Fantastic Waterfalls and beaches, redwoods, and elephant seals.
I especially enjoyed point lobos, and pfeiffer beach. I think I could live at pfeiffer beach, if it weren’t so far away from home.
Was a very beautiful drive, me and my dad took it about 2-3 years ago.
I drove from L.A. to San Francisco, mostly all the way on the 1. I found a place to stop about 30 minutes outside of Malibu and convinced the guy at the gate of the public beach to let me in for free (as opposed to the $25 that it normally cost to visit this beach!). I could only afford about an hour, because I was losing sun quickly and I wanted to see the rest of the scenery on the drive in the daylight.
This was the first time I got to see a real, live surfer. Dorky, I know…but living in northern Texas, your surfer exposure is rather limited. Then there were the dogs that played in the giant waves…they cracked me up (and I was just a bit jealous of their ability to frolick so unabashedly). The only thing that seemed to backfire on my walk along the beach was my judgement of the surf. It seemed like a romantic idea to walk alone, just along the edge of the waves, listening to some Hope Sandoval and contemplating something deep and peaceful. But, once again being from Texas, the estimated ending point of the crashing waves ended much further up on the beach than I had planned, but, by the time I realized this, I found myself being soaked and smothered by seaweed and water. Not so romantic when you’re stumbling under the force of the waves to hold yourself up and are traipsing back to the car with soaked breeches.
We started in San Diego and end-up in San Francisco (although technically we didn’t follow highway 1 the entire way).
Stretches of the highway were truly spectacular, especially north of Cambria. Every turn presented another incredible vista of sea, sky, crashing waves, rocks and cliffs … and another bend in the road ahead.
And so much fun to drive, too! We listened to our “California Road Trip CD” created with tunes suggested by 43Place friends, and stopped for picnics on the beach with California wine, cheese, and fresh bread. Beachcombing, sightseeing, relaxing, birdwatching and seal-watching made for a marvelous, care-free adventure.
Unfortunately, landslides forced us to turn back south of Big Sur, and detour back and around on 101. We did drive from San Fransisco back south to the Monterey Penninsula and Carmel-by-the-Sea.
My recommendation is to plan not to plan your trip. Throw away your watch. Take your time to enjoy every view, and explore.
Cheers
I drove Highway 1 on honeymoon from LA to San Fran and it was the most beautiful drive of my life.
I just came back from my trip to California. I started in San Francisco and drove all the way to San Diego on Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway). This is one of the best drives I have ever done.
It took around two days to complete the trip, I stayed on San Simeon for the night and saw the Hearst Castle in the morning.
Some of the places I visited on the way are:
You can see all the photos of this trip here:
This is a legendary and beautiful drive. The only warning is … don’t have a schedule. Try to enjoy the journey, not think of it as a road to a destination.
Stop along the way and go to the beach. Buy fruit from a local farmer’s market, and just enjoy.
drive it through, if you dare…I did from San Francisco down to Los Angeles, had a really good time, slept on the way (lots of nice places to stay).
most breathtaking drive ever…I even got to see a whale breach!
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