PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY TO SANTA BARBARA
ON THE FINAL LEG OF HER FAMILY US ROAD TRIP, ROLLS DOWN THE CALIFORNIAN COAST
DOLPHINS jumped, seals barked, cormorants grunted and eagles circled. Yes, we were on the Big Sur drive from picturesque Carmel down to ‘surf city’ Huntington Beach. This is where having a 30ft Cruise America RV really comes into its own.
You don’t need to spend money on costly meals out because you can bag yourselves the best views in town by pulling up on the roadside, making lunch, getting out the chairs, relaxing and drinking it all in.
And the best bit? You don’t have to keep packing your cases or double-checking you have everything for the kids for your day out – because everything is there at your fingertips. That’s what makes it so much easier for mums and dads. You carry your mod cons with you.
What a sight beheld us as we made our way along the famous 17 Mile Drive, stopping off to play on Pebble Beach with its bright white soft sand and azure blue ocean.
There’s so much to see on this route, you don’t know whether to look right to the coastline, with its jagged rocks, crashing waves and teaming wildlife, or to the left, to have a nose behind the gates to the millionaires’ mansions complete with glass roofs, turrets and sea-view balconies.
You have to pay $10 to access the 17-Mile Drive but it’s well worth it.
There are 17 viewpoints marked out on the map, my favourites being Bird’s Rock and Seal Rock, where we saw the abundant wildlife above and the cute Gingerbread House, which looked like it had been lifted straight out of Hansel and Gretel.
At times, the air smells of basil as you drive through the renowned golf course, where you can often spot deer hanging out in the bunkers.
We stopped off for coffee in Carmel, the pretty town where Clint Eastwood was mayor.
Head for Carmel Bakery, which dates back to 1899 and does the most delicious Danish pastries the size of dinner plates. Then you’re ready for the road again.
230 miles (just under five hours)
RE-FUELLED, we started our journey down Pacific Coast Highway One, romantically named the Big Sur and well-known by beatnik Jack Kerouac fans.
ZOE CHAMBERLAIN
You could stop literally every two minutes on this journey to take photographs (I know because, being married to a photographer, we did) and you’re rewarded with better vistas at every twist and turn.
We stopped at the Henry Miller Memorial Library where there’s a hand carved out of a huge redwood tree that’s big enough to sit in, and looked down over the Julia Phieffer Burns State Park watching a waterfall flowing onto the beach.
I’ve heard the Nepenthe restaurant is well worth a stop (although you always have to book ahead) but we rarely wanted to eat out. Why would you when you can choose the most perfect of views for a delicious brunch made in the RV?
Be sure to stop at San Simeon. Here, we saw a huge pod of elephant seals bathing on the beach with their pups whilst their trunk-nosed dads were out at sea. The kids loved it.
A word of warning. This is a long drive (much further if you carry on right down to San Diego) – and there are no lights at night so it can be hair-raising if you stay out there beyond sunset.
For this reason, we chose to scoot off the PCH1 and onto the 101 freeway which, although less scenic, gave us a quicker route in.
In hindsight, it may have been better to have given ourselves two days on the Big Sur as there’s such a lot to see but we were cramming a lot of sights into our trip (3,500 miles, four states and 10 landmark destinations in 14 days!) and this was the only way we could fit it all in. This, thankfully, was the only part of the journey where we felt at all rushed.
Further down the road, known as the American Riviera, Santa Barbara is upmarket but with a laid-back vibe.
State Street is the place to go for shopping and dining but it’s the gorgeous beaches that are the best.
And Stearns Wharf, the oldest working pier in California, is well worth a look too.
LOS ANGELES
100 miles (one hour 30 minutes)
HERE’S the first look at Universal Orlando’s latest theme park.
Epic Universe was revealed this month and will be on a separate 750-acre site from the current three attractions.
The firm says visitors will go on ‘’a journey where beloved stories expand into vibrant lands’’ and it will also feature an entertainment centre, hotels, shops, restaurants and more. No opening date has been announced yet.
Visit universalorlando.com
GLUTEN-FREE and vegan meals are now available on Jet2 flights.
Passengers can buy when booking, or order before travelling. A spokesman says: ‘‘We are always looking at ways in which we can develop our offering.”
See jet2.com for details.
SAVE up to 30% on rooms at more than 450 Hilton hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Book by August 19 for stays until January 6 at brands including Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Canopy, DoubleTree, Hampton and Hilton. Go to hilton.com
CELEBRITY chef Tom Kerridge (right) has been cooking up some tasty treats for British Airways passengers.
As part of its centenary celebrations, the flag carrier asked Michelin-starred Tom to curate gourmet menus for long-haul customers throughout August, the airline’s 100th birthday month.
The new British dishes will be available in all cabins and include gourmet smoked chicken stew in economy, roasted breast of corn-fed chicken in premium economy, Severn and Wye smoked salmon with asparagus in business, and fillet of halibut with roasted cucumber in first.
A spokeswoman says the menus “showcase the very best of Britain”.
NEXT morning, we made our way down through Los Angeles – seeing signs for all those famous Hollywood sights like Sunset Boulevard, Beverley Hills Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Venice Beach.
We could have stopped off on the way but we didn’t really feel like taking a 30ft RV into downtown LA, and we had been lucky enough to visit them on a previous trip.
Santa Monica and Venice are a must, and I would wholeheartedly recommend both. Just be sure to visit the latter during the daytime as the atmosphere becomes pretty eclectic at night!
We spent a day and evening in Long Beach – an arty town with a cool skateboarder vibe.
HUNTINGTON BEACH
AFTER all that driving, the kids were keen to hit the beach (as were we!).
We carried on down to the Orange County so we could spend a couple of days on Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City.
The golden sand stretches for miles along this beautiful clean and vibrant beach, one of the only places you’re allowed to have a fire.
We had a barbecue in one of the fire pits with friends as the sun set which was heavenly. There’s something particularly special about a Surf City sunset.