California Dreaming - Part 1

Lorraine Wynne 19 December 2016
California Dreaming is the perfect catchphrase! After visiting California, I have been dreaming about it ever since. It is hard to put into words the impact a trip to California will have on you. I have never experienced anywhere like it. Beaches, Mountains, Wineries and Desert, the landscape, the atmosphere, the easy living feeling and that cool retro vibe - there is just no place quite like it.

Some of the places I visited on my road trip included LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Calabasas, Malibu, Morro Bay, Yosemite and the Mojave Desert. I dipped my toes in the Pacific Ocean and walked along the most amazing beaches in Santa Monica and Malibu, enjoyed a delighted lunch and spot of shopping in Santa Barbara, ate some delicious crab cakes in Morro Bay and enjoyed some spectacular scenery along the way.

I drove through mountains, wineries, along the ocean coast on highway 1 and through the desert to Las Vegas. Highway 1 in California is known as the Pacific Coast Highway. It is one of the most popular routes to take if you are embarking on a road trip and I completely understand why. I drove North on Highway 1 from Los Angeles to Morro Bay and my stops along the way were Santa Monica beach and pier, Malibu Beach and Santa Barbara.

Santa Monica and Malibu are the most amazing beaches I have ever walked along; you could easily spend a day at each. No visit to California is complete without visiting the famous pier at Santa Monica beach. You can enjoy some delicious funnel cake, thrilling carnival rides and pick up unique souvenirs at its many stalls. The scenery of the Pacific Ocean and Mountains make this one of the best beaches you will ever visit.

Malibu beach is just fabulous! A quiet escape from everything; you can stop and walk along the Malibu beach pier, enjoy some delicious food at the highly recommended Malibu Farm restaurant on the pier or even spend the night overlooking the beach in The Inn at Malibu Beach… you will love it! The drive from Santa Monica to Malibu and Malibu to Santa Barbara is breath-taking. The route is the most scenic road I have ever travelled on; every bend brings a new landscape.

We stopped in Santa Barbara for lunch and some shopping. Santa Barbara has such a lovely small town feel with delicious restaurants and great shopping you could get lost for hours. I recommend spending the night here to break up the long drive.

We headed further north and the last coastal town on our road trip was Morro Bay; a small fishing town with a huge 500-foot volcanic rock in the bay. This part of the drive is not along the oceans edge because some of the land is owned by the United States air force. As you drive inland, you will get to see miles and miles of farm land. A 2-hour drive from Santa Barbara and lots of scenery later we arrived in Morro Bay. We had dinner at Rose’s Bar and grill which overlooks the bay and Morro Rock it was such a nice setting to end our costal drive.

The next part of our road trip took us inward towards Yosemite.