Hey CA folks: Driving the PCH advice....

[jpeka65844]

Hey all! DH and I are beginning to explore the possibility of driving the PCH from San Fran to LA next summer, ending with a few days at The Land.

We see that it's suggested to take 2-3 nights to do it but weren't sure about where to stay. I know some of the bigger stops on the PCH are Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Carmel.

Where might be some good places (preferably b&b style) to stay? Any recommendations??

 

[allison k]

My friend recently stayed at the Tickled Pink Inn in Carmel and LOVED it! Most of the rooms have wonderful views of the ocean. It looks like such a neat place to stay! We've got to wait until the 3 yo can handle a night away from us.

And, there's always the Madonna Inn. I'm dying to stay there myself. My friend went on her honeymoon and stayed in the caveman room - hilarious! That's in San Luis Obispo.

I've driven the coast many times, usually in just a day, but it's a lovely drive! We'll be coming down PCH this summer, but we'll be camping with the kids! I can't wait!

 

[rocio]

Those are good spots. Monterey and Carmel are about 2-3 hours south of San Francisco. Santa Cruz is a good stop just to try the Boardwalk and maybe go up to campus UCSC and explore their trails of redwood forest and beautiful views of Monterey Bay (they also have a great Marine Museum...Seymour Center). If you want any dining suggestions, let me know, I lived in the area for 3 years. On the other end of Monterey Bay are Monterey and Carmel. Very cute, scenic, and lots of cute hotels and B &B. Do the historic walking trail if you have time. Lots of delicious places to eat if you stay away from the touristy Cannery Row area....Carmel has all these cute shops and restaurants. PCH between Monterey and San Luis Obispo is beautiful but I don't remember much in terms of amenities so gas up and eat (or bring a picnic) before you enjoy the beauty but quite curvy piece of highway. SLO is a nice place to stop. Santa Barbara is further south but also quite lovely. All these places are meccas for B & B's and charm. Enjoy!

-missing my home state

 

[DisneyKevin]

John and I just did this on Sunday 4/18 and Monday 4/19...but in the other direction.

We drove from LA to San Francisco.

We stayed overnight in San Luis Obispo...approximately 1/2 way....at the Madonna Inn.

****BE ADVISED****

The drive through Big Sur (approximately 40 miles) is among the most beautiful things you will ever see or do in life....but for a good portion of the 40 mile drive you are driving along the edge of a cliff with either very, very little or no guard rails.

We were headed in the other direction, so our car was most often against the rock wall of the mountains. If you are headed south, you will have very little between you and the cliff.

I am not trying to scare or dissuade anyone from doing this as it is awe inspiring, breath taking, mind blowing scenery. I am thrilled that I did it.....but it can be freakin scary.

I would make very sure that you have a full tank of gas, it's early in the day, you are well rested, the weather is good and you have drinks and snacks in the car. There are VERY FEW places to stop and those few places are very expensive. We stopped and got gas and payed almost double per gallon.

Maybe we are just big wusses, but those 40 beautiful miles take a long time to drive. There are times when we were doing 15 miles an hour winding along those twisting, turning, mountain roads.

I'm only talking about a 40 mile stretch of road, but the place we stopped for gas sold bumper stickers that said "I SURVIVED US 1".

Again....this is a beautiful, beautiful drive....we compared it to driving through Tuscany.....but you should know what you are getting into before you do it.

 

[rocio]

I totally agree about it being kind of scary. It also took us forever when we drove that stretch of highway (we were going south!) and I had white knuckles.

 

[DisneyKevin]

We'll be talking about this on a future podcast.

 

[rocio]

I need that bumper sticker! It can go next to my Santa Cruz Mystery Spot one

Other than the scary cliff, did you enjoy your getaway? I'll admit to jealousy that you just did this. Hope you had a wonderful trip!

 

[PinkBudgie]

I have to say, I've never taken PCH, we always drive down 5 because we are anxious to get straight to DLR.

I am about 45 min to hour north of SF. If you get up this way, past SF you can go to Armstrong Woods (redwood trees), Jack London State Park ( home of the writer) and many wineries.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I need that bumper sticker! It can go next to my Santa Cruz Mystery Spot one

Other than the scary cliff, did you enjoy your getaway? I'll admit to jealousy that you just did this. Hope you had a wonderful trip!

We had a wonderful time and I feel very grateful to have gotten to make this trip.

We added a couple of days pre-ABD and a couple of days post-ABD.

While it wasnt a lot of time, it was a great taste of an area that I hadnt previously visited.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Omg. I'd freak on that roadtrip. Lol

 

[Joshua_me]

for a good portion of the 40 mile drive you are driving along the edge of a cliff with either very, very little or no guard rails.

Good grief....

There are not enough Xanax in the world to get me to do that....

But, I'm sure it's beautiful.

 

[PinkBudgie]

This discussion makes me thing of The Long Long Trailer. Love that movie!

 

[jpeka65844]

Cool! Glad there's so many people who can give me their opinion; especially The Kevin!!!

We'd actually already looked at the Tickle Pink. WOW!!! What a place!

If we were to spend 2 nights on the road, with at least a 1/2 day at San Simeon, where would be the likely places to stop?

 

[Disney Anna]

John and I just did this on Sunday 4/18 and Monday 4/19...but in the other direction.

We drove from LA to San Francisco.

We stayed overnight in San Luis Obispo...approximately 1/2 way....at the Madonna Inn.

****BE ADVISED****

The drive through Big Sur (approximately 40 miles) is among the most beautiful things you will ever see or do in life....but for a good portion of the 40 mile drive you are driving along the edge of a cliff with either very, very little or no guard rails.

We were headed in the other direction, so our car was most often against the rock wall of the mountains. If you are headed south, you will have very little between you and the cliff.

I am not trying to scare or dissuade anyone from doing this as it is awe inspiring, breath taking, mind blowing scenery. I am thrilled that I did it.....but it can be freakin scary.

I would make very sure that you have a full tank of gas, it's early in the day, you are well rested, the weather is good and you have drinks and snacks in the car. There are VERY FEW places to stop and those few places are very expensive. We stopped and got gas and payed almost double per gallon.

Maybe we are just big wusses, but those 40 beautiful miles take a long time to drive. There are times when we were doing 15 miles an hour winding along those twisting, turning, mountain roads.

I'm only talking about a 40 mile stretch of road, but the place we stopped for gas sold bumper stickers that said "I SURVIVED US 1".

Again....this is a beautiful, beautiful drive....we compared it to driving through Tuscany.....but you should know what you are getting into before you do it.

You're post cracked me up!

You can really tell the non-Californians. The drive on Big Sur is just beautiful and not scary. But I guess it must scare the flatlanders. It reminds me of friends who drove to Tahoe years ago. Two guys, in their mid-20s, from Chicago. They came back from their trip absolutely freaked out because they had to drive through the mountains.

It's the same thing with earthquakes. They don't faze me or most folks I know at all. We just had a big 7.2 here in San Diego. Big whoop. I just heard on the news today about a tornado that sadly killed quite a few folks. Now that's scary: tornadoes, hurricane, deadly fog and snow. And these things happen every year.

I guess every place has something.

 

[rocio]

Hey, I'm a native Californian and had never even been outside the state the first time I drove through Big Sur and it freaked me out Of course once I lived in Santa Cruz, the only way to leave was through some kind of mountain. I still remember the first time I rode over Highway 17 through the Santa Cruz mountains. Eek! By the time we moved away we were zipping with the best of them....came back one summer (we lived in San Francisco for a few summers) and boy I was out of practice. What can I say, I live in "one of those square states in the middle there" now.

 

[daneenm]

My friend recently stayed at the Tickled Pink Inn in Carmel and LOVED it! Most of the rooms have wonderful views of the ocean. It looks like such a neat place to stay!

My parents stayed at the Tickle Pink on their Honeymoon 47 years ago

They still go back every now and again on their anniversary. It still gets very good reviews.

 

[DisneyKevin]

You're post cracked me up!

You can really tell the non-Californians. The drive on Big Sur is just beautiful and not scary. But I guess it must scare the flatlanders. It reminds me of friends who drove to Tahoe years ago. Two guys, in their mid-20s, from Chicago. They came back from their trip absolutely freaked out because they had to drive through the mountains.

It's the same thing with earthquakes. They don't faze me or most folks I know at all. We just had a big 7.2 here in San Diego. Big whoop. I just heard on the news today about a tornado that sadly killed quite a few folks. Now that's scary: tornadoes, hurricane, deadly fog and snow. And these things happen every year.

I guess every place has something.

I have lived where there was snow and ice and I now live where there are occasional hurricanes and an occasional tornado.

Never once in dealing with any of those things did I worry about plummeting 300 or 400 feet to my death.

Also...nowhere in NY or FL have I found a place that sold bumper stickers stating that "I Survived _______".

Finally....if Big Sur is so accessible and not scary....why is there not a Gap or Starbucks?

There was one man in a tool shed (which he called an "Espresso Bar") playing My Heart Will Go On on a pan flute and charging almost $6 bucks a gallon for gas.

I stand by my description......REALLY pretty, but freakin scary.

 

[jpeka65844]

I told my husband when we began this discussion that if he drives us off a cliff, I am going to be SSSOOOO angry with him.

I'll admit, it does make me a little nervous. We drove Rocky Mountain National Park and there are very similar surroundings (steep drop offs; flimsy guardrails.....) E'quakes make me a little nervous too. I live in Tornado Alley and that doesn't scare me at all. You usually get plenty of advance warning of those AND a major metropolitan city such as mine tends to dissapate those anyway.

I told him we need to rent a convertible and I need to wear long scarves that will blow in the wind!

 

[rocio]

Just make sure that scarf doesn't block the view of the driver!

 

[DSNY4ever]

When in Monterey, we stay at the Centrella Inn. It's a B&B, very pretty, wonderful breakfasts. Technically it's in Pacific Grove next to Monterey, but you can walk to the aquarium from there, and Lover's Point which is a beautiful beach/lookout spot.

Have fun!