Pacific Coast Highway

The coast of California in one word: amazing. There hasn't been an experience in my 21 years that could match the drive along the Pacific Coast Highway... Mountains, ocean, sunset, wildlife, waterfalls... Oh yeah, and driving it with the top down in a Jeep Wrangler.

Yesterday (March 20th), Ron, Andrew, Richie, and I took off from San Francisco on what we anticipated would be a 12 hour car ride down the coast of California on Hwy 1. The first stop was about two hours into the trip in Santa Cruz, CA, and we thought what would be better than driving through the town to look at the Pacific? As we pulled up, the beach was semi-populated with a few die hard surfers trying to catch the morning waves, and at the end of this beach, was an outcropping of rocks with a lighthouse standing strong against the wind and the waves. Of course, there was the 'click' of the camera, and as fast as we drove in, we drove out.

The weather was starting to warm up, and what better way to soak up spring break weather than stopping at a beach? This led us to stop at Moss Landing State Beach, which was right off of the highway. As we drove in, on a little bridge across an inlet several cars were parked. So, being tourists, we also had to stop to look at whatever everyone else was staring at. In the water was a HUGE otter, and he (or she) was flailing around madly. After several minutes of debate, we concluded that the otter was trying to break open either a clam or oyster to get some food. The otter had placed a rock on his/her belly and was smashing the clam against it in hopes of some grub. (See video at the end of blog)

On up the beach we went, parked the car, and took our shoes off to walk in to warm sand. Only a few things are better than the ocean breeze blowing on my face and the warm sand beneath my feet!

After the beach, we kicked the traveling into high gear… at least for a little while. The views that came with the Pacific Coast Highway were stunning and, at times, a little high up for my liking. Nevertheless, seeing the cliff faces, jagged rocks, and watching the ocean unmercifully pound them again and again with its powerful waves is something I will always take with me. This scene happened all across Hwy 1 along with stretches of road that drove inland to the little towns that were scattered along the California coast. There was one such place called Big Sur, and at a little hole in the wall burrito restaurant/general store, we stopped to have an amazing lunch of burritos and jalapeno chips. At this point, we decided that it was warm enough to bring the top of the ‘09 Wrangler down. How many engineers does it take to take the top off??? Better left unsaid… Anyway, we were back on the road with the wind blowing in our faces, and unfortunately, so was my hair. A couple minutes and a ponytail later, all four of us were jamming out to our favorite songs not caring about anything, but the beauty of the road ahead. Which so happened to give us more vistas, and even a waterfall.

Meanwhile, the ocean had created a dense cloud of fog and coldness. As we drove down the coast, we could see a vast wall of darkness that kept creeping closer until the Wrangler and all four of its passengers drove bravely into it with the top still down. Okay, I’m not going to lie, it got to be pretty cold. In our stubborn attempt to keep the top down and stay warm, we put on more layers and cranked the heat. However, our efforts were futile, and a couple more miles down the road, we pulled over and reluctantly, put the top back up.

To me, one of the best parts of the drive was seeing animals in their natural environment, especially when they are animals I don’t normally get to observe. Personally, seeing one sea lion would have been cool, so seeing 65 at once was awesome. As we were driving along the road we had come to an area that was low tide with sand poking up from under the ocean water. On this sand were 65 sea lions and a crowd of people watching them. Naturally, we pulled the Wrangler around to once again act like the tourists we were and stare at these creatures. Andrew decided he wanted a closer look, so out of the Jeep he went and strolled through the fence and across the field to where the rest of the people were standing. Here is where he snapped a couple photos as the sea lions slept and scooted across the sand on their belly which is, by the way, quite a hysterical sight. Back through the fence and into the open door Andrew came after a couple more pictures of some sea lions in the water, and once more, we were off.

Sadly, the daylight had to end sometime. As we were driving through the city of Ventura, the sun decided to kiss the crests of the ocean wave’s goodnight and slowly drift out of sight in the distant horizon. Here, we stopped to get our supper of subs and chips. In a half an hour, we climbed back into the Wrangler, only this time, the interstate was our destination and not the splendor of the Pacific Coast Highway. At eleven o’clock pacific time, we rolled into the Holiday Inn Bayside in San Diego, CA, top still up on the Wrangler, ready for rest and relaxation so that we could be rejuvenated for our next adventure…

P.S. Somehow, the drive time of 12 hours was actually 14. What a day.

Proofed by Ron