Normally I drop into a rut when I drive up the California coast: relax, enjoy becomes hurry up, running late. To reset where my rhythm kicks in I reached the coast via a new route. Now I had the luxury of suffering the same pattern but starting at a different spot on the coast.
Back when we lived in Los Angeles, Beth and I talked about living in San Luis Obispo some day. Why? It’s not too complicated an answer. SLO lies along the glorious stretch of California coast, has a large enough population to have all necessary services and benefits from having a local university: Cal Poly.
Several hours I spent walking around town, within the campus, and about sites in town such as the Mission. Later I branched out and visited near by destinations. Ten minutes down the 101 was Avila Beach, a slice of heaven. Further down was Pismo Beach where I found the Monarch Butterfly Grove. I was nearing the end of my relax, enjoy phase and I could feel the hurry up, running late phase kicking in. The big question was “Via what route?”
My primary choices were Interstate 5 (snoooooze), Highway 101 (moderately interesting) and Highway 1, the Coastal Highway (fabulous!). Could I make it up the coast to Monterey before night fall? I decided I could but would have to sacrifice Hearst Castle. Putting that aside I could again bask in a leisurely pace and pause when I wanted: Elephant Seal Beach, Point Sur Lighthouse, and any place else that caught my eye. I made it as dusk turned to dark.
The next morning, covering distance wasn’t important and meandering around Monterey was the priority. Within just a few miles were the renown 17-Mile Drive, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Point Lobos, the Monterey waterfront. Such astounding beauty!
After a WONDERFUL morning I headed up through Santa Cruz to Silicon Valley where I visited the Intel Museum and the Computer History Museum. The latter was just reopened after a major renovation.
Both visits were to enhance my nerd cred.
Mission accomplished.
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