They say a picture is worth a thousand words...
This picture was taken along the world famous Pacific Coast Highway 1 heading North to Carmel, CA. At this point, I am officially spoiled as a chauffeur. Don’t get me wrong, driving to Nevada is nice, which I do often, but the Mojave desert is.. well, deserted.
Going to downtown Los Angeles can be exciting… but just like Sinead O’Connor said after she shaved her dome.. ‘nothing compares to you’… and I think she was talking about the drive to Carmel..maybe.. or her Mach 3 razors..
On this trip, I picked up a photographer, Harv Greenberg, who prides himself on going anywhere in the world for a ‘shot.’ It was a 6 to 8 hour ride so I had a chance to hear Harv talk about his travels.
He has been to all seven continents; he told me about how a Walrus chased him in Antarctica and paddle boating in the great Amazon river. When I heard all that, I started feeling excited about the trip we were embarking on. Why else would he want to charter a trip at 6 AM to leave a beautiful and sunny Marina Del Rey? I started thinking about some of the views that were going to come our way. The Pacific coast north of Malibu, is unique in that it is one of the last places to be left alone.
The first goal of the trip was to leave early enough to beat the traffic out of Los Angeles. We just edged out those morning commuters, who needed a little coffee to get their day started. Phase two was to pass through Ventura, head up to Santa Barbara, cut over to San Luis Obispo and look for the sign, HWY 1, Scenic Drive, up to Big Sur.
Done! We were now roaring forward in the Mercedes Sprinter; on a mission to capture the brilliance of the pelagic coast.
Harv had done his research. He had specific places he was looking for with latitude and longitude points. We travelled until we were on Highway 1, a cliff side road, with mountains on our right and amazing views to our left. I kept my eyes in the middle of the road.
As we flowed through, we reached our first destination; a bridge, nestled into two mountains with an amazing rugged coastline in the background. We kept on going, enjoying vista after vista, until we reached another destination. This time it was a tidal area that looked like a scene in ‘Blue Lagoon,’ complete with an amazing waterfall. There were wind-beaten trees, and native plants growing along the mountains that looked like something out of Dr. Seuss.
Highway 1 had some nice places to stop and relax as well. Many great bed and breakfasts, cafes, restaurants, and sightseeing vista points are conveniently marked. We made it to the end, Carmel. We were just a few minutes from Monterrey, with loads of great picture opportunities.
It was a fun trip, and I look forward to going back soon.
Jacob
A ‘Brilliant’ Chauffeur
