Sep 4, 2014

Up the California coast

Jon Sham 0 Comment Photo essays, The Baltimore Sun, Travel Chinatown, Coronado, Golden Gate Bridge, Griffith Observatory, Hearst Castle, Hollywood, La Jolla, Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, Muir Woods, Olvera Street, San Diego, San Diego Zoo, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Sunset Cliffs, Venice Beach

80 Photos

Armed with my camera, a handful of lenses and a rental car, my girlfriend and I made our way up the coast, spending a few days in each city to take them in. And for our cameras to take them in as well.

This gallery is an attempt to document my trip from San Diego to Los Angeles to San Francisco over the course of eight days in August. We want to see your vacation photos, too.

: Water from the waves overcomes the shore and settles in small pools.

: A woman holds onto her hat standing on the edge of a cliff at Sunset Cliffs.

: A young couple kisses on the rocks by the water of the Pacific Ocean at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego, Saturday, Aug. 23.

: A cross-section close up of the rocks at Sunset Cliffs.

: A man stands on the edge, enjoying a wave crashing over him as the sun sets.

: A boat goes by as the sun sets.

: After descending below the clouds, the sun appears again, bright red at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego.

: Flamigos at the San Diego Zoo.

: A monkey chews on a snack at the San Deigo Zoo.

: A capuchin monkey climbs in its large, netted habitat at the San Diego Zoo.

: The San Diego Zoo’s baby panda takes a little nap on a hot day, Sunday, Aug. 24.

: A pink hibiscus flower at the San Diego Zoo.

: A large Secretarybird, considered vulnerable on the endangered scale, cleans itself at the San Diego Zoo.

: An adult giraffe chews on some food.

: A koala bear takes a nap in the branch of a tree at the San Diego Zoo.

: Three flamingos fight each other at the San Diego Zoo.

: The city of San Diego is seen here from across the harbor in Coronado, which is a tied island.

: The sun shines through some palm trees on Coronado.

: The Hotel del Coronado is a resort sport on the island, and is the second-largest wooden structure in the U.S. The hotel was also the set for part of the 1959 Marilyn Monroe film ‘Some Like it Hot.’

: A sculptor creates a sand castle on the beach property in front of the Hotel del Coronado.

: The rear side of the Hotel del Coronado.

: Hundred of birds rest on the side of the water on La Jolla, which is a stretch of land northwest of San Diego.

: A wide shot shows a cliff on La Jolla where sea lions and birds come to soak in the sun.

: A cormorant bird spreads its wings on a rock at La Jolla, which they typically do for drying off.

: A sea lion takes in the sun on La Jolla.

: Also popular on the shores at La Jolla are colonies of sea lions, which congregated along the shores to rest in the sun, Sunday, Aug. 24.

: A pelican flies by over the beach at La Jolla.

: The waves crash on the shore at Laguna Beach, Tuesday, Aug. 26.

: While stopping at Laguna Beach, about an hour north of San Diego, I noticed looking straight up, these trees and the American flag were positioned as such.

: The TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood is bustling with tourists and street performers wearing movie costumes on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 26.

: As the sun sets over Hollywood Boulevard, thousands of people crowd the sidewalks and visit the various tourist attractions and gift shops.

: The famed Hollywood sign can be seen through some buildings from Hollywood Boulevard.

: The first full day started here, at the Griffith Observatory, which overlooks all of Los Angeles from the north. It was also the site of a famous scene from the 1955 James Dean, ‘Rebel Without A Cause.’

: On the steps of the Griffith Observatory, a man trains a small pack of dogs.

: The city of Los Angeles can be seen from the Griffith Observatory, and even though there were no clouds in the sky, the smog made it appear otherwise.

: A wider shot of all of Los Angeles taken from the Griffith Observatory.

: Olvera Street is the oldest neighborhood in Los Angeles, and it reminded me of the small towns set up for tourists in Playa del Carmen, Cancun.

: Olvera Street is the oldest neighborhood in Los Angeles, and it reminded me of the small towns set up for tourists in Playa del Carmen, Cancun.

: The Avila Adobe is the oldest standing residence in Los Angeles, built in 1818.

: Chinatown in Los Angeles was quiet on Tuesday, Aug. 26, but had some interesting architecture.

: The apartment in West Hollywood allowed rooftop access, where this sunset was seen, Tuesday, Aug. 26.

: A street performer with two rubber snakes balances on a stool at the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

: When I came up upon the skateboarders at Venice Beach, I couldn’t leave until I’d taken several hundred action shots. This one was a long exposure of a skateboarding moving around a bend.

: I caught this skateboarder as the shadow of a bird appears behind him, with nearly the same angle of wingspan to his arms.

: This skateboarder, who I later learned is named Rachel Jael, attempted to grind this pipe over and over until she landed it.

: There are countless musicians and street performers on the Venice Beach Boardwalk. Most of them will get angry if you take a photo and don’t drop anything in the tip jar, so I gave them each a dollar.

: Another street performer jams out with guitar and harmonica on the Venice Beach Boardwalk, Thursday, Aug. 28.

: This skateboarder was the clear champion of the group, who attempted and landed some of the more complex tricks.

: The underside of the roller coaster at the Santa Monica Pier.

: A singer performs on the Santa Monica Pier with the beach and ocean in the background.

: A close up of the boardwalk on the Santa Monica Pier.

: The pier and a small roller coaster can be see from the tip of the ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier.

: A woman watches the sun set over the beach at Santa Monica. (Yes, I took a lot of sunset shots.)

: Driving up the Pacific Coast Highway is a long trip, but by far the most scenic and memorable I’ve ever experienced.

: There’s a winding and slightly treacherous road that takes one from the regular highway to Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway. Large parts of it are lined with these cacti.

: There weren’t many homes along the California coast, but there were plenty of ranches. Nearing the coast highway, I saw these horses, which seemed to be standing on the edge of a cliff, staring out at the mountains.

: About halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco lies the grandiose Hearst Castle, built by William Randolph Hearst and designed by famed architect Julia Morgan over decades. It was the inspiration for the Xanadu castle, from the 1941 Orson Welles film, ‘Citizen Kane.’

: A tour bus takes you up a long road to the castle, which overlooks its seemingly countless surrounding acres all the way to the ocean.

: The Hearst Castle.

: Taken from behind the iron gate of the Hearst Castle.

: A large room in the Hearst Castle hosts elaborate ceiling designs and tapestries.

: The dining room in the Hearst Castle is lined with flags and features a table dozens of feet long.

: The Neptune Pool in the Hearst Castle is one of a kind.

: A wide shot of the ocean along the Pacific Coast Highway.

: This area along the Pacific Coast Highway is known as Big Sur, and features some of the most beautiful scenery.

: The sun set during the drive on Friday, Aug. 29, but the clouds soon after formed this painting-like sky.

: If you’re like me, you heard about redwood trees your whole life. But there’s a big difference between hearing about one and seeing one in the bark. This is from Muir Woods, just over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.