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Old 06-03-2009, 05:28 PM
 
1 posts, read 10,516 times
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We will be driving from San Francisco to LA and only have two days. We want to pick one or two places to stop along the way. What are some must sees along this stretch of the road. We would like to stay somewhere about 1/2 way overnight. Also, any good beach side restaurant/bars. Something fairly casual.

Has anyone been to the Monterey Scottish GAmes & Celtic Festival...What is this like?
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Old 06-03-2009, 06:11 PM
 
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If you stay on the coast the nicest spots to stay the night are in the Monterey/Carmel area. Great restaurants, beautiful area. You can stop at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on the way. Also some nice beaches. 17-mile drive from Pacific Grove to Carmel is worth the few bucks they charge you to travel it. You could drive on to Cambria the first day, which is closer to halfway but I am partial to the Carmel area for dinner lodging. Or spit the difference and stay at some really nice places in Big Sur. The drive from Carmel to Cambria is about the most beautiful in the world (the whole Big Sur area) so definitely do this during daylight hours. Hearst Castle is near Cambria and definitely worth a tour. Lots of wineries in the SLO - Santa Barbara area. To me the coastal drive from Santa Barbara to Malibu is a lot of the same and not the most spectacular. Malibu to Santa Monica is pretty nice.
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Old 06-03-2009, 06:14 PM
 
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San Luis Obispo is a great place and the water front is like a little fishermans wharf. Very nice place and many hotels. Hearst Castle and Morro bay are near by.
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Old 06-03-2009, 10:24 PM
 
Location: Deer Valley
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Make sure when you hit Big Sur to stop off at Julia Pfeiffer Burns state park. Really short hike (5 or so minutes) takes you to a waterfall that opens out into the Pacific.
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Old 06-03-2009, 11:30 PM
 
15,642 posts, read 26,286,872 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pava View Post
We will be driving from San Francisco to LA and only have two days. We want to pick one or two places to stop along the way. What are some must sees along this stretch of the road. We would like to stay somewhere about 1/2 way overnight. Also, any good beach side restaurant/bars. Something fairly casual.

Has anyone been to the Monterey Scottish GAmes & Celtic Festival...What is this like?
Just a warning about taking Rte 1 -- it's been quite a few years since we've done it, but when we did it, it was a very hard trip. From Carmel to Big Sur there were no gas stations From Big Sur to San Simeon (which was fun to go through the Hearst Castle) one gas station. The total is about 100 miles and about 3 hours. And on that trip, you are trapped -- there is no way off Route 1.

It's a very twisty and windy road a lot of the time and if anyone has a tendency to get carsick -- they will do it on route 1. I did it, and I was driving...

But there are some magnificent views.

Scottish games are fun. My favorite was the caber toss. These big guys try to flip a log of basically half the length of a standard telephone pole.... and see how far they can toss it. Pretty amazing.

Some of the games have tents for the different septs, or clans. They sometimes sell clan stuff, or give out handouts on the different names in each clan. Kind of fascinating... my husband is of Scottish/Irish descent, so it was fun for me to get an idea of where the Clan Campbell came from, so I had an idea of where to look when I traced his side back there...
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Old 06-04-2009, 12:23 PM
 
1,229 posts, read 3,247,614 times
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Originally Posted by Tallysmom View Post
From Carmel to Big Sur there were no gas stations.
Well, that is only 26 miles!
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Old 06-05-2009, 06:23 PM
 
4,235 posts, read 14,073,730 times
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years ago, we took a family trip up/down highway 1....Mom wanted to stop at long-established Nepenthe, near Big Sur, for lunch...it's a well-known spot famous for great views from the back patio and casual, healthy food.....

we knew we were in the Big Sur area, so when two kitchen employees got into a fight and it spilled out onto the patio with knives drawn, we thought, "oh well, just another day at Nepenthe"....

Nepenthe Restaurant, Big Sur, California

it will take time to drive the entire section of Route 1, so budget your time if you plan to drive the entire length of it....
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Old 06-05-2009, 08:40 PM
 
15,642 posts, read 26,286,872 times
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Originally Posted by fizbin View Post
Well, that is only 26 miles!
We were coming up from San Simeon, and by that time I was TOTALLY green and my mom can't drive a stick, so I couldn't make her drive ....

That had to be the longest 26 miles in history. It felt like 400....
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Old 06-06-2009, 10:15 PM
 
Location: West Sacramento
34 posts, read 166,478 times
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The drive between SF and Monterey is absolutely beautiful. However, if you are driving all the way to LA, it's probably best to get further South before considering lodging for the night. Think about stopping in Big Sur around lunch time and then heading South from there.
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