Pacific Coast Highway - Video Essay

I was exhausted. The final 6 months in New York had been difficult and all I wanted was some space to breathe. That’s what this road trip was about - taking a breath before we settled into new routines in Portland.

I didn’t take a breath until we reached the California coast though. Smiles came easy in California. How could they not? The sky is bluer there. The sun warmer. The flowers more vibrant.

I’ve always been in love with California - I was born here and have always felt like a piece of me stayed behind when my parents moved back to Oklahoma. And I’ve always wanted to spend time here. Driving up the One from LA into Oregon couldn’t have been a better experience.

The blue waters of Big Sur really are unmatched. But what really struck me were the wildflowers. I was obsessed with them and spent the entire day skipping around singing Tom Petty. Henri Miller said about Big Sur: “the place itself is so overwhelmingly bigger, greater, than anyone could hope to make it that it engenders a humility and reverence not frequently met with in Americans. There is nothing to improve on in the surroundings, the tendency is to set about improving oneself.” And that’s exactly it. Big Sur is so magnificent and raw that it makes you want to match it. I didn’t think beauty like that existed in America.

Like, for instance, I didn’t expect to see a beach full of wild elephant seals sleeping while we were driving the coast. Apparently they’ve been coming to this beach for years. It was fun to watch and wonder at them. Why do they come up on land when they can’t move very well? They have to just sort of flop around and stop every few hops because they weigh around 5,000 pounds. And to be honest, they’re not that cute, but nature has this way about it that is endlessly fascinating.

The Golden Gate bridge, as it turns out, isn’t just a bridge like I thought. It’s an amazing piece of architecture that humans created. It’s easy to forget sometimes, but we are still creators, not destroyers.

The rocky coastline and winding roads of northern California proved that chaos is beautiful. And that often all we really need is quiet and solitude to remember who we are. There’s not much that an idyllic scene and hazy sunset can’t fix.
The Redwood Forest left me speechless and in awe of the wild in this world. Just imagine, dense trees over 300 feet tall, and hundreds of years old. It makes you feel small in the best way. The thing is, the Redwoods aren’t concerned with much. All they’re trying to do is grow toward the light. If that means they grow in a way that looks crooked, so be it. What I’m trying to say is I think we should learn a lesson from the Redwoods and just grow toward the light. Even if we look a little funny to those around us.

Falling in love with the California coast is nothing new. But like the poets and artists and literally any person whose ever seen it, I discovered something about myself. I found a piece of me that was missing. I took a deep breath and found some hope.

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Видео Pacific Coast Highway - Video Essay канала Cody Jensen