After our great few days at Yosemite and the Acorn Festival Pow Wow we decided now was the time to do the highly rated coast road from Monterey to Ventura. The problem for us was that we weren’t sure whether if we saw a lookout or vista point that we’d be able to pull over with the 30’ van on our back so we figured we’d leave the van in a cheap RV Park while we drove the route over a couple of days staying in hotels.
Count Your Fingers
We found our cheap RV Park at Kingsburg between Yosemite and the Sequoia National Park and boy, was it cheap. First they tried to gyp us by saying their only vacant site was an expensive ‘premium’ site. This turned out to be b/s as when we arrived there were plenty of vacancies. This was lucky because the stupid place they had put the hook-up facilities we couldn’t stay in that spot. After trying 3 other sites they eventually gave us what we had wanted in the first place (but they swore was unavailable) which happened to be a cheaper drive through site. Cheaper, yes, but when we tried to get a refund for the difference in price between their premium site and our eventual site they started making every excuse under the sun to not give it to us. Perseverance (and my tight wallet) won out in the end but they had already soured the stay.
From a Snail to a Slug
We left our van the next day for our coastal journey. Without the RV on out back we had changed from a snail to a plain slug. But a fast slug. We took no time getting to our starting point Monterey just south of San Francisco but not before passing through some old townships, a train carrying more weaponry than the entire Australian Army and hundreds of square miles of farms.
Down in Monterey
It is not hard to see why Monterey is a favourite with so many people. It is a lovely city and the waterfront area is tremendous. At Fisherman’s Wharf we enjoyed a stroll and spotted Sea Lions and Otters frolicking in the bay. On land at the jetty entry there is a National Heritage site and Ranger station in old spanish style. We looked about and had a delicious meal of salmon crepes with sour cream before heading southward to the coastal trek. We drove through Cannery Row, an historic area where the once thriving sardine trade happened. It has now been gentrified and hosts hotels, bars and cafés like “Sly McFly’s” and the Intercontinental Hotel. Beyond there we wove our way thorough some expensive beach suburbs stacked with opulent abodes.
Go Ahead Make My Day
Next township we passed through was Carmel which you may remember was the town of which Clint Eastwood was once Mayor. For an Aussie comparison think Coogee/Clovelly in Sydney or Torquay in Victoria but on steroids. I’ve posted a pic here of a gorgeous stone house on the cliffs but you really can’t see as much in a photo as you can live. One feature of note is the bridges over the numerous canyons while at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park there is a waterfall that drops directly on to the beach. I won’t go on too much but if you follow the photos down to the stone block underpass you’ll see a small part of the incredible coast vistas. It is very much like our Great Ocean Road.
Where’s my Bed?
By this time day one was running out of steam and so were we. We hadn’t pre-booked any hotels thinking we’d just grab a bed anywhere. Big mistake. We stopped at a ‘lodge’ in the Los Padres National Forest to grab a room for the night. They had one left and like the others it was an old timber well worn rat hole and they wanted $280 for the night. After I told her I only wanted to rent it not buy the whole lodge we hastily departed. The next chance for a room was also a cabin (well one room of a duplex) and that was around $200 as well. Obviously they know market demand and how to get rich off travellers. Finally at around 8pm we made San Simeon which is a decent size and had plenty of options. We got a room (4*) and it was reasonably priced. Happily they had restaurant on site and so we ate at 8.45 with 15 minutes to spare before closing.
The Seal of Approval
Because of the late hour of travel last night we had to backtrack about 10 miles to see two of the attractions of this area. Hearst Castle built by Randolph Hearst and the resident sea lion colony. On arrival at the castle we decided to skip inspecting it. It was way too expensive and took over half a day to see and we had other things to see. We were not, however going to miss the seal colony and apart from the odour it was a magical experience. The big bull seal was happily dozing with his harem surrounding him. A couple of others were ‘fighting’ at the water’s edge and occasionally there would be a growl as one seal rolled on top of another and a squirmathon began for the most comfortable position in the sun.
South to Santa Barbara
As we moved south we transited many scenic spots mostly overlooking the beach or ocean. Farming in California is huge and this part of the coast was no exception. We fuelled up in a quaint town called Guadalupe and drove by Vandenberg Air Force Base. Eventually we reached Santa Barbara in time for late lunch (at 4pm). Santa Barbara has a beachfront and two piers as a focal point. The two are a mile apart so the town council has kindly provided a very cheap shuttle bus that runs along the beach front from the Zoo to the north pier. It also meets with another shuttle that takes tourists up State Street, the main shopping street and back. For $1 we got a town tour for both of us by bus. It was entertaining at the end of Steam Pier (the southern most) to watch a young woman wrestle for at least 30 minutes with an obviously large fish on her rod. She must have been wrecked by the end when she hauled up a very large stingray to the applause of the mass of people who had been gathering to get a peak at what she had caught.
No Bed Again.
Being another ‘money town’ Santa Barbara did have a few vacancies in their many hotels but the cheapest we could find was over $300 so we ended up back tracking (again) for 50 mile to Lompoc where a lousy 2* hotel cost us about $80. It was full of itinerant Latino workers and their families and some had as many as 6 or more people sleeping in a one room suite. But, it was a bed for the night so we took it.
Venturing to Ventura
On our final day we wanted to get to Ventura then ‘home’ in one piece. Incidentally, Ventura was only an hour from Santa Barbara so we made it there fairly easily. Ventura is not far from Malibu in L.A. and it is easy to see why so many love to travel here for a holiday weekend. Again we found ourselves at the end of the harbour where there is a pretty good Ranger Station the oversees the offshore island Marine/National Parks of the Channel Islands. When we wandered out back of the exhibits (which included a neat touch pool aquarium for kids) we were surprised to find another herd of seals lazing on the NP boat wharf. After a quick look at the marina and a coffee and pastry for morning tea we turned the car northward up the very scenic State Hwy 33 to the I-5 and a road trip we’ll list as one of our greatest trips. (That part of the trip complete Shane recorded part of the drive. click here)
An Appropriate Way to End Our Trip
We had no hint that route 33 was to be so windy, narrow and beautiful. The photos following the selfie of Shane and I at the Ventura Marina are all (except the final 5 or so) taken on the mountainous road that links to the I-5. There are several panorama shots posted here and I will try to explain just how this drive went. Look at the 4 panorama shots labelled 1,2,3,4. 1 and 2 are pretty easy to follow. The road goes left to right (L-R). In photo 3 I have numbered the road as it turns over itself from point 2 to 3. Eventually in pic 4 you can see an overview of where we started to the end on top of the range.
What goes up….
If you can follow that you’ll understand our joy at not towing the van on this trip. Anyway there’s a few photos of the vegetation by the road and an old wooden Inn before we realised that because we had gone up so high (over 5000 ft elevational climb) that we’d have to come down again. I have only got two photos of the descent as Shane had stopped taking pics and was holding on tight. Before we got back to our van we passed farms and an oil refinery. We crossed the California aquaduct and identified a pistachio crop. There was a farm growing flowers and we were passed by dozens of trucks loaded to overflowing with tomatoes. The wooden crates in the second last photo is crates of almonds. Hundreds and hundreds of crates. Then to wrap up this gallery there’s a photo of a freight train which had over 200 carriages. This is not uncommon.
Cheers for now and watch for future blog posts.
Garry & Shane