Pacific Coast Highway Day 5
Pacific Coast Highway
Day 5 - April 21, 2003 - Carpinteria, CA to Santa Cruz, CA
We were on the road by 8:20 after a good continental breakfast of juice, coffee, bagels, English muffins, and yogurt. The sky had a high overcast and the temperature was in the 50s. We tried to get gas at the ARCO at Carpinteria but they would only take cash!!! So we drove to Santa Barbara and it was 10 cents cheaper per gallon. We lucked out.
We got back on Route 101 drove through beautiful areas of beaches, avocado groves, and many off-shore oil rigs. We are seeing very few California Highway Patrol vehicles and even though I am running at 5 miles over the speed limit, people are passing me going at least 10 miles over my speed. The signs warn that the speed limit will be strictly enforce and monitored by radar. MAYBE NOT.
We stopped at a state rest stop and I found that I had lost my auxiliary power to the ARCHOS player. I plugged it in to the power socket in the console and it worked but it does stick out. The road we are following is the El Camino Real and also called Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. The road had a good grade but was narrow at times. At Gaviota Beach California Route 1 continued northward through rolling hills, cattle ranches and green pastures. Along the hill sides we saw many cattle and two deer. This is beginning to sound like a Sanborn’s travel log through Mexico.
At Vandenberg Air Force Base I stopped to take a photo of an historic road sign. The base police stopped, followed us and not until we were over five miles away, did they turn around and go back to the base. I guess they thought we looked or did something suspicious. North of Orcutt, we saw fields after fields of vegetables and produce such as broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus.
We refueled at Pismo Beach as we were entering an area with limited gasoline supply, and although it was only 55 degrees but sunny, we put the top down. We had a short jog back on Route 101 for about 20 miles but then we were back on Route 1.
We stopped at Morro Bay to take photos and again at the vista point at San Simeon. There are so many places that we could stop with beautiful vistas we have to monitor our choices or we would stop at them all and only cover 100 miles a day.
One of our favorite stops was 4.4 miles north of San Simeon and the Hearst Castle. We found elephant seals Vista Point and took many pictures and watched them sun themselves, growl at each other, and swim. This is their molting season and they are pretty smelly and not very sleek unless one catches them coming out of the water.
We stopped for picnic lunch at 1:30 at a turnout on a high cliff above the surf. We took several pictures and got a chance to stretch our legs and walk around a little bit. People have asked how comfortable it is to ride long distances in the car. Even on the long days it was fine. The side wind made it more difficult. These drives up the coast from San Diego have been enjoyable as the road is challenging and have a lot of curves where the S2000 can really shine.
My fear is not my driving but people who will cut the curves. We have not had too many people who will not let us pass. One time I had to pass a line of cars as no one pulled over but this was only one case. Most people pulled over and let me pass.
Just south of Big Sur we went through a rain shower so we had to quick stop and put the top up. We made great time as we got it done in less than a minute. We and the car did not get too wet. Rain would follow us the rest of the afternoon, we would go in and out of drizzles for the last three hours.
In the Big Sur area there are a lot of tourists and side traffic, forcing us to go a lot slower. At one point traffic stopped completely as they had one lane blocked while a crew filmed a FORD commercial. Yesterday it was the Porsche and Ferraris, today it was the 700 series BMWs. Many, many especially around Big Sur and Monterey.
We followed Route 1 through Castroville and back to the coast at Santa Cruz where we will stay the night. We wanted to be sure to get to our room in time to see the AVS game with Minnesota Wild at 4:30 on ESPN. What is great about driving through the coastal area of California is that the temperature through out the day never got over 62 so it was pleasant if the sun was out.
Answering more of the questions I am getting - my selection for restaurants and lodging is not very helpful to anyone that my follow. I try not to have too many full meals so one good restaurant a day is the max. Yesterday we stopped at In-N-Out just for the color. Clementines was excellent in Carpinteria. Lodging is with the Choice Hotel group as I am one of their Choice Members.
Another thought that comes to mind is the condition of the roads. With the S2000, the more beat up the road, the more difficult it is to drive. Interstates are usually in better shape than state roads.
The S2000 suspension is tight so one feels all the imperfections of the road. Route 1 and 101 are more bumpy and in some areas in more disrepair. The roads are divided by stripes and center reflectors. Riding the wheels over these will let one know that one is doing something wrong.
Changing lanes is an experience as the S2000 and the steering wheel feels every reflector. Driving through LA was interesting as we had many stop lights that were not synchronized. That was very tough on the driver and the gas mileage.
Another thing that is odd with California is the lack of mile markers - on state and interstate roads. This makes it tough to know where one is and how much farther it is to a locale. As I get more questions, I will try to answer for all to see and use in the future.
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