Arroyo Grande, Lopez Lake

On our final day of the trip, we decided to have a picnic before our evening flight from LAX. We woke up at 9 am and went to High St. Deli in San Luis Obispo for giant sandwiches, kettle chips, and iced tea. Multiply that by four and we had an excellent lunch for just under $40! Then we piled in the car and took Highway 101 down to Arroyo Grande. We passed a sparkling blue ocean and a cute beach town called Pismo Beach. Pismo Beach used to be the classic secret surf spot, but now it is a sensational tourist attraction. Eventually, we reached our destination of Lopez Lake, and hiked for about five minutes before we found the perfect spot beneath a shady tree to have our lunch. Again, Lopez Lake is another state park that needs money to maintain their camping facilities, water slide, and the regulation of the water. We support California Parks!

The setting was near perfect. The grass was newly green, the sun was high, and a slight breeze kept the air fresh and new. We had such a great time talking, laughing, and trying to finish our overwhelmingly large sandwiches. After lunch, we went on a short 20-minute hike and returned to our original picnic spot. My dad, a professional photographer, decided it would be a great idea to take advantage of the beautiful scenery, so we took some spontaneous family portraits. We liked this one so much, it’s going to be our Christmas card photo this year:

As the sun dipped below the mountains, we decided it was time to start driving to LAX for our plane trip home.

San Luis Obispo, Linnaea's Café

We woke up at 9 am, checked out of the hotel, grabbed some free continental breakfast, and were on the road by 10:30. We took Highway 1 down towards San Luis Obispo thinking it would be much more enjoyable than ordinary 101. While it was much prettier, the twisting mountain roads made my sister a bit queasy after an hour or so. We stopped for gas in Big Sur and drove nonstop to San Luis Obispo, arriving at 4 pm.

We explored the adorable downtown for awhile, and stumbled upon a coffee shop called Linnaea’s Café where we all had coffee, tea, and a muffin each totaling $17 for the four of us. The small shop seemed aged, but not tired; rather, it was teaming with history and life. The floors, walls, stools, and counter were a soft oak color, and there was an area in the back where local music artists could perform in the evenings. We found seats in the very front of Linnaea’s, looking out into the alleyway across the street. Being on such a whirlwind trip, I cherished every second that I was able to simply sit and people-watch at this quaint little coffee shop.

Around 6:30, we checked into our hotel, a Best Western on Madonna Rd., and headed out for dinner at Splash Café.

Santa Cruz, Mystery Spot

After our amazing lunch at Café Brasil, we walked up and down Pacific Ave. and got frozen yogurt, even though it was 60 degrees outside. Soon enough, it was time for our 3:45 tour of Santa Cruz’s famous Mystery Spot!

They stop giving tours at 4:00, so I was worried that our tour guide would be tired after a long day of repetitive tours. But he was the complete opposite of that! Our guide had over 20 years of experience working at Mystery Spot, and gave us incredible detail and insight at every stopping point. He explained that the area was a gravitational anomaly where human perception of gravity and physics are completely slanted. Some theories according to our guide are metal cones hidden in our earth by aliens for their spaceship navigation, and some think that the spaceship itself is buried within the ground. Some people also think it could be carbon dioxide permeating from the earth, a hole in the ozone layer, or a magma vortex (extremely high radiation).

The cool thing about this place is that, to this day, no one knows for sure what causes it. It’s far more than an illusion, and definitely worth checking out for everyone.

The owners of the land turned this into a tourist attraction that is internationally famous, and keeps them coming back for more. An individual will visit the Mystery Spot an average of three times!

After the tour, we went back to the hotel and took naps. Too tired to find dinner downtown, we ordered Woodstock’s pizza that was delivered to our room. We went to bed around 10 pm, and my mind was still turning over the incredible treasure we visited that day.

Santa Cruz, Café Brasil

The first place we went upon our arrival in Santa Cruz was Café Brasil. Some family friends had recommended it to us in the past, but we had never been able to make it here. We ended up waiting 30 minutes for our table, but we used that time to figure out what we planned on ordering so it was worthwhile. Finally, we were right in the middle of this brightly colored dining area. The place was absolutely filled to the brim with people and servers and cooks sliding their way in and out between tables, yet the atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable.

I had the potato scramble with sautéed mushrooms, tomatos, green onions and mozzerrella cheese all baked into a little bowl of heaven. It was fantastic.

We all had the Junior Açai Bowl with açai smoothie, strawberries,banana, apple juice and guarana syrup. Served in a bowl, topped w/ granola, strawberries and banana. Everything was absolutely delicious. The service was wonderful, and the entire experience was so fresh and unique. Café Brasil prides itself on being eco-friendly from its to-go boxes to the little signs on the table informing us that water would only be provided upon request.

When we left, we noticed that we were quite full, but not uncomfortably so. That’s when I realized what a significant difference it makes eating food that is healthy and high quality for your body.

We left the restaurant happy, full, and ready for our next adventure.

San Francisco, Museum of African Diaspora

As we walked in and bought our tickets, I was impressed with how new the facility seemed for being a non-profit organization, and by the friendliness of the staff. As we advanced up the stairs to the second floor, the entire wall of sepia-toned pictures immediately captured my attention. There were so many faces and so many stories behind those faces; I absolutely could not wait to explore the second floor.

We then passed a quilt that was encased in plastic glass. The fabric was brown with orange patterned hemming around the border. In the center of the quilt was a giant tree with many branches reaching up from the thick trunk. The entire tree was made of different quilt patches, all different colors, stitched together perfectly to form the larger picture. It was a wonderful connection of different individuals coming together to create a beautiful, and culturally rich, piece of art and the blending of stories.

Everything was colorful, clean, and upbeat. There were interactive screens that allowed users to click on and sample different types of music such as soukous or afrobeat, food such as community, adaptation, and traditions, or written tradition such as gospels and composers. Painted on the wall was a list of other movements of African people besides the Transatlantic Slave Trade including the Underground Railroad, the California Gold Rush, and urban migration in the 20^th century within America. Of all the exhibits in the museum, this one was definitely my favorite because of the clear connections made between different aspects of varying African cultures and the embodiment of African culture through significant figures.

It wasn’t until we had left the museum and crossed the street for coffee that I realized the pictures that we had passed walking up the stairs were actually a mosaic forming the face of a young African girl. Needless to say, I had chills running up and down my spine. This young face represented MoAD’s purpose so simply, yet with such complexity; the mosaic represented stories, reaching deep into the past so that no one was forgotten. Essentially, the museum exists to share stories and experiences with the intention of education and piecing together a secular African culture, and celebrating their beautiful way of life.

Dillon Beach, Low Tides

Well rested and ready to go, we headed for a beach called Dillon State Beach. We walked on the shore for about 45 minutes until we reached the end of the beach. The tide was low, and a natural tunnel that is usually under water was easily accessible. Feeling daring, we went through the tunnel and found another long beach. After walking for about five minutes, we found something incredible that definitely wasn’t on the non-secret beach: tide pools.

They're hard to see, but we found a row of crabs just beneath the sand around this rock:

There were some creepy sea anemones and starfish galore, lining almost every rock touching the water.

With no one else on the secret beach, we were amazed by this untouched ecosystem. California is a very beautiful place, but finding something so naturally preserved seemed so rare in such an advanced and developed world. The California State Parks are in dire need of money and support right now. With several popular parks already closing down and too many more threatened, it's crucial that we do our part to pay the park fees, clean up any trash we may see, and make sure that the parks will remain preserved.

We left the beach and had dinner at the Bay View Restaurant in Bodega Bay. I had the salmon, and the rest of my family had the steak and mashed potatoes. It was a wonderful meal with great views of the harbor. Quite an eventful day!

Bodega Bay, Children's Bell Tower

We visited the Children's Bell Tower in Bodega Bay early Monday morning after a quick breakfast at our hotel, the Bodega Bay Inn. It's a beautiful monument inspired by the 1994 shooting in Italy of seven-year-old Nicholas Green of Bodega Bay, and is dedicated to children everywhere.

Fifteen years ago, Nicholas was killed by highway robbers while vacationing in Italy with his family. His parents, Reg and Maggie Green, agreed to donate his organs and corneas, which went to seven Italians waiting for transplants, four of them teenagers. As a result, organ donations in Italy have since quadrupled and thousands of people have been saved.

The memorial is 18 feet high and holds 140 bells, almost all of them sent by Italians: school bells, church bells, ships' bells, mining bells, cow bells. Some bells had been in families for generations, others were made especially for this project. The largest bell is from the Marinelli foundry in Italy, which has been making bells for the papacy for 1,000 years. Nicholas' name and the names of the seven recipients are on it, and Pope John Paul II went to the foundry to bless it.

It was a very emotional experience to kickstart our vacation, but my parents had always wanted to see it, and were very grateful that the opportunity had finally come. We left after about 45 minutes at the memorial, and went to Dillon Beach for the remainder of the day.