The Trip – Part 12: Driving North on Highway 1
Our first day back on the road was a short one. We drove north a couple of hours and camped at Carpinteria State Beach. This was our first campsite on the Pacific Ocean. Some kind of succulents with pink flowers — ice plants, I think — were growing in our campsite and it was great to see and hear the ocean while cooking dinner.
Quite a few offshore oil drilling platforms were visible; I hadn’t expected that. I learned later that we were seeing drilling in the Carpinteria Offshore Oil Fields, which had been discovered there in the early 60s.
The next morning we awoke to a dark orange sky. Kathy mentioned that her dad always says, “Red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning.” We broke camp and continued north on Highway 1. We soon learned that there was validity in that old saying. The fog that was hanging over the coast all morning eventually turned to rain.
Highway 1 is a beautiful road but it’s narrow and there are many places where I could almost hear Paul McCartney singing “The Long and Winding Road.” Due to the poor visibility we took our time, stopping when we could, and only made it as far as Morro Bay State Park before stopping to camp for the night. Daylight doesn’t last very long in January, even in California, and since we knew we would have to set up our tent and cook dinner in the wet weather, we didn’t want to drive too late.
Morro Bay is a nice location and the sailboats in the bay really added to the coastal atmosphere. Unfortunately, the fog still hung heavy over the coast. The next day we continued north to Big Sur and found a place to camp in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. I was really looking forward to spending time at Big Sur. There is a mystique about this part of the California coast. Highway 1 hugs the shoreline for about 90 miles and the coastal mountains hug the highway and provide a home for redwood trees. With more populated areas to the north and the south, this is really a rugged and sparsely populated part of the state.
We spent a couple of days in the park and were the only people in the campground. The miserable weather continued. To get some protection from the rain we set up our cook stove and made meals in the shower area of one of the restrooms. The changing area had several long benches that we used both for tables and chairs. At least here we could take our time and enjoy a meal without dealing with the weather. Since we didn’t do any hiking I spent most of my time reading, writing cards or in my log book, or playing my guitar. The weather became part of a song that I started to write. I never finished it but here are the words to the first verse.
Drivin’ north on Highway 1.
It’s been weeks since last I saw the sun in the sky.
I can’t even see the sea
With these gray clouds hanging over me as I drive.
I know this road keeps going on
But I’m not sure whether I can follow it to Vancouver B. C.
And then I see your smile and all the sunshine in your eyes
And I’m happy that you’re travelin’ with me.
With the rain chasing us out of Big Sur, we drove a short way further up the road and stopped for the night at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. The weather was improving a bit. It was still damp and foggy but at least the rain had stopped. That helped our spirits a bit as we continued north the next day.
We stopped for a while to look around in Carmel and then followed the 17-Mile Scenic Drive along Monterey Bay. At one of the scenic overlooks there were several hang gliders on the bluff over the ocean. We watched and I was curious to see where they would land below. Much to my surprise, they didn’t land below; they jumped off the bluff and then sailed around in an updraft before returning to the bluff to land. It was interesting to watch but I’m not sure if I would have tried it.
We camped for the night at New Brighton State Beach. I don’t remember much about this stretch of our trip but I do recall that somewhere along here the sky finally cleared again and we spent a day trying to dry out. Since the campground was wooded, the only large area exposed to the sun was a parking lot. We put our damp sleeping bags over the roof of the car and spread our wet tent out on the pavement in a parking lot to dry. Other damp items were hung over a makeshift clothes line. It was sure nice to dry out.
Feeling a little more civilized, we made one more stop — San Gregorio State Beach — before heading to that City by the Bay. (No, not Green Bay, San Francisco!)