Now that I've finally emerged from hibernation, I thought I'd do a quick update on what we've been up to in Cali before we leave the state. And also cos we promised to keep the folks at home posted - (waving) Hi Mum! Hi Dad!

We spent 2 days coasting the Pacific Coast Highway aka Hwy 1 from Los Angeles to San Francisco. A local told us that this was "the most beautiful highway in the world." Well, I don't know about "the world" (haven't seen that much of it yet) but so far in our short stay in the US - yes, it was a very enjoyable, scenic and beautiful drive (at least for the passenger.)

Marine vistas

Blue waves washing up on the shore and turning into a white lacey wedding train.

Rugged coast on one side. Rolling hills on the other. What a view!

Wildflowers out in full bloom!

The ocean merged seamlessly into the sky - so much so that you can't tell where the horizon is. If infinity could be captured, it would look like this:

The Big Blue Thing

And, as we learned from our visit to Universal Studios, movies are shot against a simple wooden board painted in varying shades of blue to portray an endless sea or skyscape.

Some friendly folks at the Bridge Street Inn in Cambria told us about the elephant seal colony on one of the beaches on our way up north - and true enough, there were hundreds of them spread out on the sands!

They're just lazy. Not dead.

They didn't look like elephant seals to me - where's that trademark trunk-like nuzzle? Still, it was incredibly amusing to watch a couple of them put in the incredulous effort to move themselves off the beach for a swim. Why don't they just roll sideways down to the water?

What a life!

Dan telling you exactly what the thinks of the seals.... phew!

Under The Broadwalk - we found this cute furry resident living there!

The nice Japanese-Hawaiian-American man whom we chatted with the night before recommended a cliff-top restaurant called "Nepenthe" for lunch. It was rather crowded when we got there with fellow roadtrippers, with many of them waiting to get a table with a view - which was pretty good. The food was even better cos we were starving. Obviously above our budget, so we shared - while enjoying our view of unsuspecting people sitting below a fearsome carving of some man-eating bird (or so we made it out to be.)

Sunny deck where diners eat side-by-side and soak in the view over lunch.

Sun-drenched steps for that post-lunch lounge-around time before hitting the road again.

This spot with the gorgeous view is the waiting area!

The Ambrosia Burger - the difference between a $16 and .89 cheeseburger.

Beware the perils of the coast or be eaten alive.

We made more stops at stupendous vista points as we pushed northwards that day. What made the experience even more beautiful was seeing people from all around the world and all walks of life journey to this wonderful place. To do nothing more than to open their hearts to the ocean, their lungs to the fresh ocean air and their eyes to the beautiful hues of nature.

Everyone has a soft spot for a heavenly view - even the toughest-loooking people on the road.

YL

written by  DanYilin on April 5, 2009 from San Francisco, United States
from the travel blog: go.
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Love the pictures for this entry!!

written by  Shirley on April 10, 2009

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