My first Independence Day weekend (ignorant Brit that I am, I was pleasantly surprised to realise I had a long holiday weekend) I took my first Cali road trip down south from San Francisco.
It’s a road well travelled (notice how I’m still refusing to bow to American spelling conventions in any place apart from work email …) and there’s a good reason for that. If you only have one day, or a whole week to meander down the Cali coast, this road trip is for you. So here are the highlights, and Im always interested in hearing about bits I can add to this from other adventurers having tried versions of this three times now (thrice!) and recommended it to countless people (fourth trip due this coming weekend 
)
From San Francisco, take the highway 1 down towards Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. Depending on time you can stop at either or both of the beaches here, but parking can be a problem (my friend thought I was taking him on a car park tour for the first 2 hours of the last trip).
First longer stop is Santa Cruz. Here you should check out the boardwalk which is home to the familiar wooden rollercoasters that were will bring back the pre-teen nostalgia of Lost Boys (ah, just me?!)
If you’re feeling adventurous and have a bit of time to detour inland for a bit, you could try the Mystery Spot (loving their trippy website entry screen). I’ve heard mixed reports about this one so I guess I’m just going to have to bite the bullet and go there myself next time I’m down that way. For 5 bucks a visit, it’s not going to break the bank and then at least I’ll know!
For a day round trip, you could take the coastal road to via Monterey to Carmel and Big Sur and back. It’s a day of driving with a few good breaks (and you can always cut time by taking the freeway back some of the way), or 2 or more slower days with some sights to look out for further down the coast if you’re more of a wandering soul – Hearst Castle and some of the beaches and state parks of Big Sur like Pfeiffer Beach, for example. And don’t miss the eye-blistering sight of the Madonna Inn, a bit past Big Sur, towards San Luis Obispo Bay (another pretty place to stop for a while).
Back to Monterey: the wharf reminded me a lot of Fisherman’s Wharf in SF – a few restaurants, shops and Irish bars, not much new to see here except the aquarium. The aquarium gets a great deal of good press so I had high expectations but after paying the steep entry fee of USD 30 was left a little disappointed (blame today’s jaded culture of always expecting the X-factor which I’ve obviously succumbed to). There was one cute area where kids could play around with sea cucumbers, starfish and friendly rays and the jellyfish lounge was spectacular, but I wouldn’t spend much longer than an hour here unless you have an insane interest in all things fishy or have some road-trip-fatigued kids you ned to pacify. It’s set in a beautiful spot of town though if you don’t mind walking past all the touristy trappings that lead up to it.
The 17-mile drive around Pebble Beach, Carmel was the highlight of the last trip for sure. Driving slowly through vista points like the Restless Sea and Lone Cypress on an early September morning is what sticks in memory. And it’s interesting peeking through the trees and bushels that cleverly shelter home after decadent home in this sheltered hideaway in plain tourist view where Clint Eastwood was once mayor (and no-one’s going to let them forget that, most tourists probably flock here harbouring a secret desire of catching a glimpse of Clint in his deckchair).
For a more fast-paced trip where you can squeeze in many sights and many more miles in around a week, you could continue this drive down to Santa Barbara, Los Angeles (the Universal Studios tour is wickedly awesome and well worth the 70-or-so-bucks entry fee to the theme park – really – and get your pic taken somewhere near the Hollywood sign, although the closest you can get is still miles away), San Diego (check out the zoo, well known for its efforts in conservation and preserving the animals natural habitats and PANDAS!!!!, best I’ve visited but I’m a bit stumped for other recommendations here), and Las Vegas (no recommendations needed here. If you can’t find your thing in Vegas, then it doesn’t exist anywhere).
For those who prefer getting back to nature, drive through the Mojave desert and visit the Joshua Tree national park at TwentyNine Palms, where U2 took inspiration for their 1987 album of the same name. It’s the most peaceful place I’ve ever been to in the world so far. Although I didn’t make Death Valley and Yosemite – yet. That’s something to look forward to on many road trips to come, I hope …
