South on Highway 1 (Days 60 to 62)
Day 60 - Highway 1 (Santa Barbara)
Day 61 - Santa Barbara to Santa Monica
Day 62 - Santa Monica (Leaving USA!)
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Day 60 - Monday 29 September
South on Highway 1!
I was a bit late leaving La Selva Beach - about 9:30am. I felt sad because I had a great time staying with Deba and Gregg and now I only had two days left in the US! My stress levels were up a bit! I was looking forward to the drive south along the coast - something I had been looking forward to many years. Unfortunately, the thought (and I guess fear) of driving into LA seemed to hang over me like a cloud. It was a big unknown! And driving on the right (wrong) side of the road was quite stressful!
It was only 1/2 hour to Monterey and I called in for a quick look and a coffee. On the way, I was really impressed by the autumn colours of the pigface plant in the morning light. Seeing the vast tracks of vegetable gardens and orchards was also interesting.
Monterey fishing boat wharf! Click for bigger pictures!
Monterey was a pretty town. The wharf area and the ocean were really beautiful.
South of Monterey the coastline and hills were more rugged and the vegetable gardens disappeared. I called into Point Lobos as suggested by a few people. I didn't spend much time because of my feelings of anxiety. The coastline was similar to SW Australia - except for the Cyprus Pines.
The drive south from Point Lobos to Big Sur and beyond was truly magnificent. The road hugs the coast all the way and the views were spectacular. I was lucky because it was clear (no fog). It was very dry though. I would love to see this part of the coast when the grass is green (as in the many photos I've seen!). I didn't stop much, only to take photos, a short stop at Big Sur National Park and one food stop.
California Highway 1! Click for bigger pictures!
Pacific Coast Highway 1 joined Highway 101 further south. This is one of the main routes from San Francisco to LA. Once I hit the freeway it was 70-75 mph straight through to Santa Barbara. Driving on the wrong (right) side of the road at those speeds was exhausting!! The fog drifted in about mid-afternoon. One regret was that I arrived too late to visit Hearst Castle. I had wanted to see this place for many years after seeing it in National Geographic. (With luck, I did get to see it a year later on my second drive along this coast. It was breathtaking!)
I arrived in Santa Barbara late in the afternoon and took some time to find my way around. I was feeling quite pleased to be here because I was only 2 hours out of LA - quite a nice drive in the morning and plenty of time to overcome the shock of entering LA!!
Santa Barbara was really nice - clean, up-market and a strong Spanish influence. Quite a pleasant surprise! The sandy beach was wide and the ocean very calm. I found a hostel and checked in. Not such a nice place. It was very crowded and only one toilet was working. Unfortunately, it was right near my bed! This was not a HI Hostel and it showed.
I went for a Thai red curry and then spent a few hours at the hostel's "keg night". I stayed up 'til about 1:30pm talking to some Germans and a couple of locals - one was named Randy believe it or not!! (You'd understand if you read the travel books about Santa Barbara!!)
Links:
Big Sur
Highway 1
Smithsonian Magazine - Highway 1
California H'way 1
Santa Barbara
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Day 61 - Tuesday 30 September
Santa Barbara to Santa Monica
I left the hostel early and found a place in the main street and had a nice breakfast. It was a very pleasant morning, cool yet with a tropical feel! For a few minutes after breakfast I just sat and enjoyed the streetscape.
I then hit the road for the final leg of my US journey.
It was a foggy morning with limited visibility. I drove down Route 101 until I could rejoin Highway 1 at Oxnard. Then it was along the coast all the way to Santa Monica.
I really enjoyed this drive. It was very scenic and all the way there were surfers out surfing on small but clean waves. It was a calm, overcast, hazy day and the water was like glass. One thing that was really striking was that there were houses built right on the beach - something you don't see very much of in Australia where the beaches belong to everyone. This was Malibu! As I went further south, the Malibu mansions began to appear in the hills behind the coast.
The drive was tiring becasue of the concentration required in the heavy traffic. It was really dangerous because of all the cars parked along the road behind the ocean-front houses.
I arrived in Santa Monica at noon and checked into the hostel. And what a hostel. It's in 2nd Avenue between the beach and 3rd Ave Boulevard (where all the stars hang out). Lots of classy yet casual shops, restaurants and cafes. I could tell I was going to enjoy my time here.
I grabbed some lunch and then drove out to Hollywood. I intended to go to Paramont Studios to go on a tour but I took so long finding the place that I arrived 15 minutes late. There was no way that security would let me catch up despite my pleading. It was my only day in Hollywood. I was very disappointed and quite depressed. This is the only thing I had planned for my short stay.
I opted for second best - the very commercial Universal Studios. What a disappointment. It was even more commercialised than I had imagined. Here I was just one of thousands of tourists instead of one few at Paramont. I did go on the bus tour of the back lot. It was interesting but not at all exciting. I went to a western show and the Waterworld show. Again, both were intersting with good effects but terribly overacted. I guess I'm a bit critical. I had 3 hours there! I won't rush back.
I headed home on Ventura Freeway and experienced a clogged LA freeway. I then took the San Diego Freeway and experienced a very fast LA freeway. Very scary!!
I made it back to Santa Monica at 7pm quite exhausted. I went out for a beer, dinner and then did some shopping. There was a movie on at the hostel when I arrived home at 10:30 so I didn't get to bead until late.
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Day 62 - Wednesday 1 October
Santa Monica
To be written....
Tomorrow, Singapore - homeward bound