Tag Archives: California

Honeymoon Roadtrip Day 3: Pacific Coast Highway

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Driving down the Pacific Coast Highway was going to be one of our longest days on the road, but a drive I had been looking forward to for a long time. Before we set off we took a stroll along the beach into Monterey and had breakfast on the wharf – a massive breakfast burrito set me up for the day perfectly. The first indication of just how good this road would be was the sign warning of “Hills and curves for next 75 miles” – my idea of heaven!

The first part of the Pacific Coast Highway is through Big Sur, around each of the many corners there was new new vista, with mountains running into the Pacific as far as the eye can see – photos really don’t do it justice. Fortunately there were plenty of areas to stop and enjoy the view, which we did frequently – at one stop we were able to watch a whale surfacing and jumping out of the water. Nearer to Hearst Castle there was also a colony of elephant seals just sunbathing on the beach.

About halfway between Monterey and our first main stop at Hearst Castle Jen swapped into the driving seat, for what turned out to be the best section of road, lots of hairpins and camber changes etc. I’d love to experience an early morning blast down this road in a sports car, but as it was quite busy our Challenger was perfect for cruising along in.

Hearst Castle was really interesting, a castle built as a private house almost 100 years ago, on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean and filled with centuries old European art. The art was also architectural, with some pieces such as the ceiling in the billiard room predating Christopher Columbus setting sail to discover what we now know as America!

We spent a bit longer than planned at Hearst Castle and had a lot of distance still to cover, luckily after San Luis Obispo it was mainly freeway to Santa Barbara so I was able to stretch the Challenger a bit and we made it just as darkness was falling. Our motel is only a few minutes walk from the harbour, so we went for another seafood dinner – both of us choosing fish we’d seen at the aquarium in Monterey the previous day.

Driving down the Pacific Coast Highway in a muscle car with Jen next to me is one of those memories that will stay with me forever – if you like driving, wildlife or even just nice scenery you will love it.

Honeymoon Roadtrip Day 2: Monterey and Carmel

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Challenger

Our first full day in California started with a walk along the seafront. Even though we were in town there was plenty of wildlife to see – black oyster catchers, albatross, Californian sea lions (some lazing on the rocks just feet away from us) and sea otters playing in the kelp.

We spent some time exploring Cannery Row – old sardine canneries which have been turned into shops, galleries, restaurants and an aquarium. We made it to the aquarium just in time to see the sea otter feeding, it was magical seeing these fluffy sea mammals up close – they are much bigger than the fresh water otters I have seen in the UK. My other highlight was the jellyfish exhibition, it looked more like a modern art installation than a conservation project, I could have watched the jellyfish for hours. The aquarium, and general Monterey Bay Area wildlife, star in BBC’s Big Blue Live, which should still be available on iPlayer if you want to see where we’ve been.

After the aquarium we went for a scenic drive around the headland to Carmel, via a picnic at Lover’s Point (had to be done) and the famous 17 mile drive route. Jen did a bit of the driving and did really well considering she’d never driven a left hand drive car, outside the UK or an automatic previously, and our Challenger is twice the size of her Fiat 500!

Carmel was an interesting little town. It didn’t feel like we were in California, it reminded me of Costa Rica, it felt very hippyish. We had a lovely time wandering around and a tasty clam chowder for dinner.

Honeymoon Roadtrip Day 1: Coventry to Monterey

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Jetting off

Jen and I got married on Saturday! Which means as well as spending the rest of my life with the girl I love, we have the perfect excuse to go on an awesome holiday and start our married life as we mean to continue.

Before I get onto the honeymoon, I’d like to say thank you to our friends and family, we have been humbled by their kindness and generosity and were so glad that they were able to share our special day with us.

California is a trip we have talked about for a long time and felt like we could treat ourselves for the honeymoon. We’ve hired a car (Dodge Challenger) and will be driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles, then Las Vegas and back to San Francisco, where we will spend a few days in the city. As we are also hoping to fit in some surfing it is a similar format to our first holiday together- a road trip/city break in the Basque area of France and Spain, when we’d only been together for a matter of months.

We had a long day of travel to get from Coventry to Monterey – 20 hours door to door! My highlight being the decadent breakfast at Heathrow – pancakes, egg, bacon, sausage and a glass of Buck’s Fizz. Well, we are on honeymoon!

We were pretty tired on arrival in Monterey, but found the energy for a walk to Fisherman’s Wharf for a tasty dinner at one of the many seafood restaurants there.