Kammok's in Carmel.
I can remember as a child riding my bike down to my friend Erick’s house where we would spend the late afternoon hours hanging down by the Dock of the pond he lived on. Afternoons at Barbers pond are now some of the most peaceful memories of my childhood. As we grew up, we found a path that went from Barbers about a mile or two back in the woods, to a huge secluded lake that we named Secret Beach.
I once had a dream that we explored even further past Secret beach and found an even more spectacular place. A place with a mystical aura that leaked from the ground we hiked on. For the longest time I knew that a place like that must exist, but until about a week ago I did not know where.
When we finally made it to California after seeing the whole country, it was unlike any other CA experience I have ever had. Years since that childhood dream of the mystical land Erick and I discovered past Secret Beach, I finally found the place I had only dreamed about. Yosemite. Words cannot describe the feeling of seeing a land that you had been to before only in your dreams. We entered Yosemite through the East and had climbed to 10,000 ft before sunset. Yosemite welcomed us back to California with open arms and a kiss of fresh air. We had made it.
First on the filming agenda, after we rejuvenated for a night in Yosemite, was our meeting with Victor Pineda in Berkley Ca. Victor invited us to his office at the Ed Roberts Campus, a disability civil rights hub. Victor told us all about the progression of the ADA and the progression of civil rights for those with a disability. He is a world leader in disability policy and planning. We spent a few nights catching up with work and enjoyed the comfort supplied to us from our awesome hosts, friends, and family, the Elliot’s in Mill Valley. Despite being 3,000 miles from home, staying with the Elliot’s gave us our first real “home” feeling on the west coast. After an amazing dinner prepared by Tripp’s aunt Erin, the Elliot’s and the EA crew walked into the Mill Valley Village and experienced another taste of home when we saw the Wes Anderson film Tripp worked on last summer, Moonrise Kingdom, which was filmed in our home towns in Rhode Island. I never thought that coming back to California would be such an awesome experience, but coming through Yosemite and straight to the bay area where we had great hosts really set the tone for what we know is going to be an awesome grand finale to the trip of our life times.
Fish Tacos - What more could you want?
Sunset at the Golden Gate Bridge.
