40. Summer Road Trips: drive the Pacific Coast Highway

Get your motor run in California Interstate one, Pacific Coast Highway and Johnny mc and travel is back this week. We'll leave San Francisco, which was last week's episode, and we will drive Highway one down the Pacific Coast Highway make our way to Los Angeles. So why are we driving from San Francisco to LA instead of LA to San Francisco, So that the ocean is on our right. That's why you don't have to look across traffic to see the beautiful views. See you didn't think of that. I didn't either. I found that in the research. It also makes quick pullovers at photo worthy spots a lot easier. Like I said, hadn't thought of it? Good tip, right? Yeah? Another tip, don't do this on Tuesday. Apparently a lot of restaurants are closed on Tuesday. The other six days are fine, but Tuesday not the day you want to do it. How long will it take you? Some people say ten to twelve hours without stops. What are you gonna stop? We're probably gonna stop. So maybe you can't do this in one day. I mean, I'm sure you could, but maybe you want to take a leisurely drive. Sad south on Highway one and we'll find half Moon Bay. How about horseback riding on the beach? Are you in? Yeah? Done right? How awesome is that? Like a lot of the places we're gonna talk about it on the strip, places eat along the water, cool shops. When I think the pick at half Moon Bay is going to be horseback riding on the water. Now again, if you do that, you're not in the car, so you're not going to make good time here. You've got to make your choices here. Let's keep going. Forty five miles south of San Francisco, we'll find Dowart's Tavern. Now, if you look at a picture of this, you would easily drive right past this. It's a family run diner. It's been open since eighteen ninety four. Good place to grab some food except what day, Tuesday? It is closed on Tuesday. A lot of the places I looked at called this a must do on your trip. Let's keep going. We'll make our way to Santa Cruz. We can stop off at lighthouse Field State Beach. We can visit the war for great restaurants and shops. Soak up the old school Americana vibe of the beach. Boardwalk just outside Santa Cruz. We will find the mystery spot a gravitational anomaly or is it located in the redwood forest just outside Santa Cruz. It's a circular area around one hundred and fifty feet in diameter within the Mystery Spot. It'll be stunned as your perceptions of the laws of physics and gravity or question the Mystery Spot is a gravity hill tilt induce visual illusion. The illusion experienced by visitors results from the oddly tiled environment, as well as standing on a tilted floor inside the tilted room of the mystery spot. Misperceptions of the height and orientation of objects occur even when people are standing outside on level ground. The slant of the building in the background causes misperceptions as humans judge the height of people using the slant of the roof rather than the true horizon. Visitors to Monterey County will find all sorts of stuff. There's an aquarium. There's seventeen mile drive for scenic coastal driving of Pebble Beach. There's big sur the iconic area in Monterey County, encompassing a seventy mile stretch of dramatic Pacific coastlines, inns, restaurants, camping spots, beach is, hiking trails, Carmel by the Sea. Former mayor at Clint Eastwood. There you'll find boutique shops and one hundred and ten art galleries. Old Fisherman's Wharf has a popular attraction with seafood shower, vendors, shops, restaurants, whale watching tours, sailing and fishing charters. The Monterey Bay Aquarium features more than thirty five thousand animals representing more than five hundred and fifty species. The Outer Bay Wing has a million gallon tank that depicts an open ocean and a three story kelp forest. Monterey County is home to two hundred and twenty five vineyards, eighty two wineries, sixty five tasting rooms. See why we're not going to race our way down the Pacific Coast Highway. There is plenty to do if you're there in September. This year the Jazz Festival September twenty three to the twenty fifth. The twenty twenty two event will feature four stages hundreds of artists. It is the longest continuously running jazz festival in the world. Let's hit Seventeen Mile Drive one of the most scenic drives on the Monterey Peninsula. The famous seventeen Mile Drive is visually stunning stretch of roadway which hugs the Pacific coastline from Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach. Iconic landmarks include the Lone Cypress, Spanish Bay, Stillwater Cove, the Delmonte Forest, and the world renowned Pebble Beach Golf Links. Have your camera ready, everybody now. The entrance fee at Pebble Beach Resports and the seventeen mile Drive is eleven dollars and twenty five cents, But hey, you might as well do it. If you have not stopped, then I hope you did. But if you have not, you're know. Three hours south of San Francisco, we're at Big Sur. As soon as you hit the section of the pch connecting Carmel by the Sea to Big Sur, you'll start seeing vista points where you can pull off the road and take photos. Be sure not to miss the one approaching Bixby Bridge. You've seen photos of this. It's like an arch bridge with the ocean on your right. Absolutely gorgeous. Gonna want to take a picture of that. As you continue south on Route one, you will not miss the Elephant Seal Rookery at San Page's Beach. Over fifteen thousand elephant seals migrate there every year. From the viewing platform, you can watch them all flop around on the sand. I mean, you've got to do that right. Viewing areas are and every day there's no fee required. There's also a visitor center and a gift shop. Then let's make our way to Solvang, the Danish capital of America. You didn't think you were going to see windmills on this trip, did you. Well? You are nestled in the Santa in Nez Valley is the town of Solvang, settled in the early twentieth century by Danish pioneers. A village full of Danish architecture, antique shops, restaurants, and more. The town square features a bust of Hans Christian Anderson and as a replica of Copenhagen's famous Little Mermaid statue. Another one hundred and twenty five vineyards, Danish pastries, historic churches, more horseback riding, plus windmills. All right, we're starting to flip the way we look at things. We are now three hundred thirty two miles south of San Francisco, but only ninety two miles north of La So we'll start using La as our reference. Here, it's Santa Barbara, which spans one hundred miles at pristine California coastline. Santa Barbara is considered the northernmost point of southern California. Got it. Yeah, More wineries, more boats, more beaches, more whale watching, beach side bicycling, backcountry jeep tours, eagle tours, see kayaking, surfing, beach volleyball, rock climbing, kiteboarding, skydiving, hang gliding, road and mountain bicycling, windsurfing, scuba diving, birding, tide pooling, and seasonal spectator polo all at Santa Barbara. Now, if you've listened to the show before, you know so many of those things are on my punch list that I would get distracted and spend days here doing this stuff. I love being outside. You can kayak and scuba dive along the shores and through sea caves at Channel Islands National Park and Marine Sanctuary known as the Galapagos of North America. That's Bullet, guys. That's located twenty five miles offshore, you can mountain bike down rocky trails and the rugged, easy to access Santa Nz Mountains. I'm not that good in a bike. I won't be doing that. Hang glide off beach side bluffs. I m a coward. Won't be doing that. Hike around miles of wooden and view trails, whale watch, paddleboard. Maybe need a break at night? How about the Lita Hotel located just outside Santa Barbara. The easygoing hotel centers on the pool where bands perform live music, and evenings people gather around fire pits with Margarita's and beers. I'm in back in the car. Many people suggest that before you head into the heart of La stop at the Getty Center to get your culture fixed. Oil tycoon J. Paul Getty originally built the Getty Via and Malibu to houses collection of European art, and his foundation continues to fund the museum. And now we've made our way to Malibu. You've seen this on the TV. It's the most famous and twenty one mile stretch of the prime Pacific coastline in southern California, home to warm, sandy beaches and movie stars. When you're in Malibu. You're pretty doorn close to La that you can't believe it. Now we've made our way to Los Angeles proper, which will be our next episode. You can follow this show for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever we get your shows. Hope you enjoyed your drive. CNX time, we'll be in La m