California is known for its abundant natural beauty, bustling cities, and unique cultural blend. Some of the Golden State's more remote locations, however, offer a glimpse of a California that is often talked about, occasionally filmed, but rarely seen. Big Sur and the Central Coast give visitors a look at California's Hidden Coast.
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| "The Bixby Canyon Bridge" |
When speaking of the Central Coast, a common question refers to Big Sur: What is it? The best way to describe Big Sur is as a region, a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway reaching from Morro Bay in the south to Carmel in the north. Although there is a township with the same name, its borders are not clearly defined, and it mostly consists of a few restaurants and a gas station. The Big Sur region is inaccessible from any route other than Highway 1, and this may be one of the most windy segments of the famed PCH. The drive is harrowing for those prone to motion sickness, but the reward is an astounding 70 miles or so of completely unspoiled coastline, full of breath-taking views of turquoise blue and emerald green waters waters crashing into the rocky cliffs.
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| China Cove |
When we reached the northern end of Big Sur, just a few miles south of Carmel, we decided to stop and walk around Point Lobos State Park. I can safely say that it's the most beautiful place I've ever been in California. The park is filled with coastal walking trails, and is also known for some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the state. If you're able to visit, be sure to stop by jade-green China Cove.
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| Hearst Castle's Roman Pool |
Hearst Castle is worthwhile strictly for the novelty of the visit. A testament to the dangerous combination of insanity and wealth, seeing the artifacts brought from every age and culture really is interesting. Some of the architectural features are truly striking; my personal favorite was Hearst's indoor swimming room, known as the Roman Pool.
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| Morro Rock |
Morro Bay is known to some as the "Gibraltar of the Pacific." A large monolith juts out of the bay, creating a natural barrier between the small town and the sea. A quaint little city, Morro Bay presents an eclectic mix of operating fisheries and commercial businesses, galleries featuring local art, and an assortment of tourist traps of every nature. It's a ton of fun. We spent the day by renting a boat and touring around the bay in the morning, and moseying around the piers in the afternoon. Since it's only about 20 miles north of San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay makes an excellent and relaxing day trip for those visiting the area.
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| "Devotion" Inside the Mission SLO |
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San Luis Obispo is a great town. The downtown, which features a river-walk, centers around the Mission Plaza. On Thursday nights, a "farmers market" springs up on Higuera Street, although it contains more vendors of pre-made food and wares than actual fruits and vegetables. The Mission San Luis Obispo, which sits in the heart of the city, makes for an interesting morning or afternoon. The Missions always intrigue me, and I make a point to visit them. Symbols of the mixture of religious goals and political desire, the California Missions are definitely an interesting piece of history. Be sure to walk through the gardens, and capture some of the stunning views of the mountains to the east.
Pismo Beach is absolutely insane. As the only public beach in California on which you can legally drive motor vehicles, it isn't what you may expect. An odd assortment of red-necks and hippies and plenty of something in-between, Pismo Beach is definitely interesting. Be warned, however: driving in the sand isn't simple. After we were towed out by the kindness of strangers for the 3rd time, we were informed that it is necessary to deflate your tires. The heavy traffic on the beach itself can make for much confusion and chaos. However, beyond a short fence on the beach, lie the dunes. Despite my expectations, these became one of the highlights of my trip down the central coast.
The Pismo dunes are the exact opposite of what you expect to find at a California beach, which is probably why they were featured as the set of Francis Coppola's "The Ten Commandments." They certainly would look more at home in Egypt. As I was asking for some tips about the dunes from a local, he said "Be careful to not go in too far, it's easy to get lost in there." Something in my eye must have told him that I wasn't one to be concerned for that sort of thing. Grabbing an extra bottle of water, I promptly headed as deep into the dunes as I could. On my way to the center of the dunes, I met up with a few middle-school aged kids riding body boards and cardboard sheets down the dunes. As locals, they said that this was one of their favorite things to do on the weekends. After about 45 minutes of trying to find the ocean again, I realized that I was lost. Pulling out my cell phone, I saw the ever so ominous "No Service" bar. It was wonderful. An unexpected, actual adventure. No people in sight from the top of my solitary sand-hill, no sounds except the very distant whistle of the wind blowing shapes through the dunes. It struck me then that this is what California is about. It's about being alone on top of a sand dune, as much as it is about being packed like a sardine into a subway in San Francisco. It's about driving up the coast on a rainy day, and stopping to gaze at the ocean any way as much as it is about zooming through the busy streets of Los Angeles. After a few hours of wondering along, I heard again the distant roar of the ocean and the freeway again, and I noticed a few bars of signal appear on my phone. I was back from my 3 hour tour of solitude, back to bustling Pismo Beach. I guess that it's things like this that make me love California, the Golden State.
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| The Pismo Dunes |
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