I had some work to do in San Francisco, it’s said to be a beautiful ride, so we decided to go altogether and take some time to enjoy the journey. We rented a 5-6 years old Honda Accord on Turo, one of those cars that don’t look like much but are actually practical, quite comfortable and good on the MPG. We had left most of our things in the garage at Whitney’s, our super cool BnB owner in Woodland Hills and went with scooters, one suitcase, books and some food. Everything fitted in the trunk and we were ready to hit the road on that Saturday morning! There would be a lot of stops, to see the ocean and play in the sand, the first one was a little campground along the road, offering the best view and surfing spot to the campers.
We then stopped in Santa Barbara for breakfast, we went on the port where fishermen were selling their fish. A nice little place beside the wharf made eggs and coffee, we had that outside while little birds and cyclists stopped by for some food.
Olivine and Basile love the beach: it’s about digging in the sand and building castles and structures, many will be made along that journey.
Next stop is Cachuma Lake, a great place where we’ll see our first condors. Those went almost instinct but their population has rised again over last decade.
Going up North, we had a stop in Los Olives; there was a Christmas Fair in the village, with artists and shops open for holiday specialties, cookies and wine tasting, in a very friendly atmosphere. We went to the saddlery that reminded me of my times in Country Western festivals when I was a kid (in the North of France we have such things)
We stopped by Pismo Beach to see the sunset. Some surfers where riding waves down the pier.
After a good night of sleep at our motel in San Simeon, we headed back to the coastal road. This time we would stop to see some sealions that are easy to spot on the big rocks.
The landscape is very different from place to place, the more we get North the greener are the hills, the beaches looking a bit like Brittany. It sometimes gets very hilly, the road being a winding along the mountain on the right with the ocean on the left. It was closed for more than a year because of landslides, some parts were completely isolated. We stop every now and then for a hike or for coffee.
We stop for a hike along a trail that goes down a creek with a beautiful view on the sea. Back in the days boats would be loaded and unloaded from the materials to build the infrastructures and the goods for local populations. Lot of trading from the rich crops around.
We stop at the Big Sur Roadhouse, a nice restaurant in this beautiful area where a lot of people come camping, one my friend Steve’s favorite spots to come with his family. The ride is beautiful.
Next stop is Monterey, where we see another beautiful sunset.
We started the day by a little walk on Lighthouse Avenue in Pacific Grove, a neighbourhood of Monterey to visit the Happy Girl Kitchen and a nice thrift shop, then we went on the port.
Monterey is a car place, very serious shops around with beautiful old sports cars. We stop by a place called Captain + Stocker, a place that is all about tandems and vintage mountain bikes. Oh, and crazy good coffee too…
We follow our way to Santa Cruz, more farms and fields along the way. Along the beautiful road we stop again and have a nice walk in the Rancho Del Oso where we can see the Pacific ocean from the tracks in the woods… next stop San Francisco!
As I wake up early to sync with my colleagues in Paris, I have to find a coffee place to work in the city. The Market district is fine during the day, but kind of gloomy when it goes dark. At 5 am the morning there’s a lot of police officers around to move the homeless people around so it looks fresh for business hours… mixed feelings.
While I’m having a lot of fun discussing future standard of the motion pictures industry with my peers in the beautiful Dolby building, Corinne and the kids travel the city on their scooters. That is something we got when reaching Woodland Hills, scooters are much faster and more fun than walking for the kids, and a great alternative when you can’t cycle (cycling to our place in Woodland Hills is a bit of a mountain climb).
On the Thursday my meetings are done at noon, we can get to see the Golden Gate Bridge! We have a beautiful clear sky, my friend Emmanuel, a local tech chti, told us a lot of his friend have come to San Francisco never to see that bridge! It’s called Fog City and when it’s foggy, you can’t see much…
It’s time to leave the big city, we’ve had a lot of fun, Corinne and the kids have seen a lot of it. We slept in another motel in King City, the panorama is very different on that more inland road; green pastures, nice hills. The ride through Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo was stunning.
We reach back the Ocean road at Pismo Beach for another beautiful afternoon for Olivine and Basile playing in the sand. Another beautiful sunset and heading to Lompoc where we are supposed to see a rocket launch…
Lompoc might not be the first place you think about for tourism, but it is close to the Vanderberg Air Force Base where rockets are launched several times a year. We went to a laundromat and there was a parade for the holidays close by, so we went to see it before getting to the launch.
The launch was postponed to the next evening, so we spent another day in Lompoc, visiting the Purisima Mission, a Spanish mission from the 17th century that has been fully restored. There is a big park where we can do some geocaching, a great way to have the kids walking, not that we really need it.
We decide to get closer to the launchpad in the afternoon, there is a little beach that is about 10 miles away. It’s beautiful, there is a bridge over a little lake where the birds gather to fish.
We went to a good spot with the kids, following the last preps on the website while a lot of enthusiasts around were ready with their cameras and binoculars. Unfortunately the launch was postponed again, we’ll have to come back to see a rocket!
After a good night of sleep, we took back the road to Los Angeles. A stop in Santa Barbara where some local motorbike riders had a big parade… we visited the old town that is beautiful.
On the way we have a stop at Point Mugu Airforce base where a couple of rockets and fighters are on display. We then stop on a beach along the PCH, Lamborghinis and Ferraris are roaring while we are looking at the waves and the colourful stones.
We cross Malibu that has been much damaged by the Wolsey fires, some parts of the city, that spreads over several miles, are completely destroyed. We stop at Point Dume to get to one of my favourite coffee place, that just been taken over by French people… bloody French! It’s now Café de la Plage and coffee is still good, but it’s more a macaron/ice-cream place now. We then reach to Malibu Village where a gathering of woodies is organized for a fundraiser. Woodies are cars from the 40s/50 with a wood frame, used to be cheap for surfers around before the VW Kombis became the big thing.
We finally arrived in our flat in Santa Monica where we would spend another week before getting back to Woodland Hills. This trip has been absolutely amazing, so many things we’ve seen and experienced, so much we haven’t seen! There are so many infrastructures in place for recreation, parks, campground, all very clean, so many things to do, it’s a great example on how to make an already awesome area even more attractive. We’ll have to do it again!
Merci de me faire voyager !
Very nice pictures and such a wonderful part for your kids’ life.