Northern California Photographer – Part 1
Im finally getting around to blogging our West Coast Summer 2019 Trip :-D Yay me! First up is Northern California
San Francisco Photos
We started our trip in San Francisco and woke up super early because we really only had 1 day to spend here and there was SO MUCH to see & do! We’ve been told that we got very lucky to have a non-foggy day and got clear views of the Golden Gate Bridge!
The first landmark we spotted though was Alcatraz, which I usually call Azkaban by mistake. Fun fact: In Florida I lived across the street from an ex-mafia man who was incarcerated in Alcatraz for a few years AND he knew my great-grandfather back in New York!
We walked around the area by the Golden Gate Bridge for a while before heading to the Walt Disney Family Museum – as a former wannabe character designer it was a dream for me! We went to a few touristy places like the Palace of the Fine Arts, Lombard Street & Fishermans Wharf (boooooring).
Madonna Inn Photos
The Madonna Inn was HANDS DOWN my favorite hotel we stayed at the entire trip!! Every single room has a different theme & you can pick which one you want to stay in, so of COURSE I chose the pink & gold glitter wall paper room (-; It was called The Merry.
This hotel is so unique & cool and a color lovers dream (and vintage! Built in the early 1960’s I believe). We ate at the restaurant which was PACKED with locals and a live jazz band was playing Beauty & the Beast during dinner at one point! They had the coolest souvenir shop and we shipped home 2 glass goblets that I love drinking water out of.
Big Sur Photos
Big Sur was really pretty but we unfortunately didnt get to see any of the ” Top 3 Must See” attractions! Bixby Bridge had construction going on and they had all of the view points blocked off so you couldnt stop, Pfeiffer Beach parking was full so they turned people away, and that also was where McWay Falls was located so we didnt get to see either of those.
We ended up driving right on through and stopping every now and then at some scenic pull outs. It was still an enjoyable drive, even though we didnt have any service!
We did find a REALLY awesome app called GyPSy Guide for Highway 1 which worked without service and was SO FRICKEN HELPFUL and informative! We ended up downloading their Kauai and Road to Hana/Maui guides as well because we loved it so much.
Hearst Castle
We had a couple of snafu’s happen at the start of the trip which made me want to save some money by passing on tickets to Hearst Castle…but then I booked 4 weddings in 2 days and decided we could go (-; and Im SO glad we did!
Jay LOVED Hearst Castle. I thought it was super interesting but The Biltmore was more my style. However both pools at Hearst Castle are jaw droppingly gorgeous! The Roman Pool was under construction for 5 years and just reopened a few months ago but the Roman Pool was my favorite. The blue tile work was so beautiful.
And we got to see the only herd of wild Zebras in the US (thanks for the info GyPSy Guide!).
Katie + Jay of Catherine Ann Photography are Top Destination Wedding Photographers specializing in colorful, fun & candid weddings at outdoor and historic venues near and far!
