Suggestions for CA Hwy 1 / 101 Road Trip

[302340]

Back in early March, I took my three day trip to Hwy 1 and San Francisco. Originally I wanted to drive as much of the coast as possible and include redwood / sequoia trees, but due to time constants and co-driver interests, plans changed to include more of San Francisco. While this initially did not seem to be optimal for driving, the city of San Francisco has its own unique driving fun.

Before I summarize my mini-driving adventure, a special thanks to LongRanger and Nine17 for providing very helpful tips as their tips helped us to manage our time better and avoid surprises.

Thursday:
Thursday morning my co-driver and I flew into San Francisco to start our three day vacation. By 1:00PM, we collected our rental car, a convertible Corvette, and started to make our way out of the city to head to Hwy 1. We used Hwy 101 to go south. We hadn't eaten since early morning so we pulled off 101 early and took Hwy 129 to Watsonville. Ideally we should have continued to Salinas and take Hwy 68 to Monterey for lunch.

Lunch took us to 3:30PM, and we headed south on Hwy 1 in Watsonville. There was a fair amount of traffic at this time but nothing that caused any major delays. However, once clear of Carmel-by-the-Sea, southbound traffic was virtually zero which is where the best driving began - roughly 70 miles of hills and conrners along some of the best scenery this country has to offer. I gave up the drivers seat to my copilot since it was time to share the drive. A big mistake as I couldn't the keys away from her to get my turn at the corners and hills.

After several stops along Hwy 1 for some pictures, we finally made it to our hotel in Cambria around 6:15 PM just after sundown. I picked this location as the hotels are located right on the ocean.

Some pictures ...

[302340]

Continued ...

Friday
My co-pilot and I woke up early but decided to wait for Hwy 1 to dry off a bit as the road was wet from the morning. We decided to walk the boardwalk along the ocean, stopping to view the seals resting on the rocks. At 8:00AM we headed north on Hwy 1, but quickly found that it was closed for repairs as Hwy 1 had suffered damage from spring rains. On Thursday's evening drive, we noticed one section of the road was made of hastily poured concrete, indicating to us that part of the road literally washed away down the cliff.

So we turned back to head south, caught Hwy 46 eastbound to cut over to Hwy 101, so that we could make our way back to San Francisco. Back in San Francisco (around 12:00PM), we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. The toll to drive back (southbound) was $6, while the northbound side was toll free (interesting). The rest of the afternoon was spent sightseeing and shopping on Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf.

We picked a hotel to stay at near Fisherman's Wharf simply because we were tired and needed a break. The hotels downtown charge about $45 to park overnight in their lots. Friday night we decided to do some more driving in San Francisco as our waiter from lunch (at Fog Harbor Fish House restaurant) recommended a couple of places to visit. We couldn't find our initial destination, but we found the roads to be more fun anyway. Heading southwest on Market Str takes one up into the hills via many curves. Eventually, we were rewarded with a nighttime view of the city - very picturesque at night with all the city illuminated.

Driving back to the hotel became a fun adventure as well. Because of the steep downward angle of Taylor Street, which ran perpendicular to the hill, we could not see the street in front of us when exiting the intersection. The car's headlights merely shown into empty darkness before the car tipped downward to show the road in front. In effect, it took a leap of faith to preceed down the hill starting at each intersection. Very cool.

Some pictures ...

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Continued ...

Saturday

Saturday morning, before heading to the airport, we drove the famous Lombard Str curves, twice of course. Then it was off to the airport to return our rented car and fly home. A great three day weekend of driving and sightseeing!

Last of the pictures ... Thanks!

[Nine17]

I'm glad that you and your wife had fun, 302340! Great photos; it's sometimes easy for me to forget what a privilege it is to live in this part of the country. A few weeks ago my wife and I did our annual WALK north on Highway 1 from Rocky Point to Carmel in the Big Sur Marathon 10.6 Miler. Not quite the same as driving that stretch of the road in my air-sucker Porsche... Cheers.

[302340]

Hi Nine17!

Thanks again for the help. I actually took my sister on this drive as a birthday and Christmas present. My brother and I have now made the drive to the Hershey swap meet our time together (13 hours one way!), so I wanted to spend some time with her. We both had a great time (!!) and plan on doing something like this together for next year. Perhaps we'll drive north of San Francisco for next year, or pick a different part of the country, though it would be hard to find something comparable in terms of roads and scenary. I have to agree, you are lucky to be able to enjoy such beauty all year round. Take care, and please feel free to offer any more suggestions!

Lee
302340

[Nine17]

Lee, apologies to your sister! Sounds like she's a great driving partner. Next time you're in S.F. you might want to try the loop up 1 via Point Reyes and Fort Ross to Mendocino, coming back down 128 through the Anderson Valley to Geyserville, continuing in 128 through the Alexander Valley to Calistoga, and down the Napa Valley back to the City. Makes a nice overnight if you get out on the road before the tourist traffic. The scenery is terrific and you will find no better food and wine on the planet.

David