Driving the California Coast

After running the gauntlet of the deadly LA traffic we turned our car into highway 1 to begin one of the most beautiful drives of our trip.  The coastal California highway took us through Santa Barbra where we stopped for a great SoCal lunch.  This drive also offered gorgeous views of the Channel Islands National Park, wound through the fertile valleys of central California and soared onto the towering cliffs of Big Sur overlooking the ocean.

After waking up early just north of San Diego, Amanda and I packed up camp at our beachside campsite and started our journey northward through Los Angeles.  Soon we were driving north on the coast, sloping mountains to our right and endless ocean to our left.

Cradled between these powerful entities we drove.  We saw fields of tomatoes swarmed with migrant pickers bent at right angles over the fruit and stopped at a produce stand that offered avocados 15 for a dollar.  The air was clean, salty, and crisp and the sun was warm on our skin.

By midday we had covered some ground and stopped for lunch in Santa Barbra.  I steered the car off the highway and onto the sturdy wooden pier that extended Santa Barbra’s downtown restaurants and shopping far out above the water.

Amanda and I enjoyed strolling the pier watching the seagulls bobbing on buoys.  Enjoyable as the pier was, the restaurants here were more expensive and touristy than we were looking for, so we headed into town to explore other dining options.

This excursion led us down the main street of Santa Barbra where we found more expensive tourist and chain restaurants that kept us walking in search for something more local, affordable, and authentic.  Almost as soon as we ventured off the main street we found exactly what we were looking for.

The Paradise Cafe occupied a lazy, sun-soaked street corner where patrons dined on the outdoor patio bordered by potted plants and flowers and inside various warm and well-lit rooms with wood floors, white paint, and colorful art on the walls.

Amanda ordered her favorite meal, a turkey burger!  The burger was served with a salad for a perfect, light California lunch.  I had carne asada tacos of charry grilled skirt steak served with spicy avocado, onion, and cilantro on grilled corn tortillas.  A crisp Caesar salad came with the tacos to complete this SoCal specialty!

After lunch we continued our drive northward along the coast.  Soon we found a spot to stop and watch the sea lions that gathered on the beach to lounge and occasionally scoot themselves around and bark at one another.

Waves crashed onto the rocky shores as we continued up the coast.  Before long the sun began its descent into the Pacific and the mountains to the east crept closer to the seashore.  Soon we were driving halfway up the mountains–the highway carving through precarious angles on the west face of the mountain range of Big Sur.

We zoomed around the steep valleys and protruding bluffs, weaving up and down and seeming to teeter high over the frothy ocean that pounded the rocks far below.  As we drove we watched the sun quickly sink into the horizon, bringing to a close a long and unforgettable day of driving the California coast!