California — Photos — Harish Shivaraman

Wind-sculpted cypress trees silhouetted against a golden sunset over the Pacific

The route — San Francisco to Los Angeles along Highway 1.

We flew into San Francisco with a loose plan: a rental car, a week, and the entire Pacific Coast Highway between us and Los Angeles. The first two days were for the city — fog rolling over the bridge in the mornings, long walks through neighborhoods, and far too much coffee.

Golden Gate Bridge towers rising above a low fog bank, seen from the beach at Crissy Field — Morning fog over the bay.

Lombard Street's brick switchbacks winding between houses and hedges, with a cable car waiting at the crest — Lombard Street's switchbacks.

Day three is when the trip really started. Highway 1 south of Monterey is the kind of road that makes you pull over every ten minutes — cliffs on one side, ocean haze on the other, and Big Sur somewhere in between.

Bixby Creek Bridge spanning a coastal canyon at dusk, car light trails crossing toward the darkening Pacific — Bixby Creek Bridge at blue hour.

Past San Luis Obispo the landscape dries out into golden hills, and the light turns warm well before the sun goes anywhere. We took the inland detour through the canyons before dropping back to the coast for the last stretch into Los Angeles.

Golden hills streaked with yellow wildflowers above a valley floor in bloom — The inland detour.

The sun setting over the Pacific, its reflection pooling on wet sand where a lone shorebird stands — Chasing the sun down the coast.

Downtown Los Angeles skyscrapers silhouetted in dense orange haze at sunset — Rolling into Los Angeles at dusk.

Seven days, three cities, and a camera roll I am still sorting through. California earns the cliché.

Captured June 14 — 21, 2025