California Route 1

Spamalot closed in San Francisco with a matinee, meaning that I had an extra half day to make the trip to San Francisco. Rather than take the company flight on Monday afternoon, I decided to drive down the coast on California Route 1.

Not THIS California Root: 1

(Which is, PS, one of my wife's favorite wines)

But THIS California Route 1:

I packed up the car before the show and was ready to roll as soon as the curtain came down. During the show, I convinced Miss Suzanne to join me for the adventure! We swung by her hotel, collected her bags, and were rolling down the California Coast in the late afternoon. Even before we left San Francisco, the scenery was spectacular. We cruised past the surfers bobbing in the swells off Ocean Beach and Half Moon Bay.

Our first photo stop came at Pigeon Point:

Pigeon Point and the Pigeon Point Lighthouse take their name from the USS Carrier Pigeon that wrecked here in 1853. The Pigeon Point Light was lit in 1872 and is still an active Coast Guard light.

Around dinner time, Suzanne and I arrived in Santa Cruz. Both Francesca and Gurr spent time in Santa Cruz and had recommended all sorts of things to see, do and eat:

Right on Route 1 was the Tacqueria Santa Cruz. Suzanne and I feasted on one of their signature dishes: "49's Shrimp Burrito" (Shrimp, rice, beans, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, salsa and enchilada sauce)

As the sun set, we arrived at the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. The museum is housed in the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse right on the water at "Steamer Lane" one of the West Coast's surfing hot spots.

There were lots of surfers on the water at "Steamer Lane". I was amazed that they surf right up to the rocks along the shore!

Nearby is the Surfers Memorial "in memory of all surfers who have caught their last wave..."

Suzanne and I then hit the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for a ride on the Giant Dipper. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is a amusement park set right on the beach (it's the amusement park featured in The Lost Boys). The Boardwalk opened in 1907 and the Giant Dipper opened in 1924, making it the 6th oldest operating coaster in the US. I'm happy to report that even at 85 years-old, she's a great 2 minute ride - much like the Cyclone on Coney Island.

After our ride on one of the great wooden coasters, we headed away from the water and toward ice cream! Marriane's Ice Cream is home to more than 70 flavors. Both Francesca and Gurr put it on their "must eat" least, so I knew I was in for something good - and I wasn't disappointed. Miss Suzanne and I had already had a great road trip, and we were only a third of the way to Los Angeles!

The next morning, we got back on the Pacific Coast Highway and headed south again. For much of the drive south from Carmel, the highway lives up to its name and hugs the coastline. There are some spectacular bridges over inlets and creeks (including a few that are familiar from the many car commercials that are often filmed along the PCH). Often, the road is carved out of the cliffs and bluffs that make up the coastline.

Near Big Sur, we stopped at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and took the short hike to McWay Falls:

McWay Falls tumble some 80 feet over a cliff and into the ocean. The setting is absolutely beautiful - there's a small sandy beach surrounded by high cliffs with this thin stream of falling water...

Our next stop was another slice of beach, this one near San Simeon, CA (home of the famous Hearst Castle). There, on a small, sandy beach about half-way between San Francisco and Los Angeles, gigantic elephant seals come to spend time ashore. For months at a time, these giant mammals live at sea, only coming ashore to molt and to mate at specific times and always returning to this one, particular spot. In early July, only the adult males are on the beach molting.

Dozens of the enormous creatures were on the beach sunning themselves

It's easy to see how the Elephant Seal got its name.... Their proboscis acts as a resonating chamber for the vocalizations (which range from the gentle "bonking" sound they were making during our visit to a much louder roar they make during mating season) and helps the animals conserve moisture when they are ashore.

There was lots of play fighting and vocalizing going on. During the mating season, this fighting becomes much more serious.

A male elephant seal can grow up to 16' long and up to 6,000 pounds. They look awkward on land, but can move with surprising speed and agility.

Suzanne and I stopped for a lovely late lunch in the beach town of Cayucos. We ate lunch overlooking the city's pier and watched a few surfers paddling out and riding back to the beach. After lunch, we had to leave the Pacific Coast Highway and take a the faster route to Los Angeles. There were rental cars to pick up and return in LA as well as keys and arrangements for our rental houses, so we needed to pick up the pace. We encountered the legendary LA traffic first around Santa Barbara and arrived in LA during the evening rush.

The trip south along Highway 1 was amazing. I'm so glad I chose to drive rather than fly & am extra glad that Suzanne came along for the ride. I'm hoping to see some more of the Pacific Coast Highway when Sheila Marie comes to visit during the LA engagement.

JV