wander // our West Coast road trip Part 1: Cannon Beach through San Francisco

Driving down the California coast was something I had dreamt about doing since college. With our time in the Pacific Northwest quickly coming to a close, it was seeming less and less likely that we’d ever do it. I mean, I figured simply being on the west coast would have made this thing more possible.

But then Jason mentioned wanting to dip down to Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit our old friends on our drive back to Illinois. And I kind of have this habit of asking a mile when Jason gives an inch.

So of course, first things first, I planned a detailed itinerary showing how we could drive through California to New Mexico, and then still make it to Illinois with a few days for him to relax before starting his new job. Somehow, I convinced him it wouldn’t be completely crazy.

And then we did it!

Despite how rushed the whole thing was, I am incredibly grateful we got to do this possibly once in a lifetime trip. We saw red wood trees (or sequoias, I’m still not sure which), the Golden Gate bridge which took my breath away, and fell in love with San Francisco. There were definitely times when the whole thing felt really pretty magical. Can we all just be in agreement too that it’s just not fair real people live by the coast? Like every day and for real life?

How about you? Have you done a trip like this? How long did you take/ what were your favorite parts?