Coastal Road Trip - California, USA

After a long week we decided to traverse the coastal highway from San Francisco to the central California coast. This passage is a long way from the Midwest, where one can fall asleep at the wheel in St. Louis and wake up in Chicago and not miss much as far as scenery. In fact, this is a road trip that everyone needs to do . . . at least once. Keep in mind the road can get a bit difficult along the way and there is NO way I would do this at night.

San Jose was the first stop on the way down. We have made it a point to stay at the Fairmont for various events in the past. Its become a place of anniversary for us. Here's the hitch - don't register for this place via online sites like yahoo or hotels.com. Instead go to their website :

http://www.fairmont.com/sanjose

Then click under the tab "packages." At certain times of the year you can nab a corner suite with free breakfast and wine for $179. This hotel is nicely located next to the tech museum, good restaurants, and the San Jose Museum of Art - which hosts some interesting events.

This time around, we managed to get in on a comic rendition of the Book of Genesis. Last time there was an exhibit of light and light sculptures which made Maria sick.

However, in the end San Jose is a place to visit for a short while. We headed out to Santana Row and got in some shopping before making our way south to Salinas. Now this is a city that has seen better days, but at the same time it is the home of the Steinbeck Museum. We made it a point to stop and buy a few Steinbeck books. Seems like every time I go here there is a novel or short story that I haven't read. I'm still impressed that he could shift his focus of work from the aspirations of American life to writing "propaganda" for the U.S. war effort in WW II ( I bought 'Bombs Away' and 'The Moon is Down').
Once on Highway 1, life takes on almost a trance like state. Maria had created a good mix for the ride which meshed well with the top down on the Mini Cooper. We took turns driving so the other could really take in the scenery. Seems there were an endless spots that one could stop and take in pictures, have a picnic, or just grab a bit to eat. At one such rest stop, we stopped at a restaurant, based on a recommendation from a friend at work, called Nepenthe. Its about 30 miles or so south of Carmel along the 1 and built into a cliff that precipices down to blue Pacific below.

http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/

Our destination was further to the south, but I understand people find a local inn and then sit on the upper deck of the place to watch the sun set. Park along the highway, trying to drive up the narrow driveway to this place yields almost no parking spots. Food itself wasn't bad either.

Again, I can't over emphasize the need to take this road slowly - not just that it is windy and at times if you drive off it, you will careen down to the ocean in a fiery explosion. More importantly there are just to many places that one can stop and rejuvenate.

There are even places where one can stop and whale watch - but we were not fortunate enough this time around to spot any. We did find that the Central Coast does make outstanding chardonnay.

After about 2 hours of driving further south, we came about the Hearst Castle. Granted, it is opulent and the Neptune pool is incredible, but I couldn't help think of how overly done the place was and what manner of character needed to have such a place. But then again I guess if I had billions to blow, there'd be a giant Taj Mahal somewhere in San Francisco with my name up in giant neon lights. The castle itself, wasn't worth the $50 it cost to get up there, but at least I got some cute pictures of Maria along the way.

Now this brings me to Cambria California. A quaint costal village with some really nice beaches and a cute tourist strip. Seems like a lot of the people we met there had retired from the faster paced life of San Francisco or Los Angeles to find a small slice of heaven along the ocean. Others, especially the young at heart, couldn't wait to get out of there.

The "east side" of the city, near the Chevron station houses some nice restaurants and galleries. We found a nice pizzaria and got a whole pie to take back to our hotel - the Pelican Inn, which boasted a ocean front view and a fireplace.

One place in particular that Maria and I loved was a clothing shop called the Wise Owl and Co. If you head down this way you need to scope your way to the backyard area which has been converted to one of the finest wine and beer gardens in town - The owner spent an afternoon with us talking about his travels from Germany and how he had created the establishment. After that encounter, the central coast felt even more inviting.
The next day we had to pack our bags and head back to the Bay Area. I think next time we will get to the central coast a little quicker (skip San Jose) and spend a few nights along the beach. This would also be a good spot to invite some friends from L.A. to come up and crash with us (pointing at you Brookens!).