Under the boardwalk, down by the sea . . .

It was a long weekend in North America, so what better way to celebrate then to take a quintessential American road trip down California’s famous Highway One.
We headed down south, past Devil’s slide and half moon bay, the spectacular oceanic views warranting the number of ‘photo’ stops we made. We ended up in Santa Cruz, a vibrant University town that had a very surfy feel. We hung out at the boardwalk, where a strange country rock band (with an interpreter for the deaf?) drew a crowd and took the cable car to get a great view of the beach.
The next day we travelled to Monterey, a city of affluence, scenic beauty, and of course the amazing Monterey Bay Aquarium, where we spent a few hours exploring. We had lunch at the touristy Cannery Row, made famous as a locale in two of John Steinbeck's novels and then headed down the obligatory 17-Mile Drive. It’s really just a chance to see a wealthy person’s golf club on the ocean . . . but it did have spectacular views as well. We ended in Sam Simeon, not much more then a few inns on the beach front.
On our third day we visited Hearst Castle, the palatial estate of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst who spent 30 years building a 165-room Moorish castle with 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools and walkways, furnished with Spanish and Italian antiques and art, flanked by three large guest houses. In its heyday, Hearst Castle had a zoo (with zebras still grazing down by the highway with the cows), tennis courts and two pools ( with gold mosaic tiles) He used to entertain people such as the like of Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Joan Crawford, Calvin Coolidge, and Winston Churchill!
We then drove the 100 mile Big Sur section of Pacific Coast Highway, again with breathtaking views, crossing over the scenic Bixby Creek Bridge, a reinforced concrete arch with a 320-foot span and having a look-see in the Henry Miller gallery. We ended up in Santa Barbara, again exploring the boardwalk and having a great night out.
On our last day we took a bike ride around Santa Barbara (with no hand brakes) and travelled back home on the less impressive but faster Highway 101. One and a half harry potter audiobooks later we were home!

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