Highway One/San Diego

19/03/12-22/03/12

Time to hit the tarmac as our road trip officially began, for the next two weeks that my sister was out for we would be making our way from San Francisco to Las Vegas. That morning we cruised across the golden gate bridge to check out the view points on the other side of the bay looking back at the city. While there we also visited a local national park which unknown to us contained a rescue centre for sea lions which are taken to the centre to be treated so they can be released back into the wild. The highlight of the park though had to be the Hawk Hill lookout alongside the road that follows the coast round. The views of the bridge and city from there where stunning, you couldn’t have imagined a better view, it was almost like the city had been built just to accommodate the view from this point, I will definitely be recommending it to people as my number one thing to do in San Francisco. Heading back to town we made a quick stop off to pick up some last minute bits before we drove down the road with the most curves in the world, eight in total each one directly after the other, before we hit the road south out of town to make a start on Highway One – the road that follows the Pacific coast from San Francisco all the way to San Diego. Our first nights stop off was to be at Monterey only a few miles south of San Francisco so along the way we took a quick break to check out Santa Cruz, a traditional seaside town complete with an amusement park and a boardwalk and pier. Once again we were confronted with sea lions sleeping under the pier. Our brief stint on the Highway One had only gave us a glimpse of what we would be treated with the next day.

The next day we said goodbye to Monterey as we followed the 10 Mile Drive coast road through the grounds of the famous Pebble Beach golf course. The coastline was dwarfed by ragged rocks and plenty of wildlife including sea otters. The next 120 miles south on Highway One has to be one of the most stunning driving roads in the world. The first 40 miles takes you over an hour to cover as the road twists and turns through the mountains until it once again re-emerges by the coast to some of the most spectacular scenery as the deep blue Pacific Ocean stretches out into the distance. At one point we stopped off to take in the view only to be greeted by the distance stray of water of passing whales as they migrate north for the summer. Later at Morro Bay we stop to take photos of a volcanic cone just off the beach. That night we stop off at the edge Santa Barbara.

In the morning before continuing on we pay a quick visit to Santa Barbara beach, the town has a very Mediterranean look and feel to it. The beach gives you the first hints to the warm climate enjoyed by Californian coastal areas with the amount of palm trees growing alongside the road. Moving on we soon hit the outskirts of Los Angeles as we follow the road through the coastal towns of Malabo, Saint Monica, Long Beach and Orange County. We stopped off at Saint Monica for lunch and to see the start/finishing point of the historic Route 66 at the edge of the pier as well as Long Beach to see the famous Queen Mary ocean liner in its new home. In the afternoon we finally reached the end of Highway One as we enter the city of San Diego for a two night stay. It had been a wonderful journey on Highway One; we had seen some spectacular scenery, interesting wildlife and pretty towns along the way.

With a full day in San Diego we made our way straight to the world famous zoo located in the cities parkland. The zoo was one of the first in the world to house animals in open landscaped exhibits instead of behind solid bars, a practice that is still continued today and its example is followed by zoos around the world. We spent most of the day wondering around exploring the animals which include pandas and polar bears. Later in the afternoon we quickly popped downtown to explore the old Gas lamp Quarter which is full of historic buildings, apart from that there isn’t much else to see in the city.