California’s Pacific Coast Highway CA Route 1 has been one of my most memorable adventures from the past several years. It was my first time seeing the Pacific North West in all its wooded glory. The drive was sometimes treacherous, often visually breathtaking, and totally worth the three days spent driving. Maintaining reliable GPS directions provided for some annoyance along the way.

This trip was taken in mid-September of 2021. The high-level plan was to drive route 1 from San Francisco to Los Angeles on the first three days of the trip. After Route 1 we had reservations at Yosemite Lodge and planned to transit Sequoia National Forest on our way to Yosemite. Then head back to San Fransisco directly.

Major Places of Interest

• Alcatraz Island
• Golden Gate Bridge (Fort Point National Historic Site)
• Pineapple King Bakery
• Baker Beach
• Capitola – Amazing breakfast place!!!
• 17-Mile Drive
• Carmel By the Bay
• Montery
• Rocky Creek Bridge
• Bixby Creek bridge
• Big Sur (Closed during our visit ;<( )
• Solvang
• Santa Barbara Shellfish company
• Malibu
• Ace Hotel
• Walt Disney Concert Hall
• Alice’s Kitchen (amazing, Hong Kong style, fast food)
• Cha Redeine (Closed on day of visit)
• Long Xing Ji Juicy Dumplings
• Toku Unagi & Sushi???
• Sequoia (Closed due to fire)
• Yosemite
• Tunnel View
• Valley Trail
• UC Berkeley
• Lombard Street
• Cablecar Drehschibe
• De young Museum ?

Alcatraz Island

From the NPS website:
This small island was once a fort, a military prison, and a maximum security federal penitentiary.
This over simplification of the rocky island puts to shame the great and significant beauty available on the island.

The views of the San Francisco Bay alone were worth the fee to take the ferry across to the island. Alcatraz island was a unique experience I think everyone should consider. The self-guided audio tour was quite annoying to get working reliably but the insight into the lives of the men who were imprisoned on the island was worth the struggle.

Book your tickets in advance using links from the NPS website

Golden Gate Bridge

While we did try for about an hour to get a decent picture in front of the Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Point we were unsuccessful. We have several dozen photos of us pointing into the fog thinking we would caption them with “I swear there’s a bridge here!” As we were walking out the fog took a short break and I was able to capture a briefly emerged section of the bridge.

Capitola

Capitola was possibly the most memorable part of day 2 for me. Mainly due to getting a splinter from the nice pier you see in the background there and meeting one of the locals who was kind enough to let me use their facilities to get the splinter out.

The colors of Capitola seemed garish at first; however, as I moved through and into the area I came to appreciate the contrasts and complementary imagery generated by having the colorful buildings framed with the ever changing coastline display.

Capitola hosts several festivals and events throughout the year. If you can time your visit right you will have a lot of good food and alcohol to enjoy. See https://www.cityofcapitola.org/calendar/month for more details on what events are planned for Capitola.

17-Mile Drive

17-Mile drive was not something I really wanted to do when we first arrived. But my travel partner pushed to keep it on our agenda. I’m so glad we experienced 17-Mile drive. The Cypress tree history alone was a really cool thing I got to learn and I wasn’t aware there were tree species in North America that could rival the great Sequoias of the Pacific North West.

Carmel by the Bay

Monterey

Rocky Creek Bridge

Bixby Creek Bridge

Food Destinations

Pineapple King Bakery

This bakery is where I tried my first authentic Pineapple Bun. It was quite possibly the best pastry I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. If you visit be sure to take cash with you!