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San Francisco, Yosemite Valley, Pacific Coast Highway (California Highway 1), Los Angeles

They say December is the holiday season, and we hardly did a holiday in December. For a change, started to look at the December options, almost finalized Europe, then moved on to look at a few options in SE Asia, Japan etc. It was already October, and around late October I did a work trip to Philadelphia. While on transit in Doha on the return trip from Philly to Singapore, I saw a message from my cousin – "heard you are in the US, come and visit us". I said "yes, I was in Philadelphia, not anywhere near to the west coast" (he is in Cupertino). A bit more chit chat and I was back on my flight to Singapore; suddenly the December holiday destination came up clear – San Francisco!

Though I had been to the east coast (NYC, NJ, and Philadelphia) a few times, never been to the west coast of the US. Started with a few YouTube videos of SF, read thru a couple of travelogues on Team-bhp (this one - (My West Coast Roadtrip **EDIT: Finally completed!) from Noopster was very useful), and the plan started getting clear. Did the first-cut itinerary with the following parameters:

1. A duration of two weeks / 15 days
2. Need to drive on the Pacific Coast Highway (California Highway 1)
3. A bit of snow experience for the little one!

With so little knowledge of the American landscape my initial and rather ambitious thought was – SFO -> LA -> Vegas -> Death Valley -> Yosemite Valley -> SFO. Self-vetoed the plan immediately as it looked like too much for 2 weeks; I wanted to focus on the experience rather than no. of places covered. And also read about the winter road closures, which could make it even longer. A week or so was spent on trimming down the plan, and the final plan came about, and this time it was quite relaxing even to look at:

• 14th Dec: Arrive at SFO
• 15th to 17th Dec: Explore SF
• 18th to 20th Dec: Yosemite Valley
• 21st to 25th Dec: Pacific Coast Highway drive – SF to LA (CA-1), with multiple stops.
• 26th to 27th Dec: LA
• 27th Dec afternoon: Drive to SF (I-5), with an overnight stop midway.

Shared the plan with a few, my cousin insisted on staying with him on the day of arrival and also suggested to join his family on a flight to Aspen for Christmas. A friend suggested to drop Yosemite and do Lake Tahoe, and another one suggested that the drive can be boring and tiring, so take a flight from SF to LA. My wife also was of that opinion, as she was a bit petrified of the fact that I will be driving for the first time in the US, also my first experience in driving on the right side of the road. She tried to persuade me to give up on the driving aspect, but gave up considering that it could possibly result in an immediate cancellation of holiday plans. In the end only the first suggestion was taken in – to stay with my cousin on the day of arrival; thought that will help the girls to relax and get over with the jet lag, if any.

All the hotel bookings and car rental were done via booking.com, except for the stay in SF. The member rates from IHG was better than the one in booking.com and I wanted a reasonably good hotel to start the holiday. All the bookings except for SF was done with free cancellation options so that I can re-work some of the schedules on-the-go if required. It came handy as I cancelled the booking in LA as one of our friend insisted on staying at their place, instead of hotel.

The final plan looked like this:

• 14th Dec: Arrive at SFO, stay at Cupertino
• 15th - 18th Dec: San Francisco
• 18th - 20th Dec: Yosemite Valley
• 20th - 21st Dec: Back in San Francisco
• 21st Dec: Day 1 of Pacific Coast drive, night at Monterey
• 22nd Dec: Day 2 of Pacific Coast drive, night at San Simeon
• 23rd - 24th Dec: Day 3 and 4 of Pacific Coast drive, 2 nights at Solvang
• 25th - 27th Dec: LA (Valencia / Santa Clarita)
• 28th Dec: Drive back to SF via I-5 or US-101, night flight back to Singapore
• 30th Dec: Back in Singapore

And we started – at Singapore Changi Airport, Cathay Pacific flight to SFO via HK

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DAYS 1 & 2

The flights from Singapore to Hong Kong and there on to SFO was nice and uneventful. Scheduled landing was at 3.45pm PST but the flight landed early, and we were out of the airport by 3:45pm. My cousin arrived at around 4:00pm, and in around 45 mins we were at his home in Cupertino. Sunset at around 4:30pm and it was pitch-dark outside by 5pm. Even though it was a long flight, the night was longer with all the catching up after 8 long years.

Next day started late in the morning, went for a big American breakfast/brunch nearby, and then went around the facilities of technology giants around the area – Apple and Google. By late afternoon, got a Lyft to San Francisco (SF). The taxi ride gave us the first taste of the steeply inclined streets in SF. Our hotel was on Nob Hill and no better location to experience walking on the inclines.

At around 5:00pm, we got to the hotel – and from there the holiday feeling started kicking in. We walked around for a while to get a feel of the place and grab some dinner.

Hotel entrance at night

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DAYS 3 & 4 - San Francisco

We woke up to this view on Monday morning!


Despite all the steeply inclined roads, SF is best explored by foot. Decided to walk down to the Ferry building, and there on to Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf and there on. Though Google said 6 miles in 2+ hours, it took much more than that due to photo/food stops and a few detours. Started around 9:30am and got back to the hotel by around 3:00pm. This also helped to get adjusted to the SF weather, which stayed below 10C and below through out our stay. The second day in SF were spent on going around the SF in Cable Cars, and also some shopping around Union Square

A few sights around SF, and rough map of our walking trail.
Pictures are not in any specific order; click on the related hyperlinks for more details, and click on the pictures to open in a new window.

Walking trail - Route map


Day view of the hotel


At the intersection outside the hotel


Walk down the hill


Checking breakfast options at Boudin Bakery


At Pier 39


Sea lions basking on the dock




Another view of the Golden Gate bridge. We did not take the usual tourist trips around the bay area or across the bridge. Instead the bridge was kept as the starting point for the Pacific Coast Highway trip.


Pitstop at Ghirardelli Square


Cars navigating through Lombard street – The Crookedest Street in the World. More on this later!


The famous SF Trolley/Cable Cars! A wonderful way to explore the city; my girl loved this.


The track..


And the right way to enjoy the cable car ride!

https://youtu.be/WOUaqhh53LM

The Cable car turntable! This was just awesome to watch. At this age when everything is automated, they do it in the age-old way - brilliant.

https://youtu.be/N4DyhnSjAD0

Alcatraz – view from a distance


Beautiful view from Telegraph Hill, the Golden Gate bridge can be seen afar


The Coit Tower; did not go up the tower as the elevator was under maintenance


The Painted Ladies - this was a short bus ride away!


And a few more!

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DAYS 5, 6, & 7 - Yosemite National Park

Driving to Yosemite National Park was not considered as a safe option in winter months, and on checking around I found this hassle-free option of Amtrak Train and thruway YARTS buses to Yosemite (details can be found here). Booked online via Amtrak App, and the overall cost (for two adults + 1 child) was just USD 72.50 one-way. The trains and buses have luggage bay to conveniently store your luggage. In case if the trains are slightly delayed, the thruway buses will wait so that you don’t miss the connection. The train also have a well-stocked pantry car for some coffee / light bites.

Started off at around 6:30am (Uber) to Emeryville, which was the nearest Amtrak station to take the train to Merced and then on to Yosemite.

Some views of the way












And we arrived at Yosemite Valley Lodge


View from the room balcony


Tall little one's first encounter with snow!


By 4:30pm it was dark outside, and this was family's first experience with temperature close to 0C. Finished off early dinner and was off to bed soon.

Next day after breakfast at the basecamp eatery, we set off to Badger Pass for some real action with snow. There was a free bus shuttle going to Badger Pass at 8:30am to 11:00am, and respective return schedules were at 1:30pm and 4:00pm.

On the way to Badger Pass


Badger Pass was awesome. Did a small hike of around a mile plus, which took around 2 hours with snow shoes, but quite rewarding experience for the whole family.










Next day morning was relaxing with a short walk upto the lower Yosemite falls, Cook's Meadows and later on to the famous Ahwahnee Hotel for breakfast. By the time we got back it was almost time for check-out and by early afternoon we were on our way back to SF.

Walk to the Lower Yosemite Falls


And thereon...




A few lines on the sky


And a frozen leaf!


A final shot of the room balcony before check-out!


The YARTS bus to Merced


And the onward Amtrak train to SF


A glimpse of sunset on the way


Checked into our hotel in SF. The view was not as epic as the previous one, but still a good one nevertheless!


The Pacific Coast Highway drive from next day!

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Road Trip Intro

This was my focal point for the whole trip – the exhilarating drive along the twisty, ocean-crashing, and cliff-hugging Pacific Coast Highway!

I chose SF as the starting point as driving from North to South looked more appealing, with sea by the side (rather than driving closer to cliff side). After the drive I felt this was a more logical choice as stopping by various lookout/vista points are easier this way.

Note: Do make sure to keep within the speed limits and stay focused on the road as many sections of the road are without guard rails. Slight distraction may land you directly into the Pacific Ocean.

The drive to LA was planned in such a way that we do it on a leisurely pace (after all it’s a holiday trip), and avoid driving in the night. Later found out that the last aspect was quite impossible with early sunsets; driving at around 6:00pm was night-driving!

I had done the rental car booking via www.rentalcars.com. Its more like an aggregator of all the major rental car agencies and (e.g.; Avis, Hertz, Budget, Enterprise, Dollar, Thrifty etc.) and it’s easy to compare and choose. The car I selected was from Thrifty and I opted for a downtown SF pickup (at O'Farrell Street) on the 21st and drop-off at SFO on the 28th evening. I made the booking around 4th Dec (for a pick-up on 21st Dec). The deal I got was for around SGD 372.00 (USD 275.00) and additional insurance cover for around SGD 88.00 (USD 65.00), for 8 days.

After breakfast, I checked on the rental car pick-up location (O'Farrell Street), which was around a mile from the hotel. Decided to walk down for the pick-up, reached there on time and the staff at the counter explained on the formalities, made an additional safety deposit on USD 200.00 (refundable) and picked up the car key. She also explained that if I am planning to cross Golden Gate Bridge from north to south (towards SF), I need to pay the toll online. This can be done either before the trip or within 48 hours of the bridge-crossing.

With a slight jittery feel and excitement of driving in US (and on the right side of the road for the first time), I headed to the basement parking to pick the car. For the same reason, I did not click a picture of the car from the garage

A black 2019 Ford Fusion was waiting there (picture taken later in the day). The car had done just around 10750 miles and felt very new. In US terms it’s a mid-sized sedan but it was indeed a big car, which worked very well for us.



Carefully navigated the car out of the parking lot, followed the cars in front and safely reached the hotel parking lot. The hotel receptionist was sweet to offer free parking for a couple of hours (otherwise they charge USD 40.00 per day / USD 9 per hour). And by around 11, we checked out of the hotel and started on the road trip!

Note: Before check-out from the hotel, I quickly logged into https://www.bayareafastrak.org and made the one-time toll payment (USD 9.00) to cross Golden Gate bridge. This is applicable only if you are crossing the bridge towards SF, not the other direction.

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DAY 8 - Drive on the Pacific Coast, up to Monterey

As this was my first time driving in the United States (and a LHD car), I decided on a unique start – drive down Lombard Street, the Crookedest Street in the world. It was not even remotely outrageous as it sounded; just a couple of minutes' crawl down the street. But it was a fun way to get acclimatized and start the drive!

A short video below – my wife was quite petrified sitting in the front and did not capture until the end

https://youtu.be/Dipmz5MusVM

After successfully navigating through Lombard street, I drove to Battery Spencer, Sausalito. The place offer great views of the Golden Gate bridge, and also was the starting point of my road trip.

Indicative route map


The Golden Gate bridge from Battery Spencer viewpoint


And we started


California 1 sign-board


Drove at a leisurely pace, enjoying the views - stretches of twisty roads with crashing ocean on the side!

https://youtu.be/oz77E9hPjqU

After a late lunch stop at Santa Cruz, we reached Monterey, and checked into the hotel. Spent the evening walking around Del Monte Shopping center, and grabbed some dinner. The night's stay was in a small hotel called Monterey Pines Inn, a decent little place to break the journey and have a restful night's sleep. The overall distance covered was around 135 miles / 217 kms.

The car at the hotel parking

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DAY 9 - 17 Mile Dr., Big Sur

It rained through the night, and luckily by around 9:00am the sky started clearing up a bit. Checked out of the hotel around 9:00am

Indicative route map


Started the day with the scenic 17-mile drive around the Pebble Beach area. Paid an entrance fee of USD 10.50 at the Pacific Grove entrance and even on an overcast day, the views were just awesome!

A rainbow greeted us


On the way...




Girls under the rainbow!


Windy and cold


Striking a pose!


The Lone Cypress


There were a couple of road closures on the 17-mile drive stretch, and after a few detours we got to Carmel-by-the-Sea – a small beach city with small boutiques lined up. The place had beautiful vibes, and we stopped there for a while.








After the short stop at Carmel, we continued on CA-1 and entered the famed Big Sur stretch. The drive was brilliant, and the overcast conditions and slight drizzle added to the aura. The downside was, getting out of the car was difficult (wind, rain and cold weather).

Stopped on the way and followed the foot steps down, only to run back due to the drizzle.


Next up was the Bixby Creek bridge, did a short stop there for pictures and the bridge did look majestic!




After that we passed the Big Sur River Inn, I thought of stopping there for a while but decided to go further and stop at Nepenthe for a late lunch. The place is known for its brilliant views, which again were marred by the rain (they had closed off the outdoor seating). In between we tried a short detour to Pfeiffer beach, but unfortunately the beach was closed for visitors due to flooding. The navigating down through the narrow road (leading to Pfeiffer beach) was good fun though.

Around Big Sur River Inn


Not so clear views from Nepenthe, but still good!


After spending an hour around Nepenthe, we continued with the drive and the next stop was at McWay falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. We did not do the walking trail due to the weather conditions, but the water fall right into the beach was just so wonderful to look at!


It was already around 4:00pm and we continued the drive along CA-1 soaking in the beautiful mountain/ocean views. I had read about frequent road closures around Ragged Point due to landslides but luckily the road was all clear during our travel. Close to 6pm we got to our stop for the night - Quality Inn at San Simeon. The overall distance covered on the day was around 125 miles / 201 kms.

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DAY 10 - Hearst Castle, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo

When I made the booking, the hotel contacted me and offered an upgrade to Ocean view room for additional cost of USD 20.00.
Well, it did have an Ocean view


Indicative route map


The hotel had a good breakfast spread, and soon after breakfast we checked out and headed to watch a bunch of lazy folks on the beach - a colony of Elephant Seals!


After that we decided to go and check out the Hearst Castle. The castle was impressive, but more impressive was the piece of land on which they had built the castle. The views down the hill was just awesome!!






The castle was indeed grand, but what I liked the most was this indoor swimming pool, which is the exit point to catch the bus to take you back to the visitor centre


It was close to 12pm when we finished the castle tour, from there we headed to Morro Bay, a quaint little beach town. We spent some time walking around the alleys, did some shopping around the antique shop, and had lunch at the Dutchman's Seafood House - that probably was the best lunch stop of our trip!

The Morro Rock


After Morro Bay, the next stop was at the famous Madonna Inn Bakery at San Luis Obispo. And the famous Pink Champagne Cake did live up to the hype.


From there, we drove via Pismo beach, and then moved in-road from CA-1 and reached our destination for the night - Solvang.

Another rainbow


Simple pleasures of life!


By the time we reached Solvang, it was around 5:00pm (and already dark). Initial plan was to stay there for the night, but this small Danish village looked so magical with Christmas spirit. And the decision was unanimous - we have to spend another day here! Our hotel King Frederik Inn was right in the middle of the town, and the friendly receptionist Mark provided us with a free upgrade to a room with two queen beds, and also provided better rates for the 2nd night booking.

Walked around the streets a bit, soaked in the Christmas feel a bit before we hit the bed. The overall distance covered on the day was around 125 miles / 201 kms.

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DAYS 11 & 12 - Solvang & Santa Ynez Valley!

The Christmas eve was just about walking around in Solvang, and driving into some of the picturesque vineyards and farms around the valley!

Early morning!






Ostrich feeding...


Checking for the next stop


Farms & Vineyards












Back in Solvang


The Danish Lunch Buffet here was great!


Street views


























Staying in Solvang for 2 nights was indeed a great decision, and I will go back to Solvang & Santa Ynez valley and spend a bit more time there!

Woke up early on Christmas day and its the last day of our CA-1 drive.

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DAYS 13 to 15 - LA, and back to SFO

This was the last day of the Pacific Coast drive. Checked out the hotel after breakfast, and we hit Highway 101, and the first stop was Santa Barbara beach. Even though it was a coastal drive for the past 4 days, this was the first time we got off to the beach and checked how cold the water is

After spending around 30 mins on the beach, drove up to Stearns Wharf and had lunch at the popular Moby Dick restaurant.

A while later we were back on CA-1 and somewhere closer to Malibu saw this sand dune on the other side of the road; stopped there for a while and walking up the sand dunes was good fun (and tiring). Proceeded further to Malibu and then on to Santa Monica beach. It was getting dark by then and we headed to our friend’s place in Valencia/Santa Clarita. The overall distance covered on the day was around 186 miles / 300 kms.

Indicative route map


At Santa Barbara beach, Stearns Wharf can be seen at a distance


Sand dunes!

https://youtu.be/AAUFkcJlky4

While at Malibu, I took a diversion and went up the Malibu Canyon Road – the winding road with gorgeous mountain views was indeed the best way to officially close the Pacific Coast Highway trip!



Next two days, we did a bit of touristy stuff in LA – visits to Rodeo drive, Hollywood etc., and some outlet shopping at Camarillo. On 28th morning (around 10am) started off from LA and did a straight drive back to SFO, and with a couple of short breaks we reached SFO at around 7:30pm. I did not take the busy Interstate 5 highway; though faster I thought it will be quite a boring drive, so the return was almost entirely via Highway 101. The return drive to SFO was around 395 miles / 635 kms

A closing note on the car:
Over 8 days and 1144 miles (1840 kms), the Ford Fusion complimented the trip so wonderfully. The 1.5L Ecoboost engine with 181bhp on tap was awesome to drive, The steering was perfect, and the 6-speed AT with paddle shifters was competent. And the S-mode was super FUN! Two large suitcase along with 2 small suitcases and a couple of backpacks went comfortably in the boot, and the ride was pretty good even with those 18 inch tyres.

Parting shot - the Fusion resting at our friend's driveway in LA!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[condor]

Thanks, VB for sharing this. Brings back memories of the 2.5 years I was in the Bay area, and all the trips that I did. California is just too good a state with so much to see.

Btw, did you go up to Mt Tamalpais on the other side of the Golden Gate ? How about Alacatraz itself ?

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by condor

Btw, did you go up to Mt Tamalpais on the other side of the Golden Gate?

No I went to the other side of the Golden Gate and just went up to the Battery Spencer viewpoint, and from there crossed back the bridge (towards SF) and proceeded to Half Moon Bay and so on.

Originally Posted by condor

How about Alacatraz itself ?

We did not do the Alcatraz tour; our 11 year old was not at all keen on visiting a prison

[WhiteKnight]

Hey, you did something that I always wanted to do. Very nice travelogue. Fusion looks very good. How was the car to drive?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Back in December 1997, this Londoner had never done much abroad (just a couple of cross-North-Sea sailing trips) and was toying with the idea of my first visit to India. When I finally made up my mind, the travel agent said I was probably far too late to get flights, but they'd check. I thought, "OK, if I can't do India, I'll go to California!"

Turned out that the TA had kept a tentative booking that they made when I first enquired --- so I still have not been to America, let alone California, and history, well, happened. I'm unlikely to see USA, now... But I'd still really like to!


Thanks for your excellent pics and succinct but evocative descriptions. What about the legendary American food quantities? Did they over-feed you at every meal? The cake looks good!