coastal chill

---

Chillin on the highway from San Jose to Monterey....actually its from San Francisco to L.A but the former sounded much better, there's something about rhyming words that makes me internally satisfied! hmmm

By the time we left San Fran it was nearing late afternoon so the group decided that if we felt safe enough we'd stop overnight in San Jose, a little over an hour and a half from the city. We settled into our cosy room, ate some not so delicous dinner and got some well needed rest for a day of adventure.
We were heading for Santa Cruz, and unfortunately the weather didn't match a. our excitement to be on the road and b. the beautiful town of santa cruz. A gorgeous little seaside town with cute little shops, a good vibe and the Cold Water Classic surfing comp. Unfortunately the combination of torrential rain and lack of parking meant we couldn't stop and watch, but alas we did our fair share of drive by's (or as we'd say in Swan Hill 'streeties') so as to get the most out of the good looking crowd....mmm surfers!
So off to Monterey we went. It was bigger than we had imagined and whilst the motel wasn't the nicest it was bearable. Now that we had Nev we were able to drive to a shopping centre, indulge in some 'to die for sushi' and watch a delightful chick flick, let's be honest, you don't have to twist my arm to sit down for an hour and watch Josh Duhamel....oh in all his glory!
Morning rolled around and we were ready for some Sunday driving, what a better town to stop in to but Carmel, a cute, very expensive seaside town where shopping is only for the rich and famous. No Subway's or McDonalds in this little town!
Highway 1 was next on the agenda, and poor old me who suddenly in my old age suffers from some extreme bouts of motion sickness had a rough couple of hours. Kudo's to Sandra D for her superb driving cappablities through torrential weather and extreme windyness. Such a pity we weren't able to see the beautiful sights. This can also be said of the dissapointment experienced when we arrived at Big Sur National Park, with rain that showed no signs of stopping, and thus 10 minutes later had to continue on our way.
The drive down the coast, in typical summer weather would certainly be one to check out. The cute little coastal towns, the scenic drive along Highway 1. Do it!

---