  We knew we had to get to San Fransisco, where we were meeting Austin, so we just followed the signs to SF.  Another gift from the universe was that we were driving with no idea where we actually were, passing farm after farm, and all of a sudden, right as the sun was setting, we came up to the coastline.  Like, come on.  How synchronistic is that?!

We made it to San Fransisco Airport with just about perfect timing to meet Austin, we put our stuff down in our AirBnb, and made our way into downtown SF to get some food!  I drank scotch and whiskey, we ate delicious plates of I don't even know what, I think mine was some sort of tagliatelle dish, and with full bellies we headed back to the AirBnb.

I'm thankful for us and for our unspoken bond and that no matter what I know there's at least one person who I'm not related to who will be in my life forever.  I'm thankful for our growth and for our strengths and weaknesses and for our communication and for everything about this one of a kind friendship that we've been lucky enough to build for 13 years.

I woke up the next morning while Austin and Olena were still sleeping, took some macro shots of the plants outside, got in an uber, got on a flight, and before you know it I was back in LA ordering postmates.  

It was an effortless, synchronistic, serendipitous and unforgettable trip that I needed dearly.  Looking forward to the next location we get to explore together! 

I hope you enjoyed these photos and this post, and I hope, with the holidays coming up, you are capable of being grateful for all you have, even if it doesn't feel like much!

Happy hump day! 

xo