Music Comebacks and First Timers

I haven't been this excited for a music post in quite a while.  The first two bands are on the rebound after years of no new material.  The last three are bands that aren't well known but have potential.  See them live and get the word out!

The Postal Service - A Tattered Line of String

They haven't had a new song in 10 years. 10 YEARS! Their first CD is among my favorite of all time.  Death Cab is great, but I like Ben Gibbard's side project better.



Phoenix - Entertainment

I actually heard this on the radio in LA today.  Their new album drops in a few months.



And here are the bands you might not have heard of...

Family of the Year - What A Surprise

They have a song called Hero that's starting to get some airplay on the radio, but I heard this one about a year ago and like it more.  I listen to it on repeat.



The Last Bison - Switzerland

They were originally just called 'Bison' but changed their name.  Their full length album is due soon.



Chamberlin - A Pleasant Conversation Over Drinks

I first heard of this band's Cabin Covers cover album (check those out, too).  This is one of their originals.



Which is your favorite?  What else are you listening to?

Pursuing Happiness Vs. Living A Meaningful Life

Read this interesting article for the difference between pursuing happiness and living a meaningful life.

A few favorite quotes:

"Happiness without meaning characterizes a relatively shallow, self-absorbed or even selfish life, in which things go well, needs and desire are easily satisfied, and difficult or taxing entanglements are avoided..."

"Meaning is not only about transcending the self, but also about transcending the present moment -- which is perhaps the most important finding of the study, according to the researchers. While happiness is an emotion felt in the here and now, it ultimately fades away, just as all emotions do... Meaning, on the other hand, is enduring. It connects the past to the present to the future. "Thinking beyond the present moment, into the past or future..."

Despite the negative connotations of only trying to live a happy life, this is still one of my favorite cover songs of all time.

Lissie - Pursuit of Happiness (Kid Cudi cover)

Best Songs of 2012

In my annual tradition of collection my favorite songs of the year, check out this year's Top 10. Here are the lists from 2009, 2010 and 2011 for a look back in time.

My favorite album of the year is actually a cover album of Fleetwood Mac hits.  But on to the individual songs.

10. The Mountain Goats - This Year

I debated on whether I wanted to put this on the list at all... but I heard it on XM over the holidays in a time when I was down and needed a good laugh. "I'm going to make it through this year if it kills me." Very true.


9. Kanye West ft. Big Sean & Jay-Z - Clique

Kanye and Jay-Z never cease to get my head bopping.


8. Atlas Genius - Trojans

I think this band is on the up and up.


7. Tim McMorris - Overwhelmed

I first heard this song on a Sam Adams commercial.


6. Fun. - Some Nights

This song definitely got overplayed on the radio, but it's still pretty good. They had a really strong first album.


5. Phillip Phillips - Home

I'm not an American Idol fan, but this former contestant is really good. At first I thought it was a Mumford & Sons song.


4. Walk The Moon - Anna Sun

Very interesting music video, but another new band that I hope turns out more music.


3. Of Monsters And Men - Little Talks

This is their debut song and they've had a little radio exposure of a few since then. Little Talks is still my favorite.


2. Imagine Dragons - It's Time

The studio version is great but I like this one even better.


1. The Lumineers - Ho Hey

I used to text my ex some of the lyrics ("I belong with you," etc...) and I really considered it 'our song'... the things that made me happy from it now make me sad, but it's just as powerful. It mentions places in New York that I am near and I still find myself humming it when I am in New York City. I'd really like to see this band live in the coming year.

Maybe Next Christmas

Maybe Next Christmas by Matthew Mayfield... a little dark but appropriate considering recent breakup events...



‘Maybe next Christmas’ she used to say
‘We’ll find a new life and we’ll both run away
Maybe next Christmas I won’t be with him
Maybe next Christmas we can start fresh again'

Maybe next Christmas we’ll have reaped what we’ve sown
Maybe next Christmas we’ll have paid what we owe
Maybe next Christmas we won’t be afraid
Maybe next Christmas we’ll both be ok

But you can’t pull the truth out of thin air
And you can’t manufacture what ain’t there
And maybe next Christmas we’ll sit by a fire
Maybe next Christmas you won’t be a liar

Maybe next Christmas I’ll be in your arms
With the scent of the evergreen keeping us strong
Maybe next Christmas I’ll finally get to see
You wearing that dress that you bought just for me

Maybe next Christmas you’ll be by my side
And relentlessly prove to me that I’m worth the fight
Maybe next Christmas I’ll have more to say
Than ‘I gave you everything and you gave me away’

But you can’t pull the truth out of thin air
And you can’t manufacture what ain’t there
And maybe next Christmas you won’t be thinking
That I’m just a criminal and you’re still the queen

Maybe next Christmas I’ll have more to say
Than I gave you everything and you gave me away
I gave you everything and you gave me away
I gave you everything and you gave me awa

Fleetwood Mac Tribute Album

I've never blogged about a whole tribute album but I have been listening to this one non-stop since I heard about it last week. You can go pick it up in Starbucks for $14 or just stream it right here!




The first band that caught my eye on the album was Gardens & Villa, a group that I saw live about a year an a half ago (shame on me for not writing about them here, but they are really good!). It turns out that their version of 'Gypsy' is my favorite track on the album. The runner up track is 'Angel' by Marianne Faithfull.  There are some other names that you will recognize, most notably MGMT, but I think their cover is on the weak side.

Stream, buy, enjoy!

Music for Summer 2012

I've been busy busy busy traveling for work over the past couple of months.  That's no excuse to slack on the music posts.  Here are my tunes from this summer.

The Lumineers - Ho Hey
Little folk, little rock, very much like GROUPLOVE.



Passenger - Let Her Go
You might have heard this on the radio, but this is the stripped down version.




Walk the Moon - Anna Sun
Another song that sounds to me like it's from a different era, can't quite place my finger on it though...




Fun. - Some Nights
This song sounds like a mix between Paul Simon and Queen.



Dan Auerbach - Trouble Weighs a Ton
You may not have heard of Dan but his voice is familiar - he's the singer/guitarist from The Black Keys



Have any music suggestions? Let me know!

Avett Brothers in Los Angeles

Lindsay has a hookup and got Tim, myself and her free tickets to the Avett Brothers concert at Nokia Live in Los Angeles this past weekend.  Here's the set list.

I went into the concert loving their (probably) most famous song, "I and Love and You" but this one really struck me.

Murder In The City

Musicday

I've had Sirius Radio for the past few weeks now that I'm traveling for work and renting cars again. That means new stuff for you, too. Make sure to listen all of the way through - I ranked and them in order with my favorite of this bunch at the bottom!

Band of Skulls - I Know What I Am



The Shins - Simple Song



Drake ft. Rihanna - Take Care



M83 - Midnight City



Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks



Neon Trees - Everybody Talks



Imagine Dragons - It's Time

Fresh tunes

I've been slipping on the music posts since my Best Songs of 2011 list.

PK - Berelain
I'm definitely going to catch these guys live. Mark my words - they're a band to remember. I think the video uses the set from Back To The Future.



Mumford & Sons - Ghosts That We Knew
I can't wait for their new album!



The Joy Formidable - A Heavy Abacus
Not exactly brand new, but you may have never heard this.



Tyga ft. Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne seems to be on every good rap song these days.



Fun. - We Are Young
This one is more mainstream - it's already on regular pop radio and commercials. Catchy catchy.

Best Songs of 2011

I've gone through quite a few music posts throughout the year and it's time to compile a list of the best.  Take a look back at my previous posts for 2009 and 2010 (the 2010 post happens to be my #1 post of all time on this blog).

Honorable Mentions

• Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
  I know, I know, I know.  Everyone is sick of this song by now. I first blogged about it back in April, before you could hear it on every pop radio station in the country.  They're still a good band though, and this song has logged 52 million + views on YouTube.
  
• Drake ft. Lil Wayne - The Motto
  A lot of people don't like Drake but this collaboration makes me bob my head.
  
• Kings of Leon - Back Down South
  Hopefully this band hasn't broken up for good after they canceled their tour.  I've had a lot of good times cruising to their music over the years.  This song reminds me of my old Kentucky home.
  
• Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks
  Half of the time I can't tell if he's serious, but he's also a comedian so I guess that makes sense.  His metaphors are pretty clever.
  
• Katie Herzig - Lost and Found
  You're just starting to hear this song in TV shows and on movie previews.  Expect it to make its way to radio soon.
  
• Chris Brown ft. Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne - Look At Me Now
  I was tempted to post Karmin's cover version, but I'll stick with the original.  I'm still dedicated to memorizing this and pulling it out on a karaoke night.

Top 10

10. Madi Diaz - Let's Go
I heard about this artist via NoiseTrade.  It's a great place to legally get free music.



9. TV On The Radio - Will Do
This band can put out some weird music, but I can listen to this song on repeat.



8. Jay-Z and Kanye West ft. TI - Niggas in Paris Remix
The original is good but I think that TI's verse makes it even better.  I heard that they rap this song 5 or more times in the Watch the Throne concert.  It's a good song, but really guys?



7. Josh Garrels - Ulysses
This is another artist I heard about on NoiseTrade.  The whole album is good... the song says that it was recorded in 2010, but it didn't come out until this year.  So it still qualifies for this list.



6. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
This local Atlanta band has made it big and they're great to see live.



Click here to see the Top 5!

Best Songs of 2011 - Continued

Don't forget to check out songs 10 - 6 and the Honorable Mentions here.

5. Adele - Someone Like You
I had to include SOMETHING by Adele since she's the #1 selling artist of the year (worldwide sales of the album have passed 13 million!). This video gives some background behind the song, which is always interesting since she's the one that wrote it.



4. Cults - Go Outside
I expect a lot out of this band in the near future.  Mark them down as someone to go see live in 2012.



3. Dirty Gold - California Sunrise
This was my summer song and it will forever put me in a beach mindset.  It makes me want to go surfing right now... as I sit in Atlanta in December.




2. The Naked and Famous - Young Blood
I saw this band live in Austin back in April at the best concert lineup I've ever seen (along with Freelance Whales and Foals).  You're probably starting to hear them on the radio, but they just finished their US tour.  Catch them when they come back around.



And the #1 song of the year goes to...

Gotye ft. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know
I first posted this song back in April.  I've actually heard this song on the radio a few weeks ago, so you might see them become popular.  The lyrics are powerful and personally relevant to me.  Enjoy!



I know I'm leaving off some really great music.  The Black Keys, Noah and the Whale, Motorcade, Two Door Cinema Club, Grouplove, Matthew Mayfield, Death Cab for Cutie, Peter Bjorn and John all come to mind.  Looking back at this, I definitely could have made it a Top 20 list instead of 10!  But I'll stick with the format, and you'll just have to use the keyword 'music' in the upper left corner of this page to see the posts I've had throughout the year.

So, what else did I miss? Let me know. Post links in comments

Here's to more great music in 2012!

New Music For Your Consideration

Here's the last submission I'll do for the year before I pick my favorite songs from 2011. Stay tuned for my Top 10 list!

Madi Diaz - Let's Go



Crystal Fighters - Follow (song is a year old, but heard it on a new Puma commercial)



Madeon - Pop Culture (mashup of 39 songs... this kid is 17!!! Pretty cool to see him mixing them live on his mixing board)




Drake ft. Lil' Wayne - The Motto

That S%$& Cray

Loving this song, I can't get enough of it. They even mixed a little dubstep in at the end.

Somebody That I Used To Know

Check out this song by Gotye (an Aussie) featuring Kimbra (a Kiwi), called Somebody That I Used To Know. I've been playing it on repeat all evening. Not only is the video cool, but the lyrics are very relevant to my own experience (see full lyrics below).



Now and then I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember

You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end
Always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I was glad that it was over

But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened
And that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger
And that feels so rough
You didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records
And then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done
And I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know...

But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened
And that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger
And that feels so rough
You didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records
And then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

I used to know
That I used to know

Somebody...

10 Songs for Summer

I've been hanging onto some of these songs for a while until I got a good playlist for you (and the time to post them). Make sure you go all of the way down and check out my summer anthem by Dirty Gold.

Like what you hear? Comment and send me links for more new stuff!

10. Kings of Leon - Back Down South
This song really reminds me of growing up in Kentucky... I haven't been a big fan of the latest Kings of Leon singles, but this one is more like their old work than the stuff you hear on the radio.


9. James Morrison - If You Don't Want to Love Me
Not new, but new to me


8. Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks
You might recognize Donald Glover from the NBC show Community (he's also a writer for 30 Rock).


7. Adele - Someone Like You
Adele, still going strong on the charts


6. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
Some of ATL's finest - I saw them in concert a few years ago.


5. Blue Foundation - Eyes on Fire (Zeds Dead Remix)
Just hearing this for the first time, it's been out for a while. It kind of reminds me of a trippy version of The XX.


4. Grouplove - Colours
Another song you hear every now and then on XM.


3. The Black Keys - Next Girl
One of my favorite bands of all time.


2. Cults - Go Outside
I'm starting to hear this on XM a lot and I'm guessing you'll hear it on mainstream radio this fall.


And the number one song goes to...


1. Dirty Gold - California Sunrise
And finally, ending strong with MY SUMMER ANTHEM!!!


Honorable mention: Frank Ocean - Novacane

Matthew Mayfield in Hollywood

Over the weekend I got word through Matthew Mayfield's Facebook page (like him!) that he had a concert coming up in Hollywood. Make sure to check out his website - if you're stingy he gives away free tracks. I first heard of him through the internet... it's hard to keep track these days. I think I got an email for a free download from NoiseTrade. Mayfield got notable buzz at 2010's SXSW, so keep your ears out for more from him.

The venue, Hotel Cafe, is a good 50 miles from me. With LA traffic, that's no small feat. I have been a fan of Mayfield's music for a while now (check out a winter music post that included him), but I haven't gotten the chance to see him live. The last show I saw was The Foals concert in Austin back in April and the tickets were only $12.50. I jumped at the chance.

I invited Christine along and we fought through the tail end of rush hour to get to Hotel Cafe right at 8 pm. My GPS stopped me in front of a place that said "Peep Show"... hmm, interesting. Or was it a Peeps show? (edit - I later found out that this is a gallery) There was a small parking sign with "Hotel Cafe" at the corner so I pulled around back.

I didn't see a true venue sign but there was a small piece of paper posted on the door as I drove up that had the lineup listed. The doorman was standing there talking to who... Matthew Mayfield himself. Yep, we were in the right place.

The venue foyer really reminded me of my favorite Atlanta music hangouts - Variety Playhouse and The Roxy. You could feel the age of the place, but it wasn't run down. There were velvet curtains, wood paneling and the lighting was just dim enough to make you want to whisper as you walked through.

Two swinging glass doors brought you into the performance area that was about the same size as The EARL. A female trio called The Wild Reeds was opening and crowded the small stage. They traded instruments for each song and each was multi-talented on banjo, guitar (electric and acoustic), piano and some kind of tabletop accordion (I'm sure there's a real name for it). Their vocal harmonies reminded me of something out of O Brother, Where Art Thou? or a county fair. It was a good warmup.

After a short break Mayfield walked up to the stage and sat on a stool, only holding his guitar. As I had hoped, he had no backing band. He stopped a few times between songs to engage the audience and give song background/introductions. At one point he plugged his merch, but confessed that he hadn't set prices for anything with the merch girl. He told us to "Pay what you want," which I thought was pretty cool. It's truly about the music.

Here is the set list as I noted during the show.

• ???? (Stumped on this one. Going through the tracks that I have but don't have his full catalog...)
• Missed Me
• Element
• Grow Old With You
• Now You're Free
• Come Back Home
• Fact or Fable
• Cover medley*
• Fire Escape
• Cover of Coldplay - Fix You

*Played riffs of Metallica's Enter Sandman and Guns N Roses' Welcome to the Jungle, just goofing around

Check out the videos I recorded of my favorites.

Fire Escape


Fact or Fable


Most of the songs can be found on Matthew's latest album, Now You're Free. He uses a full band on the album, so the sound is a little different than this live show. Some work better with the band (Now You're Free) while others are much more powerful as a stripped down solo (Come Back Home, Fire Escape). My favorite songs of his are the minimalist acoustics that really focus on the lyrics and his voice.

Hotel Cafe was a perfect place to watch a singer-songwriter like Mayfield. It offers an intimate setting, where the songwriter revealed that a few of the songs (Fire Escape and Fact or Fable) are very hard for him to play. This is understandable when you listen to the power of the lyrics - it's why I like the songs so much. So if you like his music as much as I do, spread the word, see him live and buy a CD.

I waited around for a few minutes to see if he would be out meeting fans but I eventually left for the long drive back down south. I was going to ask if he ever had wanted or been asked to play Unplugged in the Park in Atlanta. I've seen bands like Civil Twilight, Joe Purdy and Band of Horses there and I think it would be a perfect spot to showcase his talent. I just found out on the Tour section of his website that he is already slated to be there on August 7th. So ATL friends, you have no excuse not to go. It's a free show!

And Kentucky friends, HEADS UP! He's coming to Lexington to Natasha's Bistro on August 4th!

Great Song

If I could write good lyrics, it would be like these. Simple, powerful, beautiful.

Josh Garrels - Ulysses



I'm holding on to the hope that one day this could be made right
Cause I've been shipwrecked, and left for dead, and I have seen the darkest sights
Everyone I've loved seems like a stranger in the night
But oh my heart still burns, tells me to return, and search the fading light

I'm sailing home to you I won't be long
By the light of moon I will press on
Until, I find, my love

Trouble has beset my ways, and wicked winds have blown
Sirens call my name, they say they'll ease my pain, then break me on the stones
But true love is the burden that will carry me back home
Carry me with the, memories of the, beauty I have known

I'm sailing home to you I won't be long
By the light of moon I will press on

So tie me to the mast of this old ship and point me home
Before I lose the one I love, before my chance is gone
I want to hold, her in, my arms

On to Catalina

There's a small diving shop around the corner from my house called Beach Cities Scuba - I bought my underwater camera housing as I mentioned a few months ago. When I was in the shop back in April they had a white board displaying all of their dive trips. The next one went to Catalina Island on June 18th. You might say that Catalina is well known as a good dive spot. People also take day and weekend trips to explore the island but we weren't going to make landfall.

 

If you've ever heard of Catalina, it might be from the song Pasadena by a great band called Modern Skirts. I can play that song on repeat for days.

Anyway, Catalina is also known for its kelp forests and cold water marine life. I'd never done any cold water diving and I heard it was really different than all of the reef diving I did in Australia. I signed up for the trip but was nervous about the water temperature. They rented me a 7 mm wetsuit with hood, gloves and boots but I was still skeptical. All of that plus three meals and a full day on the boat with three dives came out to about $250, so overall it was a pretty good price.

I got up at about 5 am on Saturday morning and drove for 45 minutes up to the marina at San Pedro. The day started off kind of gloomy and uninviting until we shoved off and cruised through a pod of dolphins.



I had forgotten to even worry about sea sickness pills and I was pretty tired from the early morning wake up. I found a spot in the middle of the boat to minimize the rocking and dozed on and off for the 2.5 hour ride. I felt it coming on at one point but managed to keep my breakfast where it belonged. On a day with rougher water, I'm not sure I would've held out.

The dive master paired me up with another solo diver named Alex and they let us all do our own thing. Every other time I've gone diving, it's been with a small group that sticks with the lead. We were really just left to wander on our own. Neither of us had any idea of where to go and I think we probably missed out on the best parts of the dives. Lesson learned - even if you don't have to stick with the dive master, do it. You'll probably get more out of it.

That being said, it was still a pretty cool trip. The wetsuit kept me surprisingly warm and I got a few good pictures. The fish weren't as varied or colorful (except the bright orange Garibaldi pictured below), but I did see a horned shark... not as scary as it sounds. A few of the others saw a 4 foot eagle ray which would've been cool. Again... stick with the dive master.

So here are the pictures. I'm considering another trip to make full use of my camera before the water temperature drops. A day trip to explore the island itself is probably in order as well.

Garibaldi, the California state fish

 

Weaving in and out of the kelp forest

 

Horn shark - they have stingers like rays

 

Sea hare - the size of a small cat

 

Spotted this rock fish for Alex

PCH from LA to San Francisco

One of the best drives in the land

After my solo two week odyssey through Panama, I still had two weeks of (forced) vacation from work. I spent an entire week chilling out in Atlanta with some friends and Zabba, then made my way back to Newport. My girl Daya just so happened to be going to a wedding reception in San Francisco that weekend and invited me along. I had been looking for an excuse to drive up the California coast on the scenic PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), California State Route 1.  It's on every website's top 10 drives in America, so you should, too.

My first time in SF was a whirlwind visit two years ago after a wedding. This time I was hoping to catch a few of the things I missed the last time around, plus soak up the view on the drive north.  I packed a bag for the weekend and took off early on Friday morning to face the LA traffic.

The PCH actually goes right into Newport Beach just a few blocks from my house.  It cuts through all of the beach cities - Huntington, Seal, Hermosa, Redondo, Manhattan... it would've taken me 3 or 4 hours to get through all of the surface street traffic (plus it's not scenic). I skipped it and hopped on the 405 and cut over to the coast on the 101 until it met up with the PCH in San Luis Obispo - a cool little town where I just had enough time to grab lunch. If you're in a hurry you can take the 5 all of the way up to San Francisco in 6 hours but you sacrifice the view.

Up close and personal with a mangy squirrel

From the beginning of the scenic section as I hit the coast, I was quickly reminded of my drive with Nat along the Great Ocean Road on the coast of Victoria, Australia.  No wild koalas or helicopter rides this time though. :(  I stopped pretty frequently along the way to take pictures of the windy route and mostly empty beaches.  I saw a few good surf spots but I had a long way to go and a short time to get there (thanks Jerry Reed).  I wasn't listening to that though... XM was having a Death Cab for Cutie weekend, playing all of the songs off of their upcoming album called Codes and Keys.

I was making pretty good time despite my stops when I started seeing signs for Hearst Castle. I vaguely remembered that William Randolph Hearst was a newspaper tycoon from the early 1900s. When I got home I researched him a bit and found out that he was the inspiration for the lead character in Citizen Kane. Also, his legacy company now owns Cosmopolitan Magazine, Esquire part of ESPN, a dozen or so newspapers and a really cool building in New York City (a modern skyscraper built on top of the original stone structure).  But I digress... the mansion was now a state park and they gave tours so I went to check it out.

Water colors reminded me of Whitsunday Beach

There were packs of old people and Asian tourists everywhere as I pulled up to the visitor's center.  I spotted an employee that told me tickets were $25-35 depending on which part of the house you visited.  The shortest took 2.5 hours.  I didn't have that kind of time so I took a few uninspiring pictures of the mansion from a distance, looked at a few pictures, read some factoids and I was on my way.  Before I left I got a good tip - there had been a landslide a few weeks ago that totally blocked the PCH.  I would actually need to backtrack a few miles and take some switchbacks to get around it.

 I stopped at a gas station to make sure my directions were correct because there were hardly any road signs and my GPS was trying to take me back to the PCH. I had the right route and drove through a military base called Fort Hunter-Liggett. Their training ground had littered shells of tanks and old cars. It looked like I was driving through a firing range... gulp.

The winding road narrowed down to through the foothills of the Sierras to almost one lane at some points. I passed the infrequent cars going surely taking the PCH south and then accelerated like a rally car around the next corner.  The road actually gave some hilltop views that wouldn't have been seen down on the PCH so it wasn't so bad of a detour.  It did take a 2.5 hour chunk from my timeline because I was going 25 mph or less for a lot of it.

Bixby Bridge, built in 1932

With the detour over I got back on the PCH and was going the speed limit (plus) again, but every now and then I would hit construction.  I recommend checking the highway warnings before starting this drive so you know of any road closures.  It looked like there had been more landslides over the past few years that required them to totally rebuild some barriers and sections of road.

One of the coolest parts of the drive had to be the Bixby Bridge near Big Sur that has become a regional landmark. It's supposedly been featured on car commercials and is coincidentally in the name of a song by Death Cab.  The arch spans the steep valley and displays a great blend of nature and engineering.

A long way down

By that time it was starting to get late so my roadside stops became more infrequent. The projected 9 hour drive ended up taking closer to 12 with my stops and the detour.  Yes, I-5 will get you there in under 6 hours, but who wants to drive inland?  I had brought my new camera tripod along but never got it out.  And yes, it would've been nice to have a passenger for conversation, but I had gotten used to the solitude over the past few weeks of traveling.  I also knew that it would be short lived once I got to San Francisco.

I soaked it all in because this would be my last vacation of the year.  By the time I got near Monterey I was starting to get impatient.  I could've taken the PCH all of the way into San Francisco but I decided to hop on the 101 for the rest of the route.  It probably saved me another hour.  This is definitely one of the best road trips and scenic drives I have ever seen.  It's something you must do and will definitely make my Best of California list.

I finally pulled into downtown San Francisco to be greeted by Daya - a fun weekend was in store.  Stay tuned for the rest of the trip!

This Girl Can Flow

I can't stop listening to this covered song by Karmin... I think it's better than Chris Brown's original.

Karmin - Look At Me Now (Chris Brown cover)