Before I give you the details of our trip down Highway 1, I have to tell you why I wanted to do it. The weather in San Francisco is beautiful and very consistent. It is usually between 55 and 65 in the city, which is really the perfect weather. We have had a few days that reached into the 70s, but not a ton.
One Friday back in June I was sitting at home after work thinking about how much I missed feeling the summer heat. I then decided we should drive South on Highway 1 towards Big Sur and see how far we could get in one afternoon. I assumed the further south we went, the warmer it would be. Little did I know that the next day started a four-day streak of 90+ degree temperatures in the city, and I felt plenty of heat. No one has air conditioning and by day 3 I was very ready for the 65-degree weather to return. It was also not warm along Highway 1. It runs along the Pacific Ocean, and that wind is intense. It was a fun day and a beautiful drive though, and I can’t wait to do it again.
We did not have a plan when we left the house that day. We just wanted to drive South and see how close to Big Sur we could get. We got hungry pretty quickly, so we stopped at a random Chinese Restaurant along Highway 1. It was the best Chinese food I have ever had. I have no idea where this restaurant is, but I will find it again because it was delicious.
Our first stop along Highway 1 was at Piegon Point Lighthouse. This lighthouse is one of the tallest on the Pacific coast at 115 feet. To find it you drive South on Highway 1 about 50 miles from San Francisco. It was so windy, but the scenery was breathtaking.
Highway 1 is so scenic and beautiful. I couldn’t get enough of the views as we drove down the coast. Side note: I got that giant crack in my window fixed, I know I should have as soon as it happened.
There are plenty of places to stop along Highway 1 and enjoy the views. We pulled off the road to take some photos of the windsurfers and ended up watching them for quite a while.
We did not make it to Big Sur, but that is ok. We didn’t even realize by the time we got to this beach we had been in the car for 6 hours. We stopped along the way and had fun taking in the views. You know it was a good trip when you have less than 10 photos.
This beach is the Salinas River State Beach. It was virtually empty, and actually pretty warm. It is about 100 miles south of San Francisco. I wanted to stay there and catch the sunset, but we had a long drive home. We walked the beach for a minute, took some photos, then headed North to find some dinner.
We stopped for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Santa Cruz before heading home. I can’t wait to make that trip again, and now that we have done it once we won’t have to stop as often and hopefully we can make it all the way to Big Sur.