The Pacific Coast Highway, a journey down Highway 1

[Jipster]

On the road.... Day 2, Sunday 9 May Part 1

Am back in bolehland!! Great to be back..... jet lagged still but happy. Had tomyam for lunch .... way cool.

Anyway, starting post 1 of Sunday 9 May pics..... we'll start with Fisherman's wharf pics which is next to the pier pics I last posted....

Quite quaint.... a bit more rustic than say fisherman's wharf in San Francisco...its all the better for it BUT ist still all a bit touristy...

Lots of 'cool' restaurants and shops selling souvenirs and curios...

You can get a whale watching tour from here... didnt go as they are said to be a hit and miss affair ie no guarantee you will see any .... more likely seals...

Take me to your leader....

More nautical themed pics...

small boats are catered for as well.... water is very clear...

 

[Jipster]

On the road.... Day 2, Sunday 9 May Part 2

After fisherman's wharf we headed out to carmel-by-the-sea but a mix up saw us heading for the '17 Mile Drive' in the Pebble Beach area...

It costs USD9.50 (per car) to get in the whole area but well worth the price of admission....info on the 17 Mile Drive http://www.pebblebeach.com/page.asp?pageName=_17_Mile_Drive_Main

First up pics of beach around the Inn & Links at Spanish Bay...

I dunno if they even use this hole....

On the way to the next vantage point.... stuck camera out window and and just snapped away...

Further amusement.....

Lone cypress area....sorry dunno which is THE lone cypress....

The ghost tree area..... eerie .... would scare small animals and children at night ....

OK have to say something about the colours.... its not quite summer yet but the colours are just exploding here..... colour everywhere..... you wanted to just take a pic of everything ..... literally...

 

[Jipster]

On the road.... Day 2, Sunday 9 May Part 3

Pressed on and spied this along the road.... I just gave up on golf recently but seeing the sign got me going .... coooooool

Bag drop area....

Near entrance to the gallery cafe....

Had lunch on the terrace overlooking hole 1 and The Lodge at Pebble Beach

The Lodge... maybachs, bentlys, S500's ..... you can smell the money

View of some lucky sods teeing of from hole no 1 (view from terrace of cafe)

Hole no 1 .... we were just waiting for someone to chase us away.....

Beyond bag drop area..... check out all those bags ready to go...

Putting practice area.... we had lunch on the terrace at the top right

That guys didnt look too happy we were taking their photos....

 

[Jipster]

On the road.... Day 2, Sunday 9 May Part 4

We then headed south down Highway 1 aka pacific coast highway...

The Rocky Creek Bridge...

Area surrounding the bridge

Water is very clear.... its the Pacific

Steep drop.....

Beautiful, rugged scenery

 

[Jipster]

On the road.... Day 2, Sunday 9 May Part 5

The Bixby Bridge.... the Rocky Creek Bridge's twin.... or at least it seemed to me.... Bixby the is the celeb of the two, dunno why as they seem quite alike.... both are breath taking though.... its almost as if all that concrete is leaping out to the other side.....

right side...

left side...

view of the bottom....

driving away.... looking back at the bixby bridge...

 

[Jipster]

On the road.... Day 2, Sunday 9 May Part 6

Pressing on south we got to the Nepenthe restaurant in Big Sur. Its odd but when national geographic magazine lists a restaurant as a must see on its website you take notice. See http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/drives/pacific-coast-highway/3 (fyi - i used this as part of research for this trip).

Info on Nepenthe is here http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/.

The National Geographic describes Nepenthe as - an indoor-outdoor restaurant perched 800 feet (245 meters) above the sea and famous for its views.... check out theater style seating....

Seats with a view....

and the view is a million bucks!!

Called to the bar again.....

just a strong cup of joe though.... essential for long drives on the wrong side of the road....

Driving conditions look like this (up to Big Sur)....

past big sur.....(also the view when driving back towards monterey ie northwards)

 

[Jipster]

On the road.... Day 2, Sunday 9 May Part 7

After Nepenthe we decided to head back (northwards).

Decided to look for Carmel-on-the-Sea.... the quirkiest town i've been in in the US.... its like our version of kampung only upscale.... houses so close together, eclectic styles, lotsa green, trees, eco friendly ..... looks expensive too.....the following pics are of the public beach just a stones throw away from city hall...

Light was fast fading.... its was cold too ...

Gear time! My trusty Geox shoes!! Great for walking and driving....

 

[Jipster]

On the road.... Day 2, Sunday 9 May Part 8

This is last batch I want to post for Day 2 May 9.

Just misc pics of surroundings and scenery. My buddy used a polariser filter thingy which made his shots like burst with colour.... damn should've gotten one too...

Driving conditions...

Colours everywhere....

scenery was A+...

Dodge prowling....

 

[Jipster]

On the road ..... Day 3 10 May

Monday finally comes and its time to go home.

The day starts on a bum note.... its raining...

Gear ready and we are ready to roll...

But it quickly clears and we make good progress..... its about 328+ miles to LA..... tried to get shots in from inside the car....

Large part is on the 101

speed limit varies from the double nickel (55) up to 70 .... signs also state how the limit is enforced .... here it says radar enforced (i guess buy patrol cars) ... sometimes its by "aircraft" ie heli that works in tandem with a balck and white on the ground (we actually saw this in operation..... pretty sneaky this one)..... we kept to the limit most of the time but I did see 110mph ..... 80 is like standstill in this hulking car....

small roads out of town....

small towns too..... this isnt a town but a collection of structures and a junction masquerading as a town....

big rigs are scary when they are alongside.... especially when they suddenly switch lanes..... whoaaaaaaa

You HAVE to amuse yourself somehow..... 5-6 hours driving cramps your style.....

we knew we were getting close when the road opened up (5+ lanes sometimes)...

hallelujah......the prize in sight....

crap...... LA means traffic....

petrol was getting low.... we wanted to return car empty.... stresssssss

a sign!!!! we are close....

we get there finally .... around 6+pm..... relief....

We unload almost two weeks worth of stuff....

I hop onto the enterprise shuttle to get to terminal M of LAX. Reach the airport near 7pm (flight is at 0035)

The MAS counters were a sight for sore eyes..... nevermind they opened at 8.35.... I get to kill time walking around

11.30pm got to the gate ....

Going home wohooooo.

 

[Jipster]

On the road..... misc pics - my cloud collection

The blue clear skies made for interesting clouds..... heres the pick of the bunch (yes this is a collection of pictures of clouds...... get over it!)

 

[Jipster]

on the road.... misc pics - interesting cars we saw (that I had time to snap)

Infinti g(xx)... dunno 35 or 37 .... 2 door.... sweeeeet...

Crossfire..... weird and wonderful....

corvette..... awesome presence

wearing a bra too..... C cups I figure....

hummer....

(tired) looking GT.... the 850i

 

[Jipster]

On the road.... Tribute to the Dodge Charger

I was skeptical at first when my buddy asked for this car. I was worried by its thirst, bulk and general american-ness. But i was proven wrong.... I wouldnt mind having one myself. The fit and finish and quality is as good as European cars if not better. Power is good.... by seat of my bum, equivalent to say the 328/325 (E36 or newer), engine is smooth 90% of the time but when pushed doesnt have a V rumble.... corners well, slushbox not responsive though reluctant to kickdown.... but on the whole a nice car. We arrived at either end of our journey feeling not too tired.....

I recommended this road trip to anyone. Go for it!

 

[affan66]

nice pics man... u really had a good time....
I miss Cali. I should consider further studies in Stanford lah.. hehehe

 

[saat]

......


I recommended this road trip to anyone. Go for it!

I second that. The PCH or Highway 1 is one of the best driving road in the world.

It is worth a drive before you die.

 

[lamoo]

Yes I agree that this is one of them .
I have driven this route several times to LA.

I have also driven across from San Francisco by Route 66 to Augusta, Georgia. Route 66 is just as beautiful and interesting. Do not miss this route if you want to drive across America coast to coast.

The next route that I drove was from San Francisco by Highway 1 to Los Angeles onto Las Vegas onto Salt Lake city onto Denver onto Kansas City onto St. Louis onto Nashville onto Birmingham onto Atlanta and onto Augusta Georgia my last stop.

My next drive was from Augusta Georgia onto Columbia SC onto Richmond NC onto Washington DC onto Baltimore onto Philadelphia onto New York onto Binghamton onto Buffalo onto Negara Falls onto Pittsburgh onto Charleston onto Charlotte onto Asheville onto Spartanburg onto Columbia and finally back to Augusta Georgia.

My next drive I hope to do to cross from San Francisco to Augusta Georgia on the lower States along the Mexican Border, Arizona, New Mexico,Texas, Louisiana,Mississippi, Alabama and Last Georgia.

The other drive that I hope to do is across from Seattle to Augusta along the Northern States of America like North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Will be there in the States in Mid June will most probably drive down to Miami Florida this trip.

Jipster Sorry to disturb your Thread Just wanted to say how much I enjoy driving in America.

 

[Jipster]

no worries Lamoo mate. Driving in the states is made easy by (relatively cheap) car rental, food and accommodations. Everything is in english too which helps. Very do-able for anyone really. Europe is another kettle of fish.... the euro (or pound) and weird languages (outside of the UK) make it more of a challenge

 

[saat]

Yes I agree that this is one of them .
.......to Augusta Georgia.

My next drive ..................................................................... I enjoy driving in America.

Bro there is no need to shout. We can hear (read) you well, lah.