USA – April 2014

For what was most likely to be our last family holiday my mom has big dreams. She wants us to go on an epic road trip along the world-famous Highway #1. The plan is to start in San Francisco and drive all the way down to San Diego with stops in Monterrey and Los Angeles. And to add a cherry on top: we will fly home from Las Vegas. Of course us kids need no convincing – my dad on the other hand is taken a bit aback by the thought of driving more than 1000 km while speaking little to no English. It being 4 against 1, the flights are booked soon after and we start to plan out the detailed route.

After arriving in San Francisco, we spend a couple of days exploring the city and the Bay Area. We go on a sunset cruise with a catamaran and hug huuuge trees at Redwoods National Park. Then we head south on Route 101. Through Silicon Valley and San José, all the way down to Santa Cruz. There we check out the local waterfront amusement park and spend the night at our first Motel. From Santa Cruz onwards we exclusively drive on Highway #1 to not miss any of the magnificent scenery.

Here and there we stop at viewpoints and watch the waves break on the rocky shore low below us. A little while later we make it to Monterrey, our next overnight stop. On the first evening we just want something quick to eat and end up at the local burrito place. Everybody speaks Spanish and we’re probably the first tourists to ever eat there. The day after we visit the Monterrey Aquarium before going on a whale watching tour. We’re lucky and get to see humpback whales jump out of the water close up.

The next part of the journey includes a few of my personal favourite spots on the US Pacific Coast: The famous 17 Mile Drive with a number of beautiful viewpoints – the most popular being the “Lonely Cypress”. The McWay Cove at the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park – kinda reminds me of the beach in Bali every other influencer takes a picture of, but less crowded. And finally Morro Beach where we finally get to see loads of seals and sea elephants close up (though we don’t stop for long here as it’s super smelly).

And then we’re in Santa Barbara. Here we watch the sunset at a seaside skate park and check out the local outlet malls before continuing to Los Angeles. After a brief stop at an empty beach in Malibu, we arrive in Santa Monica. Our first evening we spend at the famous pier. Early the next day we rent bicycles and ride along the Venice Beach to the Marina del Rey. In the afternoon we do some shopping and then go for dinner at a Hooters (I know – very family friendly).

For the rest of our stay in Los Angeles we book a Holiday Inn closer to Hollywood. We drive up to the Griffith Observatory for a great view on the city of angels, visit the Walk of Fame and Universal Studios, drive around Beverly Hills and window shop at the Rodeo Drive. One day we drive out to “Six Flags – Magic Mountain” in Anaheim. All of these activities are loads of fun and it’s super interesting finally to see a place you’ve seen in countless TV shows and movies in real life for the first time. However, I have to say that I never really got that sense of “arriving” possibly because the city is just too big and spread out.

The last drive on Highway #1 takes us to San Diego. My favourite places here are Balboa Park and Point Loma. At the latter we enjoy our first relaxed beach day. Though the water is still quite cold we go for a quick swim and then watch the surfers in their wetsuits catching waves. Later we take advantage of the warm spring evening and go for a walk to the USS Midway and the Unconditional Surrender Statue. To read about the last part of our road trip click here.