In the car, our beloved Rogue the Second, we started talking about how we wanted to go about the drive. We decided on sticking with the 1 as often as possible, a few times along our journey the 1 and the 101 would merge, but we wanted to take the scenic route along the shore, not the one cross country and plains.
Just somewhere on the road
The 1 took us along the Pacific on our left and Pacific Palisades, the Getty Villa, Malibu, and Point Sand Dune on our right, up until there was only us and the highway. Pretty early on we decided to stop as often as we wanted to and to take our beach day, should the occasion arise. The first occasion was me having to wee. We just stopped at a beach/campground parking space on the left of the road and got out of the car to stretch our legs. The beach was part of Point Mugu State Park, and it was pretty amazing to us, pretty much an average beach for Californians.
At some point I started to wonder about the strange bird noises there, and when I went closer to the shore, across some rocks, I realised why the high pitched whistling noises seemed so un-birdlike. It was because the sound were being made by groundhogs. Those groundhogs can actually whistle better than me. We dwelled there for a few moments, but as we wanted to drive a few miles before sunset, we decided to go on pretty soon.
We stopped in a town called Summerland for gas and a driver's change, drove by Santa Barbara and the clouded sky gave way to the sun, just as we reached another state beach: El Capitan.
We decided to take our beach day NOW, drove down to the beach and had a fantastic view of the Pacific, a nice swim in the geeedamnitthisisfreezingcold water, and a lesson in history, as there are markers and plates for reading everywhere. Apparently a group of settlers came through here at some point when California was still the great unknown.
After a two hour beach break and a small snack, we drove on through a smalltown called Lompoc, which looked so all-American, it was scary, drove by Vandenberg Airforce Base somewhere out in the great nowhere, drove across strawberry and blueberry farm field, and through a small town called Guadalupe. Which looked exactly as it sounds: mexican style houses along the one main road. Imagine how Hollywood would rebuilt a set for a former Western, now slightly more modern city with a Mexican touch. That set? It's Guadalupe. And I don't mean that in a bad way, it felt so familiar, this American small town I had never seen in real life, because I'd seen thousand different versions of it in movies and tv shows. It felt so ridiculous. For a moment we thought about turning the car around to take a look around, but we had literally seen all there was during our drive-through. There was even a historic, lovely old theatre/town meeting hall from the 1800's that had been lovingly restored by the villagers themselves in a volunteer work effort. Though I'm not sure anymore if that was in Guadalupe or in Lompoc or somewhere else entirely. All those small towns went by in a blur.
The Groundhog Beach aka Point Mugu State Park Beach and Campground
At some point I started to wonder about the strange bird noises there, and when I went closer to the shore, across some rocks, I realised why the high pitched whistling noises seemed so un-birdlike. It was because the sound were being made by groundhogs. Those groundhogs can actually whistle better than me. We dwelled there for a few moments, but as we wanted to drive a few miles before sunset, we decided to go on pretty soon.
Groundhog Beach and morning clouds
We stopped in a town called Summerland for gas and a driver's change, drove by Santa Barbara and the clouded sky gave way to the sun, just as we reached another state beach: El Capitan.
First look onto El Capitan
We decided to take our beach day NOW, drove down to the beach and had a fantastic view of the Pacific, a nice swim in the geeedamnitthisisfreezingcold water, and a lesson in history, as there are markers and plates for reading everywhere. Apparently a group of settlers came through here at some point when California was still the great unknown.
Panorama of the beach and the hangs covered in flowers and weed
foot...uh, handprints on the beach
After a two hour beach break and a small snack, we drove on through a smalltown called Lompoc, which looked so all-American, it was scary, drove by Vandenberg Airforce Base somewhere out in the great nowhere, drove across strawberry and blueberry farm field, and through a small town called Guadalupe. Which looked exactly as it sounds: mexican style houses along the one main road. Imagine how Hollywood would rebuilt a set for a former Western, now slightly more modern city with a Mexican touch. That set? It's Guadalupe. And I don't mean that in a bad way, it felt so familiar, this American small town I had never seen in real life, because I'd seen thousand different versions of it in movies and tv shows. It felt so ridiculous. For a moment we thought about turning the car around to take a look around, but we had literally seen all there was during our drive-through. There was even a historic, lovely old theatre/town meeting hall from the 1800's that had been lovingly restored by the villagers themselves in a volunteer work effort. Though I'm not sure anymore if that was in Guadalupe or in Lompoc or somewhere else entirely. All those small towns went by in a blur.
By the time we reached Pismo Beach, it was already evening and the sun began to set, which made the lovely town right by the ocean so much more beautiful. We had set our goal for the day to Cambria, but before we even reached Cambria, we came through the cutest little something called "Hamrony, CA", inhabitants: 18. Cows: 35. At least that's how many black angus cattle we counted from the car. Then we drove into Cambria and immediately pulled into the parking lot of Cambria Falls Motel.
A ramshackle looking building complex that houses surprisingly comfortable and modern rooms. Also, there was a nice swing outside and a fireplace behind the building. The clerk was Indian, so I felt slightly like being back in London again, where hotel staff seemed to be Indian, however, he proved quite helpful and told us what to see and where to eat in Cambria. And yes, the Shell is the better of the two gas stations in town. No, he doesn't just say this, because his wife's cousin was the owner. This time we all got seperate rooms, so that meant: tv! We met a while later to go and grab dinner, and found out that Cambria was one of the prettiest American small towns (it said so in an article of the local paper).
Doesn't look like much from the outside, but you get a lot for your money
A ramshackle looking building complex that houses surprisingly comfortable and modern rooms. Also, there was a nice swing outside and a fireplace behind the building. The clerk was Indian, so I felt slightly like being back in London again, where hotel staff seemed to be Indian, however, he proved quite helpful and told us what to see and where to eat in Cambria. And yes, the Shell is the better of the two gas stations in town. No, he doesn't just say this, because his wife's cousin was the owner. This time we all got seperate rooms, so that meant: tv! We met a while later to go and grab dinner, and found out that Cambria was one of the prettiest American small towns (it said so in an article of the local paper).
On our way into town
But let me tell you a thing or two about the wonder that is Cambria:
Cambria has a cat lover's gift shop. They have kittens there for people to cuddle (okay, not so sure about that last part...).
Cambria smells of Jasmin at this time of the year.
And Cambria has the best frigging Mexican grub I've ever had! Las Cambritas. If you ever find yourself in Cambria or have the chance to go there (so, basically, if you ever go to California, drive out to frigging Cambria) and have Mexican there. Try the homemade salsa sauce (heavenly) and anything with avocado.
This should be mentioned in guide books
Cambria's breakfast place Mojo Village Java beats every Starbucks. It's one of those breakfast/diner places that is led with heart and capable hands. It reminded me a little of "Luke's" from the Gilmore Girls. Only Luke was missing. They had scones the size of my head (well, okay, exaggerating here, the size of my hand), and great bagels. And self-made pies and banana bread (I loved the banana nut bread!!), and... I wished we would have had a day or to to just stay in Cambria and relax (in my case read: surf) at Moonstone Beach.
panorama of the coffee shop, not seeing the front door and the books on the window sills and...yeah, the server is kind of creepy and dismembered looking because panorama
But we had to leave Cambria the next morning because: San Francisco. It was a horrible affair, because on our drive through the rest of the village we noticed that Cambria really was one of the most beautiful small towns we had ever seen. It had adorable wooden houses and flowers everywhere, the whole town smelled of jasmin and lavender... our short stop at the Shell Station became bad, bad touristy memorabilia shopping and I now actually am the proud owner of a "Cambria, CA" tank top.
my brother making friends with a squirrel
After the shopping incident we made our way further north, heading toward Hearst Castle, to watch the former publicity tycoons castle on a hill. However, tourist services had already taken hold of the place and thus you can only ever get to the castle by booking a 45min tour for 25 bucks each. The next tour was leaving a couple of hours of one and a half hour later so we let the castle be an architectural structure in the wide landscape and made off to see the elephant seals in their natural habitat. Which was a smelly affair. As soon as we opened the doors, a fishy odour struck our noses and heavy wind took hold of our clothing. But it was so worth it. My brother made friends with a squirrel, I petted a crow that was sitting there totally relaxed and then we saw them. Not only two or three elephant seals swimming by quickly, but something between 100-200 seals lounging around the beach, snoring, sparring, heaving sand unto their backs and doing whatever. And gee, these animal are big. And they were just lying around there in large heaps.
As the wind and the odor got the better of us, we left and drove on, past Point Piedras Lighthouse, which was also stunningly beautiful, and towards Big Sur. And even though you can read about it, even though you have seen pictures, you are so not ready for this sight.
We approached the Big Sur from South, so Ragged Point was our first vantage point. When we got there, first of all, the top of the high cliffs we were on was in the clouds. There was a big cloud enveloping the coast. But the sky over the sea was clear and there was sunshine and the sea and the ragged cliffs falling off into the Pacific, a small road winding along the cliff. We watched from the literal Ragged Point and my brother just looked at me and said: "Will you take a picture of me? Nobody is going to believe that this is real though, This looks so much like a photostudio background."
And it did. It felt like you had woken up and somehow wandered into a postcard. Big Sur is probably the most impressive part of the Pacific Coastal Highway when it comes to scenery. Whenever you look out of your car window, whichever way you look, there is so much landscape. So much to see. There are these high-rising cliffs and the road going along them, sometimes steeply up towards the sky, always winding, sometimes across narrow bridges, and then falling off again slightly. It was the drive of a lifetime, this one. I will never forget some of the sights and feelings I had there.
Seals lounging in the sand. And that's not all of them
As the wind and the odor got the better of us, we left and drove on, past Point Piedras Lighthouse, which was also stunningly beautiful, and towards Big Sur. And even though you can read about it, even though you have seen pictures, you are so not ready for this sight.
Cloud hitting the shore, the winding road along the cliff and a narrow bridge ahead
We approached the Big Sur from South, so Ragged Point was our first vantage point. When we got there, first of all, the top of the high cliffs we were on was in the clouds. There was a big cloud enveloping the coast. But the sky over the sea was clear and there was sunshine and the sea and the ragged cliffs falling off into the Pacific, a small road winding along the cliff. We watched from the literal Ragged Point and my brother just looked at me and said: "Will you take a picture of me? Nobody is going to believe that this is real though, This looks so much like a photostudio background."
Ragged Point, oh, the colours
And it did. It felt like you had woken up and somehow wandered into a postcard. Big Sur is probably the most impressive part of the Pacific Coastal Highway when it comes to scenery. Whenever you look out of your car window, whichever way you look, there is so much landscape. So much to see. There are these high-rising cliffs and the road going along them, sometimes steeply up towards the sky, always winding, sometimes across narrow bridges, and then falling off again slightly. It was the drive of a lifetime, this one. I will never forget some of the sights and feelings I had there.
Woods, Ocean, Flowers, Cliffs, and Clouds
After Big Sur, the rest of the drive was slightly anti-climatic, we drove on to Santa Cruz, and stopped in the afternoon for Starbucks, lunch, and my first ever Target experience. Target is a beautifully scary or scarily beautiful place. However, we didn't spent too much time there, as it was already afternoon and we had to make miles now.
After we had cleared Santa Cruz and the according after work traffic, we made another stop at a beach along the way, to get our heads aired out and for a short toilet break. Which was my cue. Because I loved the beach so much, I accidentally hit a curb with my foot and fell down onto a gravel and sand covered cemented walk way, thus effectivly grinding as much gravel and Santa Cruz beach sand into my forearm, wrist, palm, and shin as possible. At least that souvenir didn't count as carry on. I still got the feeling, I got grains of sand in my shin, but that might be wishful thinking. After all, who wouldn't wanna carry a piece of California with them wherever they went?
The beach that went under my skin
When I unpacked the First Aid Kit my dad had packed for me, after I had washed out the wounds with purified water and wiped them down with alcohol (yikes!), I found iodine or rather Betaisodona in there. My father, knowing what a clutz I can be, had actually packed a disinfectant for me. I became a little homesick right there. It's nice to be away, but it started to feel like we were reaching the end of our trip at a good point in time.
Enough with the sentimentality, moving on, The beach was gorgeous, though. So, if I still got sand lodged in my shin, I definitely want it to be from that beach. People were kitesurfing here and there were bonfires already set up. It was kind of romantic in its own right. The kind of surfer romance I always wanted my life to have. Bonfires at the beach, wearing cut-offs and thick, hooded sweatshirts.
From here on out, the rest of the road went in a moment. We reached San Francisco, stayed on the 1, turned left at some point, right at another and suddenly we found ourselves in front of a DaysInn. Not as much luck as in Santa Monica, though. They had no vacancy. BUT. The woman at the front desk actually called around several motels in the area to ask if they had vacancies and thus we ended up in the Ocean Park Retro Motel, and boy, it was the best thing that could have happened to us.
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