Sure, you can simply fly into Monterey or San Jose, but why not make Monterey Car Week truly memorable by taking a leisurely drive up from SoCal? Just picture it: two days of soaking up the sun, salt air and local color. It’s a chance to tackle the area like the locals, trading the interstate for the scenic route.
Now THAT brought back memories. I lived in the San Fernando Valley from age 12 through 32, and made some portion of that trip many times, especially starting about 1984 when I made annual trips to Steve Earle's Historics (as they were then known). Most of the time I just stuck to 101 for convenience's sake, but I had a few unforgettable drives up or down 1. And as a classic film buff, I was struck by the cognitive dissonance of making the tram ride up from the parking lot to Hearst Castle in bright California sunshine -- not a moody, mist-filled, night-time trek up to see Charles Foster Kane utter his dying conundrum: "Rosebud."
This year, as last year, we're heading down from the northern Oregon Coast in about ten days. While there are some portions of I-5 which are intensely scenic (central Oregon between Roseburg and Cottage Grove, the Siskiyous, and Castle Crags in particular), the wildfire situation there is cause for concern. So we're currently thinking about doing the north-to-south equivalent of this trip, with the ocean over our right shoulders as far as possible. I've done that a few times; since we're starting from the coast, it's not all that much longer than the direct route via I-5. And you don't have to put up with "the interminables," the lo-o-ong stretch down the northern half ot the San Joaquin Valley.
I first did that in 2008 as a feature for "Forever MX-5" magazine, and took what remains one of my favorite photographs of all time: sunset on the coast, just near the California-Oregon border. This year we'll be in the current always-the-answer, our 2008 NC (MUCH larger trunk and passenger compartment than the NA I drove in 2008, and with the FMII suspension it's taut and responsive).
But that sunset reflected on the Brilliant Black hood... unforgettable.
In reply to sfisher71 :
You couldn't pay me to do I-5 again. I've done 101 from Ventura all the way up to Astoria, and for the most part, the combination of speed and scenery is tough to beat, particularly up the Oregon coast. It's even pretty nice coming up from SLO into Salinas. Route 1 up the Big Sur coastline has long been destroyed as a drive by RVs, and making sure you don't run into the back of one takes away the scenic value, too. It's better from Monterey north, but you're still playing chicken with RVs until you get well north of San Francisco.
Tom: interesting route, it seems, but there are lots of holes and reading your text while trying to Google Map, well, I couldn't get a that to work! Please could you set this up on Google Maps and provide a link for those of us who are lost in LA! Here on your digital site would be great. I'm east coast and seriously thinking of doing this drive, though not next week! Thanx.
Heads up - Highway 1 is still closed south of Big Sur, so you can't drive all the way up along the coast.
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