Christian Kemp's USA travelogs

< Previous | List | Next > Drive North on Highway 1 towards San Francisco, do 17-Mile drive in Monterey

Low clouds over Highway 1 After fueling up for the first time and having a short chat with the attendant of the gas station (his son had been, or was still, touring Europe for a few months), we went back on the 101, then joined Highway 1 at San Luis Obispo. We're driving through the Santa Lucia Range, and both the Highway and the surrounding are getting more scenic. Unfortunately, the entire coastline is quite misty, and there's a low cloud cover. We stop again at Willow Creek Picnic Ground, but once more all pictures come out grey due to the many clouds.

We pass Bixby Bridge and Rocky Creek Bridge, both of which were built in 1932, and which I photograph quite a few times.

We have lunch in Carmel, then take the Seventeen Miles Drive, which costs 8$. Once again, the bad weather prevents us from making the most use of the vista points. The Restless Sea doesn't appear to be all that restless, and while we were there, I didn't even notice there were sea lions on Bird Rock, or I would probably have taken a few more pictures with larger zoom. The Lone Cypress is impressive, but seems kinda fake, with walls built around its roots and ropes supporting its branches.

We sleep close to the international airport in South San Francisco, but not before we get lost due to misleading directions from the hotel's web page.

Miles driven: 321mi (517km)

Motel/Hotel Accommodation: Quality Inn&Suites (South San Francisco, CA): $125.10 plus 10.50% tax