California - Highway 1

Before driving south down Highway 1 to our goal of reaching LA Airport in one week, we made a short detour north to visit the Muir Woods, a remnant of an ancient coastal Redwood forest. Many of the Redwoods are over 600 years old.

Muir Woods

They really are tall...

... and wide

They can reach an age of 1000-2000 years. The tallest tree is around 80m tall. They have a very thick bark which protects them from fire. The Redwoods are related to the Giant Sequoias which are shorter, but wider.

First stop on our way south was Half Moon Bay where we stumbled upon a Pumpkin Festival. All sorts of arts and crafts were on display in addition to pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin etc, etc. The place was heaving with people and luckily we left before the queues of traffic got too slow and headed off for Santa Cruz.

Pumkin art

Which one shall I buy?

Sun set at Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is a lively town with an amusement park by the beach boardwalk. The sunset was lovely as we walked along one of the beaches close to where we stayed on the outskirts of Santa Cruz.

Carmel "village"

Next stop was the Monterey peninsula. We stayed in Carmel, a cute American village where you can walk to anywhere, unlike most American towns. There is a real village feel and the streets are filled with art galleries, antique shops, cafés and restaurants.  

By now we were suffering from “bike abstinence” and we were pleased to discover a lovely bike route along the Monterey peninsula, part of the “17 mile drive”

A cold ride to remind us of home

The beach at Carmel



Taking in the view at Point Lobos



The coast along Highway 1 is beautiful. We spent a few hours going for a walk in the Point Lobos State Reserve before driving down the Big Sur coast.

We cruised along Highway 1. We needed some appropriate music so when we came to a spot with wifi, Phil used WiMP to download The Best of the Beach Boys. The coastline is untouched and scenic with one more glorious view after another.

Typical Big Sur scenery

One of the highlights along the Big Sur coast was the McWay Waterfall in the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. The waterfall drops straight onto the beach, something we’ve never seen before. The waterfall appeared after a massive landslide.

McWay Waterfall at sunset

At the end of Big Sur is the Hearts Castle. William Randolph Hearst was America’s biggest media personality after World War 1. Built a castle he called “The Ranch” with the help of architect Julia Morgan. The place is inspired by old European architecture and filled with antiques. He built spectacular indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a cinema and even a zoo. He invited famous politicians and artist to stay. We spent a few hours enjoying the spectacular castle, imagining the extravagance of the Castle in its heyday.

Infront of Hearst Castle

The outdoor pool at Hearst Castle

We carried on further along the coast enjoying fine scenery before heading inland to Solvang. Solvang is a Danish influenced town. It looked so charming with its typical Danish half-timber buildings. The village had recently celebrated its 100 year anniversary with a Royal Danish visit.

Solvang

From Solvang we headed to the Santa Barbara Mission founded in 1786. It has a classic Romanic façade and a peaceful inner courtyard. Santa Barbara town is a pleasant town. It suffered an earth quake in 1925 and was rebuilt with nice shopping arcades with refresing fountains and no traffic.

The Santa Barbara Mission

Downtown Santa Barbara

From Santa Barbara we drove to Los Angeles Airport where we caught a plane to Phoenix the next morning to meet Phil's dad and his friend Lois.