My Road Trip Down California's Highway 1 To Speak About Steemit - Part One

100% of Steem Dollars from this post will be donated to Project Curie. You can read more about Project Curie here.

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Hi friends! I'm currently writing this while staying in an Airbnb in San Diego. I was contacted about a month ago by @the-alien about the possibility of speaking at a conference held by @neilstrauss. I thought to myself, "A chance to meet some incredible people, talk about Steemit, and an excuse to road trip down to San Diego? I'm in!"

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First Stop - Santa Cruz

Last Tuesday my boyfriend @victor-lucas and I packed our bags and hopped in our Prius. Highway 1 is a beautiful highway that hugs the California coast line. We waved goodbye to San Francisco and went on our way. On our first day we headed down South about 5 hours to eventually reach the beach town of Cambria. Our first stop was a beautiful cafe in Santa Cruz. I'm usually online for at least 3-4 hours per day working on Project Curie, and a road trip was no excuse to stop working! We reached Santa Cruz and looked for a high rated cafe with strong coffee and stronger wifi. We wound up at The Abbey Coffee Lounge at 350 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA. Both @victor-lucas and I have high standards for cafes. Victor used to work at Big Bear Cafe in Washington, DC, which is arguable the best cafe known to humans. It spoiled us for any other cafes to hang out and work in. However, upon entering The Abbey we were both blown away with the open environment, cozy seats, and strong coffee and wifi. It had a community atmosphere that fostered both chatting and getting work done. Here are a couple photos from our stop:

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Second Stop - Big Sur

Big Sur is known worldwide for its stunning cliffside coast line and redwood forests. If there is ever a situation to call the beach "epic", Big Sur is the place. It truly is breath taking and wild. The hours of driving through Big Sur on Highway One are filled with many turnouts, each with breathtaking views. There is almost no development in the area, so the natural beauty remains untouched. There are some amazing hikes in the area. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to stretch our legs, but I will later post about one of my favorite backpacking trips in Big Sur - the 22 mile in and out journey of Sykes Hotsprings. Here are a couple of photos from my favorite Big Sur pullout:

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Third Stop - Elephant Seals of San Simeon

Just as we were closing in on our final destination, we saw signs for an elephant seal colony! When we have chances to see wildlife up close, we always jump at the opportunity. We hoped out of the car and ran over to watch the hundreds of elephant seals play with one another. What a funny site! They are massive! There was an alpha male getting in fights with all of the other males. Many of the females looked as though they were just hanging out spooning one another. Occasionally one would shimmy out of the spoon train and waddle over to the ocean to lay in the lapping waves. I really don't know what made this site so funny, but Victor and I just stood there for a good 30 minutes non-stop laughing.

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Fourth Stop - Cambria

We arrived in the seaside town of Cambria at around 9pm and went straight to our Airbnb for the night. We were excited for this Airbnb stay - our "bedroom" was actually a private yoga studio by day. When we arrived a cute welcome basket was waiting on our bed. We fell asleep right away, and the next morning we were able to use the studio for our own daily yoga practice! The kitchen was stocked with organic food for us to eat, and this stay has inspired us on how to model our future Airbnb ventures. We left in the morning well rested, stretched out, and with happy bellies - what more can you ask for!

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