665. The Pacific Coast Highway

Where: California
When: June 1996 / April 2018
With: Dad & Ashley / Dave

On our big family vacation to California, the purpose of the trip was to see the coastline of the state. We had started in San Diego and made our way up to Los Angeles, and now it was time to head on to San Francisco. However, this was the leg of the trip where the drive itself is the thing to do. That is because we'd be driving along the coastal Route 1, more popularly known as the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).

No matter how you slice it, California has some incredibly diverse landscape and a road trip in this state will never disappoint. So it's really saying something that this is THE road trip to take. While it can be done from San Diego up to San Francisco, the northern half from LA is the more iconic. And that is exactly what we'd be doing.

The California coastline is so different than the east coast I grew up with. For starters, it is super rocky. As we drove north, to our right were massive, mountainous hills and to our left, sheer cliffs down from the highway to the royal blue water. Sometimes, pieces of the rocky cliffs seemed to have tumbled right into the water.

Even the terrain of the mountains changed as we headed north. Sometimes, they appeared desert-like, brown and sandy, and at other times, lush and green. It just kept changing. 

The beaches can sometimes be harder to find along this rocky coast, but when we did find them, it was a treat. The breeze is cool and fresh despite the warm sun and I loved that the sun would set over the ocean. 

Around each bend in the road, another gorgeous postcard of ocean and mountains would spread out in front of the windshield.

The route ahead, carved right into the mountain.

Good waves make for that famous California surfing which we saw sporadically as we headed up.

The mountainous coastline sometimes requires help to keep Route 1 moving, and as a result, there's some super picturesque bridges along the way connecting the road across the several canyons. While they add to the scenery, they also are the first targets in mudslides that can take out a bridge and close portions of the highway down indefinitely. Thankfully, that was not the case while we were there. This is the Big Creek Bridge.

I also love these boulders sitting out the in the middle of the water. The view was always changing and never dull.

A couple hours south of San Francisco, the Monterrey Peninsula juts into the Pacific and provides seventeen miles of stunning sights along the PCH. However, to continue along the coastline upon reaching this peninsula, things get a little expensive. There is a toll at either end of the stretch that charges visitors $10.25 to drive the "17-Mile Drive". The reason for this charge is that the peninsula is home to one of the most famous golf courses in the world, Pebble Beach. In addition to that, there are three other golf courses on the peninsula and several stately homes. Long story short, this is a fancy pants place.

However, the reason Pebble is so famous is due to these crazy stunning views while playing. The greens almost spill right into the ocean. Anyone could get into golf when it looks like this.

One of the most iconic sights on the peninsula, and the logo of Pebble Beach, is the Lone Cypress. A Monterey cypress tree, native only to this peninsula, what makes this guy unique is that it appears to grow out of sheer cliffs on a rocky outcrop on the coastline. 

In recent years, it has been burned by fire and has lost a limb. The tree has to be held up with cables now, but I have no doubt a lot of money will go into protecting and keeping it alive from here on out. 

While I was here in 1996, we just did a quick buzz along the drive, but in 2018, Dave was lucky enough to have a work trip to the peninsula, allowing us a few days to explore. Dave also got to play several of the golf courses, including Pebble Beach. This is definitely a happy place for him. 

While it would have been nice to stay at Pebble Beach, we were at one of the equally beautiful and way less crowded golf courses on the peninsula, the Inn at Spanish Bay. From the patio, an almost moorish landscape intermingles with the pristine greens of the golf course heading towards the Pacific. It was gorgeous. 

 The evening tradition at this resort is that a bagpiper will play at sunset, coming up from the first tee and playing for 45 minutes before finishing right by the patio. This nightly performance completes the Scottish vibe of the views. 

But it isn't ALL golf in Monterrey. While many of the residents of the Monterrey Peninsula are quite wealthy, there are some much cuter inhabitants that steal the hearts of tourists. These would be the sea lions that bake themselves on the rocks out at sea, barking and drawing all sorts of attention to themselves. 

Just some sea lions trying to surf. 

Another group of famous residents are the inhabitants of Bird Rock. One guess what occupies this rocky outcrop.  

Even without the golf and the wildlife, the views on this stretch of the PCH are pretty amazing. 

For the '96 trip, after our time in Monterrey, the drive quickly wrapped up on our way to San Francisco. While I may not remember a ton of the road trip, I do remember the beauty of the coastline and I'm happy to say I've crossed this one off the bucket list. However, I would happily return to experience the country's most epic road trip again anytime.