Pacific Coast Highway

It's June 1st, and almost summer and my feet start itching to press the gas pedal and my hands feel  eager to grip the wheel.  Short or long, I love a good road trip.  Give me a Diet Coke and some good tunes, and I can drive forever.

This postcard of the Pacific Coast Highway, sent by the Mystery Sender, reminds me of road tripping.  As mentioned before (here and  here), I've traveled almost every inch of the PCH, but the Mystery Sender sets the story straight as to what exactly constitutes the PCH and what doesn't, in the message above.   "The officially designated Pacific Coast Highway is just a short stretch of a little over 100 miles of Highway 1, from Dana Point to Oxnard.  The rest of the highway is either the Cabrillo Highway or Shoreline Highway....The entire route is also designated as the Blue Star Memorial Highway."  

Whatever it's called, I love this road.   Even when there are faster routes, I'll often drive Highway 1 to get where I'm going, and it's a toss up whether I've logged more miles on the stretch from Dana Point to Oxnard, or from San Francisco to Santa Cruz.

This summer, I'll be picking my son up from college in June (road trip from San Francisco to Eugene, Oregon with a possible overnight in Bend), celebrating my mom's birthday in July (road trip from San Francisco to Pasadena, California), and picking heirloom peaches in July or August (road trip from San Francisco to Fresno, California).  If I'm really lucky, I'll make it to Montana for a party my friends are throwing in Missoula, with a few stops along the way (Jackson Hole, Wyoming?  Genesee, Idaho?). 

Road trip, anyone?

The Pacific Coast Highway, Carmel to Hearst Castle Segment

If you've ever driven up or down the Pacific Coast Highway (known as PCH, especially from Newport Beach, south) from Carmel to Hearst Castle, you know how narrow and winding and cliff abutting this highway is. The experience and the view are worth every nerve wracking, brake foot tiring minute. Just avoid driving it, if at all possible, during the Winnebago season. January is pretty good because, not only is it not crowded, you can often see the spouts of migrating whales from the road.


What you might not think up about is, how in the heck did they build it? Here's picture of that construction, sent to me by my sister after she and her family and a student visitor from France had just completed this drive.

Check out Road Trip USA for a description of the entire length of Highway 1. I've driven every inch of this Highway, from Portland to San Diego, and into Mexico, with just a short stretch from Portland to Olympia remaining for me to experience.

P.S. Happy Postcard Friendship Friday