West Coast Travels on Film
It started with a random cancelled flight and crazy shifting of plans at 2:30am the night/morning we were scheduled to leave for Napa, CA. With sleepy eyes, we scrambled to find a new flight to make our 10 year anniversary trip happen. We should have arrived at 10am in time to make our lunch and afternoon reservations which were booked months in advance. Instead, we arrived at midnight the following night/morning after long layovers and a long drive in a rental car from a different airport. But hands down, it was still worth every ounce of effort. As parents of 3 little girls who are very VERY busy, a restful trip in wine country was much needed.
I had zero intentions of carrying around my heavy digital camera, and wanted to work on shooting some film while on vacation. I only brought 3 rolls of film (each with 36 frames) in order to be super intentional with what I shot. I carried around my little old canon AE-1 which is about 40-50+ years old. It is extremely basic in manual functioning without autofocus as an option. I really wanted to push myself and have fun exploring new things. We were also blessed with literal PERFECT weather. Highs in the low 70’s and lows in the upper 50’s with no humidity. What a great relief from the southern heat! We enjoyed wining and dining + plenty of quality time together.
When shooting film, you really don’t know what the end result will look like until you get the film developed. I try my best to visualize it in my head before I ever press the shutter, but I am continually blown away by the coloring, density, and overall aesthetic that film is able to capture. Here are a few of my favorites below, and I will be sure to include some of my favorite recommendations for northern California!
I am so thankful for a film lab with a servant’s heart and attitude. Photovision goes above and beyond to exceed any and all expectations, and I fully trust that they will take great care of the work I have completed. Whether its your precious newborn baby, your wedding day, or a fabulous vacation, film is timeless and authentic.
If you are working on planning a trip to Napa, I’ve got you covered with recommendations on where to go and what you can skip. We planned to go to 3 wineries max per day so that we wouldn’t be too rushed and could linger and enjoy ourselves. Reservations are required at most locations and I would definitely recommend pulling up a map to plan your route as Napa is more spread out than you would imagine!
>Here are my definite must do wineries in Napa :
Cakebread Winery , Hall Winery , Chateau Montelena Winery, Clos Pagase Winery , Alpha Omega Winery , Opus One Winery , Auburn James Winery
Unpopular opinion is to avoid the Castle. We felt that it was a total tourist trap and not very enjoyable. I would also recommend avoiding any of the names you recognize on labels in the grocery store because those are mass produced and not as authentic as the wineries linked above.
>Here are my definite must do restaurants in Napa :
Solbar , Auberge du Soleil , Mustards , Oakville Grocery , Bouchon Bistro , and obvs The French Laundry (lol jk we aren’t fancy enough for that!)
Each of these are linked for you, and I will link recommendations for Big Sur below!
Big Sur is simply magical. The landscapes are absolutely stunning. These photos do not do it justice.
We stayed at Alila Ventana which was worth ALLL the credit cards points we saved for years… This resort was all inclusive which was super nice. But we did enjoy venturing out to a few local spots.
Here are my recommendations for Big Sur :
Nepenthe , Big Sur Bakery , The Bench at Pebble Beach , McWay Falls , Keyhole Arch at Pfeiffer Beach
