Road Trippin’ USA - Vol. 17
Photo: Pacific Ocean along Highway 1
Happy Cows Come from California
When I lived in California there was a commercial that ran frequently for the dairy association. It had cows in beautiful green pastures with rolling hills; the tag line was “Happy cows come from California”. I had never really given much thought to it – until we entered the rolling green hills of California.
We decided that our last day of travel should be a memorable one. As we looked at the map we had two options – taking interstate 101 up to San Francisco (about 4 hours of driving) or taking scenic and famous Highway 1 up the coastline to San Francisco (about 6 hours of driving). I’m sure you can guess what we chose. We felt that a fitting way to end the 2 week trip was to enjoy our surroundings, take our time, and simply soak it all up. Plus, surprisingly neither one of us had ever been on Hwy 1 south of Big Sur, so it was a chance for us to see something new.
As we took off from our interstate hotel and drove into the California countryside it was as if I went from a Lawrence of Arabia into the Sound of Music. There was a notable change in our surroundings as we sped towards the Pacific Ocean; there was moisture in the air! Over a week ago when we left Oklahoma and entered into Texas Kathleen said, “This is the last time we have moisture until we hit California.” From that point on we were applying Chap Stick, eye drops and nose drops as the desert landscapes sucked the moisture out of us and left us looking and feeling like raisins. As we were driving through the flat, stark desert lands, we would have gripping conversations to pass the time such as “Do you prefer tropical-humid-heat to desert-dry-heat?” Personally I think they both suck, one is terrible for my hair and the other for my sinuses – you really can’t win. However, today it was nice to simply change from one to the other – especially at this time of year. California is pleasant at this time of year - green, fragrant, and in bloom.
We drove through the rolling green hills and we were both rather speechless staring out at the picture-perfect countryside. Cows dotted the hills standing out against the vibrant green meadows. I kept thinking about the Happy Cow commercial – I felt that it was definitely ‘truth in advertising’. Hell, those cows looked so happy to be grazing in the green hillsides that I wanted to be want of them! They looked as if they didn’t have a care in the world; the warm ocean breeze blowing through their ummm….hair? They were taking their time munching on grass which I thought to be similar to humans having a wheat grass shot at Jamba Juice. Life seemed pretty good for them.
As we drove further West, pretty soon, we could go no further; we had arrived. We stopped the car and stared out at the Pacific Ocean before us. This was a powerful moment. The skies were blue, the sun shining, the temperature perfect, the ocean breeze lightly blowing; it was one of those overwhelming moments of perfection. I thought to myself ‘I can’t believe that we just drove from across the whole country’. There was something very meaningful about it; my reaction actually surprised me. I have looked at the map of the United States a million times, but it was no longer just a piece of paper, now it had meaning to me.
We saw signs for the Hearst Castle and neither of us had ever been there before so we decided to stop for one last roadside attraction. William Randolph Hearst built this amazing 90,000 sq. ft castle/house (a testament to someone with too much money) along highway 1 near San Simeon. We drove into the visitors center and it felt as if I had entered Disney Land. A huge parking lot, shuttle buses, beautifully manicured lawns; no, there wasn’t some dollar bill mascot. Unfortunately the prices were like Disneyland too - $20 for an adult ticket. Now I had a dilemma. For someone with no job you start to evaluate and make decisions on things in terms of value…such as – do I really want to see the house of a rich man for $20 or do I want to have a nice lunch on the coastal highway with a glass of wine?
Photo: Our lunch view…much better than the Hearst Tour!
Kathleen and I visited the gift shop and the museum – but passed on the tour of the house - opting for lunch instead! We hopped back in the car and drove north on highway 1 stopping to photograph some of the vistas and smell the wildflowers. We found a cute, picture-perfect place to stop for lunch. It was charming; a little restaurant and bar perched on the cliffs over the ocean. We took our time soaking up the sun and enjoying California wine (thank god as I was getting a bit tired of Bud Light) and healthy salads. We reminisced how we had survived the fried food of the South and how nice it was to be back in a state where the only salad wasn’t Iceberg lettuce and a tomato!
Click to enlarge all of the California wildflowers!
We drove into San Francisco and there it was…the wall of fog that defines San Francisco. The fog in San Francisco creeps over the hills like an eerie, slender hand grasping your shoulder, giving you chills literally. When I lived there, I was one of the strange people that loved the fog, it was different yet dependable…every day at 4PM in the summer, it came rolling in. It was so different from where I grew up in the Midwest. Driving out of the perfect California, sunny day into the grey fog bank of San Francisco seemed like a fitting way to end the trip.
We made it!
Tags: California Highway 1, Coastal Hwy 1, Hearst Castle, road trip, San Francisco Fog
