21st March 2011, 16:12
| #1 |
| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Bangalore
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| Drive from San Francisco to LA I thought I will share one of the best driving experiences I've ever had. And it happened during the Thanksgiving weekend in the US. I took off from work and went to San Francisco (beautiful, charming city) for 12 days. One on weekend during my stay there, I decided to rent a car and had planned to meet up my friend who was in Palo Alto. I booked the car online, went to the office, picked up the keys to a Chevy Malibu AT, and waited for my friend to get off the Caltrain he had boarded from Palo Alto. He got in the car, and I said, so where do we go? He said, "I'm game for anything". I suggested, "How about we drive to LA?". He nodded, and off we went. It was about 10:30am when we left SFO. We took off on the US-101, following the directions on road without using the GPS. But we realized that were weren't going on the road we wanted to be, as US-101 was inland. San Francisco to LA, is about 400 odd miles, and there are more than two routes you can go on. But the best road without any shadow of a doubt is the US-1/Cabrillo Highway also called the Pacific coast highway. And as the name suggests, it runs right along the coast. What you get is one of the best scenic views you can think off. Pacific ocean on the left with its blue waters and beautiful beaches, and on the left is the cliffs and hills you drive through. So 50 miles into our journey, we wanted to shift to US-1 from US-101, and we asked Cindy our GPS guide to reroute us via US-1. It seems, what stood between US-101 and US-1 was a forest reserve and a mountain range. So the drive from US-101 to US-1, although slow, snaked through the forest, with curves and bends all through the way. I didn't cross more than 40 mph, but the drive was beautiful. Green cover all around, and sun rays sneaking through the canopy. It drizzled on and off and just added to the beautiful atmosphere. We drove for almost an hour through this, and it must've been 30-40 miles. The Malibu handled beautifully around the bends and curves, and it had good low end torque to tackle the climbs. It was also great catching up with a college friend from Bangalore in California, and we had a great time chatting up old stories. We get out of the green cover, and into the open, thinking, what an amazing drive that was. Within a few miles, we hit the US-1, and our jaws dropped. Why, you ask? See for yourself.   Our first stop on the way.  Surfing on the beach  Curves after curves along the coast  Rocky Creek bridge, built originally in 1923!!  More curves   Mountainous landscape on one side...  ...the beautiful ocean on the other  and a fantastic road in between!! Some more pictures from the road....   That's some rich guy's house, with his private drive way and a view of the ocean while he sits on the potty.   It was 9pm by the time we reached Oxnard, and decided to shack up there for the night, and visit LA the next morning. So we pulled over and had dinner In N Out. They have the best burgers. If you ever go to Cali, make sure you have their burgers. So the next day we drove to LA, and since we had to return the same day back to SFO, we drove around the town. We drove through the beautifully manicured gardens of Beverly Hills and the mansions of Malibu. And of course Sunset Blvd!! Pictures from LA  A view of the Capitol Records building, the company which almost said no to the Beatles, but later ended up bringing the Beatlesmania to the US!!   The Chevy Malibu I rented for the weekend.    Beverly Hills     Downtown LA It was almost noon when we were done driving around LA. After a quick lunch, we started our drive back to Palo Alto actually. By the time we reached , it was 11pm in the night, tired and exhausted from 900 miles of driving, but with memories to last a lifetime. Rough map of our drive:  If I ever were to drive on that drive on that road again, I would try and do it on a bike. |
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21st March 2011, 18:03
| #2 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bangalore
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21st March 2011, 18:11
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21st March 2011, 19:20
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| BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Toronto
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21st March 2011, 23:13
| #5 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Mumbai/Philadel
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21st March 2011, 23:58
| #6 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   Join Date: May 2007 Location: bangalore
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22nd March 2011, 00:07
| #7 | |
| Senior - BHPian  | Re: Drive from San Francisco to LA Awesome pics. Need some more. The Highway 1 (route 1) is the best way to go. Stunning scenery and nature at its best. Quote:
 The scene is good if you hunt around. Hertz has camaro, avis has mustang. If you want true exotics, you have to find company like exoticarrental.com. they would help you get true exotic cars like mercedes sl,clk, porsche, corvette. Obviously, it will burn a hole in your pocket, so be carefulLast edited by chevelle : 22nd March 2011 at 00:08. | |
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22nd March 2011, 00:13
| #8 |
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: SF Bay Area
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22nd March 2011, 00:42
| #9 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 89
Thanked: 78 Times
| Re: Drive from San Francisco to LA Thanks guys!! Quote:
I've wanted to rent a convertible and drive during the fall season. Still on my wishlist. Here are some more pictures:    Devil's Slide - a WWII military bunker. We had to park our car on the side of the road and climb up this small his. It was a no trespassing area, but we still went up because of the amazing views it had of the ocean, the mountains and the road.   New bridge and tunnel being constructed  | |
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