My Trip to San Francisco Part 1

Next morning after my trip to Disneyland I woke up with a sharp pain in my throat. Talk about bad coincidence – that morning I was planning to head to San Francisco by the scenic route, the famous

Pacific Coast Highway

. The weather also was not very inviting – the sky was grey and it was definitely cooler than in the last 2 days. Still, minor things like that can’t stop someone who was waiting for a chance to visit San Francisco for years. “What are the pharmacies for?” I thought and promptly headed to the nearest one for a pack of “Halls” and something to drink on the road. All this delayed my departure by an hour and when I finally headed for Santa Monica, where I was to join PCH, it was already 10 am, and – lucky me!- the weather started to clear out. By the time I hit Santa Monica, I was riding under the glorious sun in the blue skies and my spirit rose high. I was lucky indeed, because when the highway finally took me close to the ocean, I was mesmerized by its color – a deep emerald, unbelievably beautiful, and it was the sun that really brought out this deep hue. I’ve seen the oceans and the seas in a different weather and when it’s cloudy the water acquires this dull grey color of the clouds. And so I went – mountains on the right, the Pacific ocean on the left, trying to get a glimpse of the views around and to keep at least one eye on the road at the same time – to tell the truth, it was not easy! The highway went in a serpentine fashion around the mountains and very often the most breathtaking views were opening just around the bend, when a new town would arise before my eyes with its white houses coming down to the ocean. Alas, for such an avid photographer like me there were no chances to make pictures of the best views – the No Stopping signs were quite visible on most part of the highway and I did not want to run into any trouble when I was so far from home!

Pacific Coast Highway

. The weather also was not very inviting – the sky was grey and it was definitely cooler than in the last 2 days. Still, minor things like that can’t stop someone who was waiting for a chance to visit San Francisco for years. “What are the pharmacies for?” I thought and promptly headed to the nearest one for a pack of “Halls” and something to drink on the road. All this delayed my departure by an hour and when I finally headed for Santa Monica, where I was to join PCH, it was already 10 am, and – lucky me!- the weather started to clear out. By the time I hit Santa Monica, I was riding under the glorious sun in the blue skies and my spirit rose high. I was lucky indeed, because when the highway finally took me close to the ocean, I was mesmerized by its color – a deep emerald, unbelievably beautiful, and it was the sun that really brought out this deep hue. I’ve seen the oceans and the seas in a different weather and when it’s cloudy the water acquires this dull grey color of the clouds. And so I went – mountains on the right, the Pacific ocean on the left, trying to get a glimpse of the views around and to keep at least one eye on the road at the same time – to tell the truth, it was not easy! The highway went in a serpentine fashion around the mountains and very often the most breathtaking views were opening just around the bend, when a new town would arise before my eyes with its white houses coming down to the ocean. Alas, for such an avid photographer like me there were no chances to make pictures of the best views – the No Stopping signs were quite visible on most part of the highway and I did not want to run into any trouble when I was so far from home!

Pacific Coast Highway

. The weather also was not very inviting – the sky was grey and it was definitely cooler than in the last 2 days. Still, minor things like that can’t stop someone who was waiting for a chance to go San Francisco for years. “What are the pharmacies for?” I thought and promptly headed to the nearest one for a pack of “Halls” and something to drink on the road. All this delayed my departure by an hour and when I finally headed for Santa Monica, where I was to join PCH, it was already 10 am, and – lucky me!- the weather started to clear out. By the time I hit Santa Monica, I was riding under the glorious sun in the blue skies and my spirit rose high. I was lucky indeed, because when the highway finally took me close to the ocean, I was mesmerized by its color – a deep emerald, unbelievably beautiful, and it was the sun that really brought out this deep hue. I’ve seen the oceans and the seas in a different weather and when it’s cloudy the water acquires this dull grey color of the clouds. And so I went – mountains on the right, the Pacific ocean on the left, trying to get a glimpse of the views around and to keep at least one eye on the road at the same time – to tell the truth, it was not easy! The highway went in a serpentine fashion around the mountains and very often the most breathtaking views were opening just around the bend, when a new town would arise before my eyes with its white houses coming down to the ocean. Alas, for such an avid photographer like me there were no chances to make pictures of the best views – the No Stopping signs were quite visible on most part of the highway and I did not want to run into any trouble when I was so far from home!

I was not too much in a hurry at the beginning of my journey as I was told that PCH should take me to San Francisco within 8 hours at the most – turns out it was rather a wishful thinking, but I did not know it then! (And I am not complaining either, I value very much all the experience I’d gotten on that trip.) In any case, when I was driving past Malibu I’ve decided that I have enough time stop for a cup of Mocca in a local Starbuck’s. I also have this odd habit of sending postcards to my Grandma and my Aunt from wherever I am traveling and I thought a postcard from Malibu could be a nice addition to their already quite sizeable collections.

I have to mention from the very beginning, that, although I did want to take the scenic route to San Francisco, my actual goal was to spend as much time as possible in the city itself, so I’ve made a choice not to stop anywhere on the way. Now that I’ve been there, I’d like to spend several days on the journey next time, which would give me a chance to visit the towns along the way and maybe even go past San Francisco next time – apparently, my geography needs some brushing up, because only in San Francisco I’ve discovered that the famous wine country, Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, are both located to the north of the city – would be nice to visit a winery once in a while!