Life in FNQ - Matto & Jess: Holidays - Driving from LA to San Fran on the Pacific Coast Highway

Lets get this out of the way first then, shall we? Yes - our trusty Mazda5 hire car did blow a tyre on the trip. Yes, it was probably my fault for not avoid a razor-sharp rock with enough gusto. Yes, I still loved the low-profile tyres and wheels despite this.

The tyre saga is actually still on-going, as we're currently filling out a claim for on our travel insurance to hopefully be reimbursed the US$200/AUS$300 special high-speed super-low-profile tyre that we needed to have fitted. If we had taken the car back to Hertz with the spare on, and got them to fix it at a cost of $1000, then the insurance would have paid out straight away, as it would have appeared as an insurance excess that we were liable for. But because we couldn't afford the time, and didn't want to be out of pocket as much money as Hertz would have charged, we arranged it ourselves (with some help from the lovely staff at the Holiday Inn at Monterey). As it is, they'd like us to fill out a claim form and sent it in "for consideration", so there's still a glimmer of hope.

Anyway, on to more exciting things!

When we left off last a couple of days ago, we were pulling out of LA after spending the morning at Santa Monica. With the Mazda's nose pointed north (Thanks to Mr Tedder's GPS that we had on loan - wasn't THAT a lifesaver!), we hugged the coast all the way to our overnight stop at Santa Barbara.

A more idyllic seaside escape you couldn't hope to find. No wonder so many of LA's rich and famous have weekend homes up there. It's also a hyper-trendy place, with hybrid cars and battery/electric buses to ferry you around. All this technology against a backdrop of the old pier, and the original unrestored buildings that abound in the town.

From Santa Barbara, we headed off into the rain on day 2. Whereas day 1 was fast, open, sweeping highway along the side of the coast, complete with surfers enjoying the swell; the majority of the driving on day 2 took us inland from the coast, winding through country backroads amidst farmland. We took an unmarked turnoff and winded along a seriously twisty and tight country road, only to pop out at a beautiful caravan park right on the beach, which sported a number of huge RVs that had somehow negotiated the drive in.

After a quick stop in a little town for the weirdest KFC we had ever had, it was back on the road for the short stint up to San Luis Obispo - our stop for that night. We arrived mid-afternoon, which gave us plenty of time to head into town for some sightseeing. The old mission building still stands on the creek, and the town centre is done up in old-style regalia, and makes you feel as if you've just stepped back a hundred years (or more).

Leaving SLO the next morning, we drove through rain pretty much all day again. The road bought us back to the coast, but the normally spectacular views were alluding us again, replaced with a sheet of grey and water on the windows. The rain thwarted our attempt to see the Hurst Castle, something which had been highly recommended to us. Unfortunately after taking refuge in the gift shop for half an hour, the rain was only getting heavier and heavier, so we made the decision to skip it and move on. So close, yet so far!

Missing the castle did give us some more time up our sleeve, which we cashed in 10 minutes down the road at the Elephant Sea Lion colony on the beach. We spent a huge amount of time there, watching these lazy giants sit around, whistle at each other, and throw sand on their backs.

As we continued north, the road became more and more severe, eventually clinging to the cliff face above the rocks and crashing swell below. The road itself was perfectly acceptable, but the location was majestic. Unfortunately, the environment, coupled with the rain, meant an inordinate amount of rocks had fallen onto the road. It was a constant battle to avoid them without jerking the car left and right, and as we saw above, wasn't always a battle that I won. Unfortunately sharp shale-y rocks and low-profile tyres are never going to get along very well. Despite changing the tyre in the mud and the rain, I at least had a spectacular view to console myself with.

Thankfully it wasn't much further into Monterey, which was a blessing, since our bright yellow "space-saver" spare tyre had numerous warnings not to drive above 45mph (~80kph). The car's handling characteristics, in the rain with one heavy steel wheel and super-skinny tyre on one side of the car, was interesting enough that I didn't feel the need to try that limit out. Thankfully the motel staff could recommend a local Goodyear shop (And provide directions to get there) who luckily enough had a suitable tyre they could mount up, which spared us the indignation of needing to drive all the way to San Fran on the spare.

Monterey was a beautiful spot, easily the biggest town of the three on this leg of the trip. Yet, at the same time it was very easy to get around, with the PCH dissecting the town, and making rapid transit from one end to the other very uneventful. That night we dined at a seafood place down by the bay, and experienced our first Clam Chowder. It was to be an experience we repeated later on in SF. Before dinner, we had managed to make the famous Aquarium before closing time, and managed to get around everything before they kicked us out. It was well worth the cost of admission, and have a huge range of very interesting displays. The jellyfish exhibit alone was breathtakingly beautiful. Especially considering that here in Aus, jellyfish are more associated with stinging you, rather than being a thing of beauty.

Our 4th day on the road started with a jaunt back across town to visit the Pebble Beach golf course, which is actually inside a national park! Along with it are a bunch of other golf courses (4 in total, I believe), and private residences both in the forest and on the beach. We were lucky to arrive at Pebble Beach and find the US ProAm just kicking off, and the course in full swing. Unlike the previous days on this trip, the weather was blue-sky perfect today, and the greens were immaculate.

Reluctantly leaving Pebble Beach, we once again hugged the coast as the open, rolling hills contrasted against the rugged mountainous terrain of the previous day. A brief stop at the Pigeon Point historical lighthouse provided some beautiful photo opportunities. We were mindful of the time, wanting to get into SF nice and early, and avoid any peak-hour traffic and to give us plenty of time to traverse the city and find our hotel. After another half-day of stunning beach-road driving, small towns and country roads through green pastures, we entered the great steel-and-concrete jungle that is San Francisco, where once again the GPS proved itself indispensable.

But that's a story for another day...