Get ready guys, cause this one’s a bit of a throwback. This photo series comes from a family road trip in September of 2011. Yep, 3 whole years ago. And by “family roadtrip” I mean my parents and I making last minute plans to drive down to Big Sur while my brother was at Burning Man doing, well.. whatever it is you do at Burning Man.
For some people, taking a road trip as an adult with your parents would be hell. Luckily for me, I’m reminded of hopping in the family car as a kid during school vacations, choosing a direction and searching out adventure. Although our trips never took us more than a couple hundred miles from home, I truly think they started my passion for travel.
No other type of travel compares to a road trip. Tunes in the stereo, maps haphazardly strewn around the car, the power to stop at any moment, explore any backstreet. These trips also gave me a big dose of adventure. See, my parents have a very distinct travel style. On the opposite side of the spectrum from someone who plans out every detail, my parents will rarely book anything ahead beside plane tickets. This is always a gamble, of course and more than once we’ve arrived in a new city where all the hotels are booked. Sometimes we can talk ourselves into getting a discount to the Penthouse (Las Vegas) and sometimes we end up sleeping on the floor of a hotel employee’s living room (Santa Barbara).
Driving down to Big Sur on Labor Day weekend was no exception. In true Williams fashion, we arrived in town without so much of a thought of hotel reservations. We soon realized we’d chosen one of the most popular weekends for Big Sur. After a couple locals told us we’d be leaving or sleeping in our car, we miraculously found a canceled room at the most popular hotel in town. The Williams pull it off again!
These photos document our stops down Highway 1. If you’ve never been to California, there’s no better drive than this. The famous highway winds around the Pacific coast, giving way to jutting cliffs and dotted with hidden beaches. These photos don’t really do justice to the contrasting landscape of stunning deep greens and blues. It needs to be seen in person. If you make it to California, grab some friends, rent a car and soak up Highway 1.
*These photos are all digital with light editing, but coming across them in a forgotten folder of my iPhoto was like finding dusty, worn prints in an old drawer.
