Mini-Road Trip - Santa Barbara to Berkeley

We arose the next morning and it was another beautiful California morning.  We packed up the car and hit up the continental breakfast bar.  They did have a make your own waffle station which was cool and I had mentioned to Lauren the night before when we checked in that I was definitely going to check that out.  We ate our fill, grabbed coffee to go and hit the road.  We drove around a little bit to see what Santa Barbara was like since we had arrived in pitch black it was cool to see it in the light.  We got on the CA101 heading north when we saw a sign for the Santa Barbara Mission a few exits ahead.  We thought that it would be cool to see it since who knows when we would be back through the area again.

We pulled off the highway and wound our way up a hill until rising above the palm trees was the mission.  We pulled into the parking lot off to the side of the mission, which was only partially filled, and began to roam around the area.  Had we wanted to take a guided tour we could have gone into the mission itself and seen the church, the monastic rooms, and the rose gardens, but we figured just looking around the free areas was cool.  Lauren told me that there were missions like this littered up and down the coast that were founded by Spanish catholic missionaries.  After walking around we got back in the car and headed north on the CA101 to get to the CA1, the Pacific Coast Highway.

Looking out to the Pacific from the steps of the mission

The plaque on the front of the mission

The front of the mission with Lauren on the steps

Watch out Tom, I look pretty good in a Catholic habit if I don't say so myself

We cruised along the CA101 which hugged the coast for a good thirty miles or so before we came to the CA1 and veered away from the coast.  We traveled through what was predominately farmland as we made our way towards Vandenberg Air Force Base.  After another forty miles of cruising among the hills that line the coast we based the base and continued north.  The scenery was amazing as it was a mix of hills, farmland, and coastline.  We passed many little towns, with quintessential town squares and rural main streets.  I was a bit disappointed at first because I thought that we would be right on the coast with winding roads, the steep drop offs, and the ocean right next to us.  Little did I know that was waiting for me as we got closer to the Monterrey area and Big Sur.  We stopped for lunch at a train that was converted into a diner in a coastal resort town.  It was pretty good and pretty cheap.  We also walked down to the beach even though it was windy and cold, but at least we could say we went to a beach.

The Rock & Roll Diner

The edge of the continent

We were on the CA1 and still several hundred miles south of SF when the towns started to disappear and the road became much more winding.  We were approaching the Monterrey County line and it was clear that we were in for a change in scenery.  The farmlands disappeared and we were driving through the hills and much more closely to the coast than before.  That was when I knew that I was where I wanted to be.   We pulled off the highway at a turnout where there was a viewing point for elephant seals that littered the beach.  We hung out for a few minutes, listened to someone speak about the seals and how to preserve them, took some pictures and left.

One of many places where seals come to give birth, raise their young, and of course catch some rays

So many freaking seals!

Awww look at the baby seal, ain't it purdy

Lauren was nervous about the heights because we were driving through sharp switchbacks and going up and down in elevation rather quickly.  there were no gas stations, no restaurants, only hills to my right and the ocean to my left.  The road was only one lane on each side with many pull offs so that slower traffic could move out of the way of faster vehicles.  It was an intense and amazingly fun drive.  We had the windows down and the music playing as I clutched the steering wheel trying to stay on the road.  This carried on for about fifty miles or so and what would normally take only an hour to travel, took us nearly two hours to do that stretch of the PCH.  The views were one of a kind and unlike anything else I had seen before.  It truly was amazing.  I recommend this ride to anyone who has never done it before.  It was a lot better than just driving up the I5.  The sun was setting as we approached Monterrey and both Lauren and I were tired and looking forward to not driving anymore.  Instead of continuing up the CA1 all the way to the Bay Area, we made our way over to one of the freeways.  We cruised along for another hour or so until we reached San Jose which is located on the south end of the bay.  It would only be another 45 minutes and we were finally home in Berkeley.  All in all it was an amazing trip and one I hope to repeat again sometime before I head back to Boston.