Pacific Coast Highway

It was about 6 years ago, when I was on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) for the first time. I was riding my bike at 100 mph on the hair pin bends hugging the coastline, when all of a sudden I crashed into the railing and flew into the ocean. Miraculously I survived the crash and a few "ESC" buttons later I was restarting the "RoadRash" game. In reality, when I finally got to drive on Pacific Coast Highway this long weekend, we were negotiating the sharp bends at less than 35 mph.

The 120 mile drive from San Simeon to Monterrey Bay along the Pacific ocean is probably the most scenic drive I have done to date. The narrow paved road winds high on some sheer cliffs with steep drops into the Pacific on the other side. At some points there is not even a railing to break your fall, but then the speed limits does reduce to 25 mph on such curves.
There are two things which can add beauty to any landscape - vast expanse of water, and high green mountains. The drive offers breathtaking views of both. The sight of waves rushing to the shore and crashing on the rocks has a very soothing effect. The PCH also was a perfect example of the weird weather pattern, as a 5 mile stretch of heavy downpour was easily followed by bright sunshine and extraordinary visibility. As you drive up north, the water changes its color from blue to green and various shades in between depending on the depth of the ocean and sunlight.

On Sunday we drove to Napa Valley. The Napa county lies between two parellel mountain ranges about 80 miles northeast of San Francisco. 5 quaint little cities line this scenic valley enclosed by some snow clad mountains. Napa is renowned world over for producing Chardonny's and Sauvignon's. The Napa tour was capped by a visit to the Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga and sampling of 5 cheap wines. Nothing comes free, and the same applies to all their high quality wines.

The high spirits of Sunday night and the steady headache on monday morning was doused by the best breakfast I have had in the last 2 years at Swathi Tiffins in Sunnyvale. The drive back home was further enhanced by two marvellous drives - Route 17 through redwood lined Santa Cruz and route 152 from Watsonville with green cattle filled hilltops giving a look of a Swiss countryside. In Santa Cruz, we also stopped by Mystery Spot, where wierd magnetic patterns cause serious light diffraction and make the gravitational force to appear at an angle. Numerous illustrations left me in disbelief as I am trying to solve this mystery with the aid of Google and some common sense.

Here are some random pics from the drive

ps: How does it feel to total a $1 mn car ? Read the death of Ferrari Enzo on PCH.