Leonland - Leon Barnard
Chapter 6 > Road Trip up Highway 1 in California
I can't think of a better road trip than driving from L.A. to San Francisco via the coast-hugging California Highway 1. My Dad flew out from Wisconsin to visit me in L.A. and we spent two days covering the 600 or so miles of varied terrain and fantastic vistas. We stopped at several places along the way, some were populated beach towns, others were lonely rest stops, as a result the photos that I took tend to favor the brief segments of time when we were at a relative stand-still. The pictures in my mind, however, are of rolling hills and jagged cliffs passing by at 60 m.p.h.
Our lunch stop on the first day, Pismo Beach.
A nice color palette in the rocks at Pismo.
A gaggle (or whatever it's called) of slumbering seals at a rest stop.
Morro Rock in Morro Bay, a tad up the road from San Luis Obispo.
Boaters in Morro Bay.
A weathered fishing boat in Morro Bay.
Morro Rock up-close.
Trying to catch the last waves before sundown in Morro Bay.
The Best Western in San Simeon, where we stayed, overlooking the ocean. Notice the fire pits for keeping warm while listening to the waves at night.
The next morning brought some rain, which created a different mood from the previous day.
The rain didn't last long, bringing us a little sun for the slowest and most magnificent part of the ride near Big Sur.
Great Big Sur views.
The Bixby Bridge in the Big Sur area.
A brief stop in Carmel. Even their City Hall shows the mellow and upscale Carmel aesthetic.
A well-placed cypress tree along the 17 mile drive adjacent to Carmel.
The view from our hotel in San Francisco, the Clift.
One of my favorite bridges, the underappreciated Bay Bridge, connecting S.F. to the East Bay.
Looking out from one of the classic F Muni trains in San Francisco.
Posted by Leon on March 20, 2006 10:04 AM [Top of page]