Continuing along with my series of where you want to be if you’re driving between LA and San Francisco, we’ll discuss a lovely stop-off spot about halfway from either destination. At this point in your trek you’ll either have made it through the insanely winding road along Route 1 (if you’re coming from LA) or you’re about to take a deep (really deep) breath and hit the curves for all you’re worth (if you’re coming from SFO).
It was at this point in the trip that I required a restroom. We had come up from Morro Bay and although those chai teas were delicious, it was now time to pull off. We made it through the maze that is Route 1 and I was honestly worried there were no establishments in our near future, at all (you’ll understand). I was just beginning to psych myself up about roughing it behind the intermittent redwoods, when we happened upon the town of Big Sur that we’d read so much about. Big Sur is probably most well-known for its trees and its popular, woodsy bed and breakfast, Deetjen’s.
We pulled off of Loma Vista Hwy 1 at what seemed to be a very, very small gas station, but sprawled behind it was nearly an acre of statues and artwork, a restaurant and a small bohemian shoppe. After partaking of their adorable bathrooms (no, really, they were absolutely adorable, see below) we wandered around to peek in the windows of the elegant restaurant, snap some photos of a gigantic cactus, meander through a statue garden and buy some essential oil (lavender scent) from the hippie store.
The store is the Big Sur Garden Gallery and the statue garden is the Big Sur Spirit Garden. Lovely, clean bathrooms, a scenic garden to give your legs a bit of a stretch and a reasonably-priced shoppe: this spot is definitely worth your while!
Be sure to check this place (and the cactus) out on your coastal adventure!
[images copyright 2008 - Courtney Gauthier]
Filed under: Art, Bizarre, California, Travel | Tagged: Bathroom, Big Sur, California, California Coast, Deetjen's, Gallery, Garden, Gas Station, Hippie, LA, Morro Bay, Redwoods, Road Trip, San Francisco, Travel
Don’t bother driving in go by ship or cruise liner.
Don’t bother driving the coast? I disagree!
Driving the California coast has been my favorite vacation so far and I think half of the fun was due to the fact that we were *actually driving it ourselves. Sure, you’ll get the incredible views from your cruise ship, but you won’t be able to stop off whenever you like to peer down the cliffs at overlooks, take ridiculous pictures with huge redwood trees or snap awesome pictures from the cave you found in a nook off Hwy 1. It’s quite a different experience actually being on the coast as opposed to being just off of the coast.
Driving it gives you ownership and control over your trip. Do what you want to do, when you want to do it. I wouldn’t trade my experience for a cruise down the coast. No way.
A tip for drivers: we went in mid-March and enjoyed sunshine and very little traffic (I understand the traffic can be pretty intense in the summer months). Also, we rented a car out of Burbank and dropped it off in Oakland (you won’t need a car in SFO!)