Friday, 21 August 2009
Road Trip Day 2
I spent some time before I left the Motel Hacienda this morning booking upcoming stays in Salinas and San Francisco. Booking hotels is a tedious process, even when using the TravelAdvisor website as I have been doing. It's a question of balancing price against the reviews of people who've stayed in the hotels. I've learned not to hold too much store in the reviews though. For instance, some of the previous guests at the Motel I stayed in last night gave it terrible reviews, yet I found it to be very pleasant and would be happy to recommend it to others.
Still, frustrating as the process is I am happy to have it out of the way for a couple of days.
Santa Barbara by Daylight
Once I'd got the bookings done I drove into the city, made a quick stop at Borders to by a USA Road Atlas and then parked up by the beach for a walk along Stearns Wharf and the oceanfront. My guidebook informs me that Stearns Wharf is the oldest wooden pier in the state and dates back to 1872. However, the prices of the food, snacks and souvenirs on sale are very much up to date. I declined the offer of an ice cream for over $5 and strolled of the pier and along the beach.
I liked Santa Barbara a lot, and it's setting beneath the California Hills is stunning. It's very "California" in that it's clean, crisp and sculpted to be aesthetically pleasing.
Inland
My destination after Santa Barbara is Morro Bay and I decided to let the Sat-Nav take me a more direct route than the coast road. Route 154 took me over the San Rafael Mountain range where I was treated to great view of the dusty hills scattered with the occasional bright green area of irrigated land and a lake created by a dam project.
My route kept me inland as it skirted around Vandenberg Air Force Base before returning to the coast at Pismo Beach where I stopped by to pad around on the sand again. I must get my feet wet with Pacific water soon.
Sea Mist
I arrived in the fishing port of Morro Bay to find it shrouded in a thick sea mist. This meant that the huge "Morro Rock", a volcanic plug which dominates the bay, was only visible from it's midpoint downwards.
My digs tonight are lovely and exactly the image I have an American Motel. Adjoining chalet style rooms with parking spaces outside each one. In this photo you can just see my room with car sitting outside.
Speaking of which, here's that photo of my ride I promised you yesterday. I'm still mulling over a name for her, but the current front runner is "The Beast". One thing which was resolved today was the colour. I got chatting to an aging hippy at one of the mountain pass viewpoints and he described the colour as "Ticket Red", referring to how much she might stand out to cops. Let's hope he's wrong.
Fish and Chips
I wandered along the dockside this evening to the sound of barking sea-lions and squawking gulls and looked for a reasonably priced dinner. I think I was too cautious though as I had a rather disappointing portion of Fish and Chips... oh, and that's the English meaning of chips, i.e. French fries.
Now it's time for bed and a good rest ahead of tomorrow's drive along the most spectacular part of the Pacific Coast Highway and the Big Sur.
Goodnight.
Stats - Day Twenty Eight
Distance travelled - 118 miles - Santa Barbara to Morro Bay, with a small detour to Pismo Beach
State count - 16 + DC
"He described the colour as "Ticket Red", referring to how much she might stand out to cops."
ReplyDeleteHe is correct Dee, that red and the yellow stand out. Check if ya remember look way up the highway and take notice of the color of the cars that stand out even in your peripheral vision. you'll find Red and Yellow!