North to Paso, West to the Sea ●

The Rincon Stretch

The Central Coast is about a four hour drive for me, and it’s an easy one. Once I get out of Los Angeles onto the 101, past Silver Lake, the road opens into rolling hills and that smooth stretch of pavement that carries you past the city of Ventura, toward the tiny beach community of Sea Cliff on the Rincon Parkway. This is where the 101 runs right alongside the Pacific, a narrow stretch of coastline just south of the Santa Barbara County line, close to the halfway point of my 250 mile drive. The Rincon is one of my favorite parts of the trip, and it’s always the first place I roll down the windows and let the car fill with that cool, slightly salty ocean air.

An Old Familiar Road

I’ve made this drive at least fifty times over the thirty plus years I’ve lived in Southern California, and it never gets old. There’s always something new to see, and good food and wineries to stop at along the way to Paso Robles. I can always take an unplanned exit if I want to explore somewhere new, or revisit a spot from years before. Whether it’s my wife Connie riding along or just me going solo, I always have a photographic companion with me. These days, on any local road trip, I’m bringing two cameras, my M11 and my M11 Monochrom. If I’ve got paid work up there too, I’ll add my two SL2 S bodies to the bag.

What Follows

What follows is a visual diary of my road trip. Some stops were accidental, some deliberate. Sometimes I’m following the light, or whatever catches my eye. I’m a sucker for anything architectural, and every so often there’s a business appointment along the way too. Even though the whole drive is only 250 miles, there are some lovely towns worth stopping in for a day or two along the route. A recent favorite has been SLO (San Luis Obispo), and a 1/2 day trip to Pismo Beach, the beach Bugs Bunny made famous with his line about clams in Ali Baba Bunny. ●