Day 1

The Wave of Adventure

My friend Malaika and I wanted to on an adventure of California to raise awareness for my company, Noūliv’s t-shirt campaign, One4OneFrom50, and to find out what people think the heart and soul of California meant to them.

Day one’s journey began Sunday May 3 having driven from my home in Huntington Beach California and to Beverly Hills, California to pick up Malaika, but the adventrue started as we drove from Santa Monica, CA to Berkeley, CA, our country’s most scenic coastal highway, known as the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). The anticipation of the elements of the unknown created this crazy anxiety. But, we were off!

Ewwww! So Gross!!

Our most bizarre stop was at the Bubblegum Alley in San Luis Obispo. Bubblegum was caked from top to bottom of these two 70 feet long and 15 feet high walls. Having read about this alley, I had an idea of what it would look like, but that didn’t prepare me for what I was about to see. When I saw these massive walls of old nasty bubblegum everywhere, it was astonishing how disgusting and amazing they were all in the same breath! Now I know why the alley world-famous and a MUST SEE!

Gum filled wall are 70 ft long and 15 ft high

Art After Dark is one of many events featured

Built in 1905, the city’s first library

Then, as we got to the car what do I see…A TICKET!!

We took off driving along the PCH, and out of the corner of my eye I see stripes and a line of cars. So I did a Formula One move and yanked the car to the right to pull on a dirt path of shoulder parking amongst a row of cars. Malaika’s screaming and yelling, “Are you high?!” I told her that I saw ZEBRA! It was a quick glance, but sure enough, as we walk up the embankment, there they were…ZEBRA!!

Zeebras gaizing beside the PCH

These zeebras are a part of the Hearst Castle private zoo

Taking the excitement and shock with us, we got back in the car and kept trucking up the coast. Along the way, that stretch of the trip got even more adventurous as we drive around the winding, cliff-dropping road. As we corner around the turn a homeless woman was standing in the middle of the road. She could have raised the hair on the dead. She stood in the middle of the winding two lane road doing everything in her power to get people to stop. Don’t ask me why because I sure as heck didn’t stop. That element of surprise hit us in the face for a minute, but we gathered ourselves and moved on swiftly.

So finally we come up on this bridge, known as The Bixby Bridge. Once you drive over this bridge, it’s a welcomed indication that you’re only minutes from the town of Big Sur.

So finally, 9 hrs later, we arrived in Big Sur and decided to stop at the Big Sur Taphouse for our first meal and a beverage. Instantly, we fell in love with cozy cabin-like atmosphere, with its fireplace, low lighting, and warm smiles. That’s all she wrote for me because I felt right at home, and all we had done was walk in the place. I know that there was plenty more to do than eat and drink in the area, but that was a good start, until my next visit.

first meal in 9 hrs

outside pathway behind the taphouse

where the jam sessions begin

dynamic view in front of the taphouse

We drove on and immediately after leaving my new favorite little town we drove up onto another bride, realizing that it was the real Bixby Bridge. I couldn’t tell you what the first bridge was called, but never the less it was also beautiful.

Darkness fell swiftly, and we weren’t about to drive on the PCH at night. So we bypassed Monterray and drove to our hotel, The Berkeley Shattuck Plaza in Berkeley, CA.

Hallelujah!! 14 hrs later, we arrived at the hotel. My friend Brandon and his staff hooked us up! We walked in the room like zombie’s, and see lovely swans made from beautiful white towels on each of our beds. All I felt was a deep sense of love and gratitude for my friend Brandon. Then all of a sudden Malaika yelled, “Oh my God look at this!” And I looked over and up against the wall was a bottle of champagne along with gorgeous cheeses and a fruit platter. Neatly in between all of this loveliness was a card with my name on it, Portia W. I open up the card to discover a picture of myself and my company’s tagline. Now mind you, I never gave Brandon a picture or any information about my company, Nouliv. I stood there speechless and overcome with emotion. All I expected was to get the key for the room and for the staff to say, “have a nice stay.” Content and blissful, I sat back with bubbly in hand and gave thanks to God for His blessings and our unfolding adventures.

Thanks for reading about our adventures and stay tuned for the more to unfold from Day 2.

Portia 🙂