California cruisin... Part II - The Road...!!

tsk1979 · 18th September 2007, 03:04

After the deserts of Nevada, it was time to hit the ocean again. We had done
till carmel, but there was still a very interesting part of the California
coast left to explore.
This is the Big Sur. No pigs here though, just a very very rocky
coastline with some interesting topography, state parks, waterfalls(unfortunately, now dry). There was a little bit of offroading opportunity too. In other words, this was a complete adventure.

The Plan
The Plan was, that there was to be no plan. We drive on the california highway 1 through the Big Sur region, and go till the Hearst Castle. If possible try to get a tour etc.,(unfortunately couldn't), and then come back to the pavilion. Pretty ambitios plan. We were going to cover approximately 400 miles in 1 day, or half day to be precise, considering we left san jose only by 12:30pm!

The Rent a car thingy
This time the booking was at dollar.com. For Vegas trip I had used their cars, and from my experience here(Enterprise, Dollar, and Avis), these guys are the best, and Avis are the worst. Having a huge rental car company does not matter, its how willing you are to please your customers. So here I am at the counter chatting with a friendly representative, who gives me the free upgrade option to the Dodge Avenger. I tell her that last time I took this car, and my neck was aching. She was almost apologetic and said that she will try something else. So she called up the lot and asked if they have a Sebring or a Charger? Well nothing available. Then I ask her is there any way I can have a Mustang at the same price. She looks a little confused and then says, sure, if there is one at the lot.
As luck would have it, no mustangs for me.
So there I am looking undecisive. So then she tells me, why don't you rent a jeep. The LDW(Loss damage waiver) is 14.99$ instead of the 8.99$ but everything else is same. And its a comfortable 3.7L V6 Suv. I am already jumping in joy(Of course my brain conveniently shuts down the part of my neural system which is shouting 15mpg 15mpg 15mpg aaaaaaahhhhhh).
So there I go to the lot and am given keys to the Jeep Liberty!
As I get in its like a cockpit.
There are 5000 lights 2000 buttons and 400 gears.
Just kidding! heh heh
Anyways I look around, the manual and stuff and take wheel of the thing. This is ABS, TCS, ESP, Phd, MA, BeD, Btech, Mtech, MBBS etc., you name it she has it.
It also has a computer which cheerfuly informs me that the last guys got 16 miles to a gallon.
So there and then I reset the thing, and hope that I get atleast a little more. At the same time I am just too escatic to have 210 horses at the rear wheels to care about mileage.
If you are wondering how ours looked like, here are a couple of pictures

The road! and the trip!
The Big Sur region starts somewhere south of Carmel on the California highway 1. For all practical purposes, it lasts till the Hearst castle.
For a roadie, the california highway 1 scenic route is not just a road. Its a holy place. Something which must be worshipped.
It winds high and low along the rocky pacific region of Big Sur, climbing to dizzy heights, with huge bridges spanning lofty canyons, and landscape changing from coniferous to desert in a heartbeat.
Along the route there are 4 state parks, and you get a 8$ pass which allows your vehicle to enter all 4.
Our first stop after the carmel bridge(start of the big sur trip) was the Point Lobos state park, where we got the Passes and the maps

After a short while here, the time was to hit the road again.

This route is full of Vista points(I don't remember the names of most of them!).
So our first stop was this lovely place. I think its Abalone Cove

Driving along the highways on twisties we came across to lovely vistas like this one

A very prominent spot before the much famed "Hurricane point" is the Bixby creek bridge. At this point an untarred road called the coast road takes for the hills along the pacific. Before this road was made, this was the only road to cross this particular point, and it was impassable in wet weather!
Bixby Creek Bridge:

The young at heart!!

From the Bixby bridge we drove the the Hurricane point. No hurricanes, but it was pretty windy here.
Here's the Bixby bridge from far far away

California Highway 1:

The next stop was the Andrew molera state park. We decided to skip this part and do some adventure.
Remember the coast road which was in use before the bixby bridge was built. Well it starts at bixby bridge and comes out to merge with highway 1 at this state park.
So off we go on the dirt track. It sure was dusty and bumpy. And it sure made me smile that we had the jeep!
Rear wheels spinning in the loose gravel, ESP lights flickering away and tail snapping out with every breath, what more can you want.
View from the cockpit

Do you see the pacific?

The steed

After driving for a few miles and having fun in the loose gravel, decided to turn back. This was downhill fun now. Now I have really understood the fun of having a powerful RWD. The best part was the launches. Floor the accelerater, watch the ESP light flicker as the rear wheel starts spinning, flick the steering to correct as the tail steps out. Rinse and repeat!

cont....

tsk1979 · 18th September 2007, 03:05

After the off road fun, it was time to go further, and enjoy some hiking

So off we went to the Pfeiffer Big Sur state park, to see the waterfall. The hike was great, the trail was nice, but the fall was all dry.

The trees were pretty tall

After this we decided to make our next stop the Limekiln state park, and to enjoy the vista points on the way. We took a small detour to the pfeiffer state beach and saw a horse farm!

This was on the Sycamore canyon road.
After some driving it was time fora couple of vista points, including the Burns north vista point, one of the most exciting vista points en route.
I forgot the name of the first vista point(does it even have a name?)

At the burns north vista point, this is where most famous "signature" big sur pics are taken

It was time to keep on driving, stopping on the way of course!

The Roaaad!

tsk1979 · 18th September 2007, 03:05

Our next state park was the limekiln park. The aim was to see the waterfall, but the water was less and the hiking trail in a very very bad shape with treefalls etc., so just explored the forest

Fairyland

The campgrounds

Now it was getting late and we decided to try out luck at the hearst castle. The castle was closed, we were late by few hours... So it was just time to enjoy the view

Star

Star has set

Thats an elephant seal

Soon it was dark, and it was time to drive back. Pitch dark with no lights anywhere. The sky was amazing. You could see the milkyway!
Too bad we didn't camp the night, and I kick myself for not taking any long exposurs!

On the way back I missed the highway 156-E exit so had to make do with 152E, which crosses the hills!
Tired and hungry it was 11:30 when we reached home(instead of planned 10:45ish).
What a day it was.

And for the curious I got 17.6mpg.

RJK · 18th September 2007, 03:10

Goodness! I had no idea that CA was so beautiful..amazing shots and the first pic does look like an ad for Jeep

chetanhanda · 18th September 2007, 03:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

The Rent a car thingy
This time the booking was at dollar.com. For Vegas trip I had used their cars, and from my experience here(Enterprise, Dollar, and Avis), these guys are the best, and Avis are the worst. Having a huge rental car company does not matter, its how willing you are to please your customers.

Enterprise is excellent, and u can get a weekend deal if u pick it up on a Friday and drop it off on monday, u get half price. If Enterprise makes you wait they will compensate by full gas tank or even a free upgrade..without much of a fight.
Very nice pics dude , reminds me of California

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJK

Goodness! I had no idea that CA was so beautiful..amazing shots and the first pic does look like an ad for Jeep

its not as scenic as other states but...

GTO · 18th September 2007, 09:54

Oh man, lucky you. Great pictures and report. There are few places that are as good for a cruising holiday as California. I had taken an Accord up to Big Sur, Napa Valley and Monterey....enjoyed every moment of it.

How was highway 1, TSK?

dadu · 18th September 2007, 10:20

aaaah! I dont want to read any of your further travelogues, it making me jealous. The locales are amazing, photography perfect and the ride, something to desire for.

pssst! i still might sneak in

Torqy · 18th September 2007, 12:03

Nice pictures again..

tsk1979 · 18th September 2007, 12:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Oh man, lucky you. Great pictures and report. There are few places that are as good for a cruising holiday as California. I had taken an Accord up to Big Sur, Napa Valley and Monterey....enjoyed every moment of it.

How was highway 1, TSK?

Highway 1 is paradise. Those long freeways like I-5 are boring. Arrow straight roads where you can sleep due to boredom.
Highway five is exciting. Its twisty. There are sharp curves, dips, it narrows down and then widens.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadu

aaaah! I dont want to read any of your further travelogues, it making me jealous. The locales are amazing, photography perfect and the ride, something to desire for.
pssst! i still might sneak in

Thanks for your kind words. I guess its more fun renting a car here than owning one.
I have always rented a economy here, and except for the avis fellows everybody gave a free upgrade
So lets see my extensively driven car list
1. 2006 Toyota Corolla - 440 miles
2. 2007 Chevy Cobalt - 200 miles
3. 2007 Dodge Avenger - 1300 miles
4. 2007 Jeep liberty -400 miles
5. 2007 Nissan Altima Hybrid - 700 miles
And its just been a month since I started driving in california

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torqy

Nice pictures again..

Thanks torqy

contactme27 · 18th September 2007, 14:21

Pic's are very good. I had driven on Highway 1 last year from SFO to redwood forest for the second time and it is awesome drive.

greatDrive · 18th September 2007, 15:04

Fantastic pics, Though I have seen some good pics of Bay Area, california but they are not that clean and impressive.
Did you get a chance to visit this Gurudwara?

benbsb29 · 18th September 2007, 17:05

Tanveer, nice pics n write up.
As dadu said, makes me feel jealous everytime i go through your travelogues.

simply_sunny001 · 18th September 2007, 17:35

@ Tanveer
Again very interesting and picturesque travelogue

LOL,your pics are professional wallpaper style.kudos

and like some other members i also never thought that California is so very beautiful.

Enjoy your stay

Sam Kapasi · 18th September 2007, 18:04

Beautiful pictures and a great Travelogue. Lovely!

normally_crazy · 18th September 2007, 19:42

*GASP*

Those are BEAUTIFUL pictures Tanveer. Awesome man. The Jeep looks the part. I love the pics of the forest - am drooling over them right now. The road looks so inviting maaan.

Show me more !!!

18th September 2007, 03:04	#1
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	California cruisin... Part II - The Road...!! After the deserts of Nevada, it was time to hit the ocean again. We had done till carmel, but there was still a very interesting part of the California coast left to explore. This is the Big Sur. No pigs here though, just a very very rocky coastline with some interesting topography, state parks, waterfalls(unfortunately, now dry). There was a little bit of offroading opportunity too. In other words, this was a complete adventure. The Plan The Plan was, that there was to be no plan. We drive on the california highway 1 through the Big Sur region, and go till the Hearst Castle. If possible try to get a tour etc.,(unfortunately couldn't), and then come back to the pavilion. Pretty ambitios plan. We were going to cover approximately 400 miles in 1 day, or half day to be precise, considering we left san jose only by 12:30pm! The Rent a car thingy This time the booking was at dollar.com. For Vegas trip I had used their cars, and from my experience here(Enterprise, Dollar, and Avis), these guys are the best, and Avis are the worst. Having a huge rental car company does not matter, its how willing you are to please your customers. So here I am at the counter chatting with a friendly representative, who gives me the free upgrade option to the Dodge Avenger. I tell her that last time I took this car, and my neck was aching. She was almost apologetic and said that she will try something else. So she called up the lot and asked if they have a Sebring or a Charger? Well nothing available. Then I ask her is there any way I can have a Mustang at the same price. She looks a little confused and then says, sure, if there is one at the lot. As luck would have it, no mustangs for me. So there I am looking undecisive. So then she tells me, why don't you rent a jeep. The LDW(Loss damage waiver) is 14.99$ instead of the 8.99$ but everything else is same. And its a comfortable 3.7L V6 Suv. I am already jumping in joy(Of course my brain conveniently shuts down the part of my neural system which is shouting 15mpg 15mpg 15mpg aaaaaaahhhhhh). So there I go to the lot and am given keys to the Jeep Liberty! As I get in its like a cockpit. There are 5000 lights 2000 buttons and 400 gears. Just kidding! heh heh Anyways I look around, the manual and stuff and take wheel of the thing. This is ABS, TCS, ESP, Phd, MA, BeD, Btech, Mtech, MBBS etc., you name it she has it. It also has a computer which cheerfuly informs me that the last guys got 16 miles to a gallon. So there and then I reset the thing, and hope that I get atleast a little more. At the same time I am just too escatic to have 210 horses at the rear wheels to care about mileage. If you are wondering how ours looked like, here are a couple of pictures The road! and the trip! The Big Sur region starts somewhere south of Carmel on the California highway 1. For all practical purposes, it lasts till the Hearst castle. For a roadie, the california highway 1 scenic route is not just a road. Its a holy place. Something which must be worshipped. It winds high and low along the rocky pacific region of Big Sur, climbing to dizzy heights, with huge bridges spanning lofty canyons, and landscape changing from coniferous to desert in a heartbeat. Along the route there are 4 state parks, and you get a 8$ pass which allows your vehicle to enter all 4. Our first stop after the carmel bridge(start of the big sur trip) was the Point Lobos state park, where we got the Passes and the maps After a short while here, the time was to hit the road again. This route is full of Vista points(I don't remember the names of most of them!). So our first stop was this lovely place. I think its Abalone Cove Driving along the highways on twisties we came across to lovely vistas like this one A very prominent spot before the much famed "Hurricane point" is the Bixby creek bridge. At this point an untarred road called the coast road takes for the hills along the pacific. Before this road was made, this was the only road to cross this particular point, and it was impassable in wet weather! Bixby Creek Bridge: The young at heart!! From the Bixby bridge we drove the the Hurricane point. No hurricanes, but it was pretty windy here. Here's the Bixby bridge from far far away California Highway 1: The next stop was the Andrew molera state park. We decided to skip this part and do some adventure. Remember the coast road which was in use before the bixby bridge was built. Well it starts at bixby bridge and comes out to merge with highway 1 at this state park. So off we go on the dirt track. It sure was dusty and bumpy. And it sure made me smile that we had the jeep! Rear wheels spinning in the loose gravel, ESP lights flickering away and tail snapping out with every breath, what more can you want. View from the cockpit Do you see the pacific? The steed After driving for a few miles and having fun in the loose gravel, decided to turn back. This was downhill fun now. Now I have really understood the fun of having a powerful RWD. The best part was the launches. Floor the accelerater, watch the ESP light flicker as the rear wheel starts spinning, flick the steering to correct as the tail steps out. Rinse and repeat! cont....
	(1) Thanks

18th September 2007, 03:05	#2
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	After the off road fun, it was time to go further, and enjoy some hiking So off we went to the Pfeiffer Big Sur state park, to see the waterfall. The hike was great, the trail was nice, but the fall was all dry. The trees were pretty tall After this we decided to make our next stop the Limekiln state park, and to enjoy the vista points on the way. We took a small detour to the pfeiffer state beach and saw a horse farm! This was on the Sycamore canyon road. After some driving it was time fora couple of vista points, including the Burns north vista point, one of the most exciting vista points en route. I forgot the name of the first vista point(does it even have a name?) At the burns north vista point, this is where most famous "signature" big sur pics are taken It was time to keep on driving, stopping on the way of course! The Roaaad!
	(1) Thanks

18th September 2007, 03:05	#3
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Our next state park was the limekiln park. The aim was to see the waterfall, but the water was less and the hiking trail in a very very bad shape with treefalls etc., so just explored the forest Fairyland The campgrounds Now it was getting late and we decided to try out luck at the hearst castle. The castle was closed, we were late by few hours... So it was just time to enjoy the view Star Star has set Thats an elephant seal Soon it was dark, and it was time to drive back. Pitch dark with no lights anywhere. The sky was amazing. You could see the milkyway! Too bad we didn't camp the night, and I kick myself for not taking any long exposurs! On the way back I missed the highway 156-E exit so had to make do with 152E, which crosses the hills! Tired and hungry it was 11:30 when we reached home(instead of planned 10:45ish). What a day it was. And for the curious I got 17.6mpg.
	(1) Thanks

18th September 2007, 03:10	#4
RJK Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,140 Thanked: 701 Times	Goodness! I had no idea that CA was so beautiful..amazing shots and the first pic does look like an ad for Jeep
	() Thanks

18th September 2007, 09:54	#6
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,512 Thanked: 300,689 Times View My Garage	Oh man, lucky you. Great pictures and report. There are few places that are as good for a cruising holiday as California. I had taken an Accord up to Big Sur, Napa Valley and Monterey....enjoyed every moment of it. How was highway 1, TSK?
	() Thanks

18th September 2007, 10:20	#7
dadu Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,803 Thanked: 462 Times View My Garage	aaaah! I dont want to read any of your further travelogues, it making me jealous. The locales are amazing, photography perfect and the ride, something to desire for. pssst! i still might sneak in Last edited by dadu : 18th September 2007 at 10:21.
	() Thanks

18th September 2007, 12:03	#8
Torqy BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 966 Thanked: 244 Times	Nice pictures again..
	() Thanks

18th September 2007, 14:21	#10
contactme27 BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 225 Thanked: 21 Times	Pic's are very good. I had driven on Highway 1 last year from SFO to redwood forest for the second time and it is awesome drive.
	() Thanks

18th September 2007, 15:04	#11
greatDrive BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 547 Thanked: 7 Times	Fantastic pics, Though I have seen some good pics of Bay Area, california but they are not that clean and impressive. Did you get a chance to visit this Gurudwara?
	() Thanks

18th September 2007, 17:05	#12
benbsb29 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 9,968 Thanked: 13,218 Times View My Garage	Tanveer, nice pics n write up. As dadu said, makes me feel jealous everytime i go through your travelogues.
	() Thanks

18th September 2007, 17:35	#13
simply_sunny001 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: London & Rohtak Posts: 1,340 Thanked: 18 Times View My Garage	@ Tanveer Again very interesting and picturesque travelogue LOL,your pics are professional wallpaper style.kudos and like some other members i also never thought that California is so very beautiful. Enjoy your stay
	() Thanks

18th September 2007, 18:04	#14
Sam Kapasi Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (but wat Posts: 6,997 Thanked: 2,378 Times View My Garage	Beautiful pictures and a great Travelogue. Lovely!
	() Thanks

18th September 2007, 19:42	#15
normally_crazy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,369 Thanked: 528 Times View My Garage	GASP Those are BEAUTIFUL pictures Tanveer. Awesome man. The Jeep looks the part. I love the pics of the forest - am drooling over them right now. The road looks so inviting maaan. Show me more !!!
	() Thanks