WaltRides.com - California Coast 9-2007

Tammy and I left our home in Jamul Saturday morning Sept 1st on the Harley for an 8 day roadtrip. The weather was sunny and a little cool in the morning. This was leather jacket time! We rode up Hwy 5 to meet two of our friends in Mission Viejo, Kevin and Lynette. They joined us on the first day of our journey to Solvang. Kevin and Lynette were also riding a Harley. We rode up Hwy 5, then onto Hwy 405 thru Los Angeles, and hit Hwy 10 heading west which turns into Hwy 1. The traffic was very light until we hit Hwy 1. Then we had some stop and go traffic where we were able to split lanes and continue north. We rode thru beautiful Santa Monica and Malibu and stopped just west of Malibu at a popular bike and surfer spot called Neptune's Net for a snack and a drink. Kevin said it was a Bar - and we were all craving a Bloody Mary - but all they had was beer and wine, and it was too early to start drinking beer... The beaches throughout this area were beautiful and groomed. They actually groom the beaches with tractors to smooth out the sand and remove all the seaweed - if only San Diego had this much money!

We continued north through all the small beach towns until we hit Santa Barbara. We turned north on Hwy 154 up the mountain where the temperature went from about 75 degrees to about 95 degrees in 1/2 mile - wow... We were heading towards an old Stage Coach stop in the Santa Ynez Mountains called Cold Spring Tavern. We saw Hugh Hower's California Gold show on PBS about the tavern. They serve lunch and dinner in the original buildings from the late 1800's. They have a large menu and for lunch also serve venison, buffalo, and other unique meats. I had the venison sausage sandwich with sauteed onions and BBQ sauce - delicious. Tammy and Lynette had homemade quiche and Kevin had a Buffalo Burger.

Nice mount on the wall looking at you while your eating...

We continued through the Santa Ynez Valley where there are a lot of winery's lining the road into Solvang. It's a small town where many of the buildings have a Danish architecture. This is where the movie 'Sideways' was filmed. We checked into the hotel, went swimming, then hit the town for wine tasting, dinner, and good company. We logged 278 miles on day one. After breakfast, Tammy and I continued back to Hwy 1, and Kevin and Lynette headed back home. Here's a pic of the front of the hotel.

Sunday morning was a beautiful sunny warm day. We started our ride with our vented jackets and never needed our leather. After heading back over the Santa Ynez Mountains to coast Hwy 1, we turned north and started heading to our next destination of Monterey. We stopped for Lunch and shopping in Morrow Bay. A beautiful little tourist town right on the beach. I had the best seafood of the entire trip here - a fry basket with fish, clams, calamari tenticles, and shrimp. It also came with some of the best garlic fries I've ever had. All washed down with a Fat Tyre - life is good. Here is a pic of Morrow Bay from where we ate.

We continued heading north past San Simeon where you can see Hearst Castle on the hill overlooking the ocean. This stretch of highway is windy and beautiful following the rugged coastline. It was great to be on a bike with the twisty roads and smell of the ocean in the air - love that smell. There were alot of surfers, kite surfers, and hiking areas all along the coast.

We continued north through Pacific Valley and Big Sur, then headed into Monterey. We went down to Cannery Row to shop and look around with all the other tourists. This place was crowded!! We ate at a local Italian seafood restaurant off hte beaten path - no tourists here :) it was Muto Bene... We traveled about 250 miles this day. Here are some pics Tammy took in Monterey Bay.

Monday moring we awoke to a foggy start after our breakfast in the hotel - the best on the trip. Leather jackets and fog greeted us all morning on our way to San Francisco to visit our two daughters Chelsea and Lauren. We continued north on Hwy 1 through Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, and into the city. Here is a lighthouse we saw along the way.

Previous | Next