Savoring the Pacific
Ocean Tuesday was going to be Big Sur Day. Regrettably, now we had to head directly to San Francisco and they had to give up: the previous day we had already ruled out a mountain route through Ojai that had been recommended to us. During Tuesday we were going to travel the third third of the trip in a single day (the first was the route of the parks and the second route 66).
We took our time to enjoy the morning in Santa Barbara and at noon we started the route with a long link to San Luis Obispo, where the unparalleled Route 1 starts its journey along the ocean. A magical road For those who saw they see in Catalonia, something like Sant Feliu-Tossa but ten or twelve times in a row. Or something like the coastal highway of El Salvador in a very long version. Or that other incredible road that is the one that goes from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo along the coast. Or some stretches of the highway that runs along the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. And other roads in many places that have their maximum expression in a playful path in communion with the sea. Suggestive roads, to roll and feel and dream.
La 1 is a wonderful road. You are passing enclaves to each more amazing to live. Casitas next to the beach that seemed to exist only in the movies (it sure has been shot more than once). For those in a hurry, the highway circulates about thirty miles inside, but we are not interested. At times we see surfers and kitesurfers.
A surprise on the way is the castle of Hearst, which appears in Citizen Kane, by Orson Welles. Hearst was an eccentric millionaire owner of many media who bought things compulsively and had that pharaonic castle built. The film by Orson Welles was a social criticism based on this singular character.
Another stop on the way is a beach that the sea lions have chosen to rest. Hundreds of them crowd on a beach that seems full of sunbathers on a Sunday of summer. There they are wallowing in the sand all day. Long life of these animals!
We follow the endless road. Always by the sea, sometimes closer to the shore and at other times rolling higher on the cliff. A day full of images of “screensavers”, those that make you fall in love even more with the pleasure of traveling by motorcycle. Definitely, the coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco deserved more than a day. And in Dubbelju, the rental house, they have attractive motorcycles to rent some for a few days and dedicate it to the curves and the coast: Thruxton, Multistrada, GS’s, …
In short, let’s leave the temptations for the future. The objective of the day It was getting to Santa Cruz but the route is long with the stops, the curves and the kilometers that already weigh theirs after so many days. Although we were excited to get to Santa Cruz for the references of the city, we decided to stop in Monterey. Monterey only sounds to me by the nearby Laguna Seca Circuit. Like all the cities in this coastal area, it is a delicious place to live, very careful and at a relaxed pace. We found a comfortable hotel for the last night en route. We arrived tired from an intense day and on the road, but we rescued forces for a good last dinner on the route.
Travelling day 12: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 Route: Santa Barbara Route 101 – Gaviota – Los Alamos – Santa Maria – Arroyo Grande – San Luis Obispo – Route 1 – Cayucos – San Simeon – Hearst Castle – Lucia – Big Sur – Carmel Highlands – MontereyDistance traveled: 242 miles (390 Kilometers) Accumulated distance: 2,303 miles (3,714 Kilometers)