On Dec 10, 3:11 pm, "Hoges in WA" > wrote:
> ":-/" > wrote in message
>
> ...
> On Dec 10, 3:13?am, "Hoges in WA" > wrote:>

> Is that up that winding highway that you see on the California movies, with
> the ocean on one side?

Yes. Hopefully, you will prefer natural beauty to looking at the urban
blight of Lost Angels and points south.

> What's good up there to see and do?

If you rent a car at LAX, head north on Lincoln Avenue to Santa
Monica, and then head west on Hwy 1 to Malibu, you'll pass Point Mugu,
where there's a giant rock on the shore.

That's where Spanish explorers were welcomed to California by the
peaceful Chumash Indians. By the time the Spanish were done converting
them to Roman Catholicism, there were only a handful left.

The tourist doesn't know whether to look at the ocean, the islands, or
the volcanic landscape that rose out of the ocean about two million
years ago.

That area is protected as part of the Santa Monica Mountains National
Recreation Area. If it wasn't for the vegetation on the mountains,
you'd think you were in Arizona.

You pass through bean fields to Oxnard, where you merge with Hwy 101
for about 40 miles, past Ventura where there's a Spanish mission built
in 1782 and keep going north until you get to Carpinteria, then
Montecito, and finally Santa Barbara.

You really begin to notice the beautiful landscaping along the highway
as you reach Carpinteria, which is where the Spanish explorers saw the
Chumash building their canoes on the beach.

You can eat sea food at Stearn's Pier, tour Father Junipero Serra's
Franciscan mission, visit the old Spanish presidio, and check out the
rich people's homes in the foothills. State Street is the main street
of town and all the motels and the best restaurants are along State
Street.

North of Santa Barbara, you can cross the Santa Ynez mountains, pass
man-made Lake Cachuma, and visit Buelton, a Danish village with
windmills and then you can look for Michael Jackson's Wonderland Ranch
near Los Olivos.

As long as you're that far north, you might as well continue to San
Luis Obispo, where there's another Spanish mission. You leave Hwy 101
and head west on Hwy 1 to the little town of Morro Bay where there's a
giant volcanic plug called Morro Rock. There are actually seven
volcanic plugs, but tourists have no idea what they are looking at.

After Morro Bay, Hwy 1 runs along the shore and you'll see that people
are stopping to visit Hearst Castle, which was built by the newspaper
magnate William Randolph Hearst and then given to the State of
California. It's a baroque castle, built of architectural stylings
that Hearst collected in Europe and assembled along what is called
"the Enchanted Coast".

Continuing along the coast, the road passes light houses and windswept
pine trees and ascends to run along cliffs above the ocean. You pass
through the world famous Big Sur area that has been so popular with
artists and writers and hippies.

Just before you reach Carmel, there is a nature preserve called Point
Lobos where you will be awestruck at seascapes that are often seen in
calendar art. Don't miss Point Lobos. You'll see seals and sea lions
and even sea otters.

In Carmel, you can visit the beautiful Spanish mission where the
sainted Father Serra is buried. Don't miss the awesomely beautiful 17
Mile Drive which passes world class golf courses and features
seascapes and seals and sea lions.

Past Carmel, you reach Monterey, with its famous Cannery Row, where
the Pulitzer
prize-winning author John Steinbeck wrote about the struggles of the
working class Californians during the Great Depression.

While in Monterey, you can visit the world famous Monterey Bay
Aquarium.

This excursion out of Lost Angeles should only take about two or three
days, then you can head east through Salinas, get on Hwy 101 south,
and be back in Smogangeles in about seven hours.

Then you can go to Disneyland. Alternatively,you could continue north
and visit San Francisco and enjoy that city. It's only about an 8 hour
drive back to Lost Angels if you use Interstate 5.

I always recommend heading north from Los Angeles because everything
is so overbuilt to the south....