California Drivin’

A joyous trip on the freeway from LAX last night brought me through the mountains to Lebec about an hour and a half north.

After a good night’s sleep I could start exploring the California countryside.  Running due west along the northern edge of and then through the San  Madre Mountains.

The geological layout of this part of California is very strange.  It is either mountains or very flat plains, almost like a child has used clay to create the mountains on a flat board.

2-3 hours driving brought me to the coastal highway at Guadalupe, just north of which I take a diversion to the  Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Preserve where a 20 minute walk across a lake (via a boardwalk - I may be an Evangelist but I’m not able to walk on water) and through the dunes brought me to a very long deserted beach. – Just what you need after three hours behind the wheel, no matter how great the scenery you are driving through. 

Afterwards a short trip up the coast brought me to an excellent meal in a fish restaurant on the sea front at Pismo Beach.

The next few miles up highway 1, although through nice scenery, was a little disappointing –  after all this was supposed to be one of the most spectacular roads in the country.

The disappointment soon faded away after I reached a place called Rugged Point.  The next 50 or so miles were some of the most spectacular I’ve driven through.  The road clinging to the cliffs, would not have been out of place in Switzerland, with the Pacific Ocean washing against their base often hundreds of feet below.  As the afternoon wore on the sun dipped into the ocean and dusk arrived just as I pulled in to Carmel  to find a hotel for tonight.

Having talked about Google Maps mashups, I thought I should create a map of this trip and here it is.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring.