hotel_calif

My wife and I just got back from a vacation in which we drove our 2002 SL500 from San Diego, California to Monterey and back. One of the great parts of this trip was driving down Highway 1 which is one of the most scenic and fun-to-drive roads in California.

We zipped up to Monterey on Interstate 5 to give us a few days to relax before taking the tour down Highway 1. Even though this was Independence Day weekend, I was surprised that the traffic was fairly light - except (of course) through Los Angeles. I had almost forgotten that California still has lots of open land left in the interior - an incredible number of farms growing everything imaginable. The traffic moved quickly, and I was surprised at how polite most of the drivers were.

Have you ever had a trucker save you from a speeding ticket? We were in the left lane, about to overtake a string of large trucks, when one of them started to move into my lane. I braked and was about to complain about being cut off when the truck moved back into his lane. Just then, we passed a police car on the side of the road. I can't be sure, but I really do believe that trucker moved into my lane to slow me down and save me a ticket. My wife waved a "thank you", and the trucker waved back.

After a few days in Monterey, we headed down the coast to Pismo Beach. We drove through Pebble Beach and took 17 Mile Drive. Beautiful homes and a lovely coast line. We stopped by Point Lobos State Reserve near Carmel and checked out some future camping locations. We skipped the dead humpback whale at Molera State Beach, but if you want to see it, the story and video are here.

Continuing down the coast, we stopped at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and took the two mile narrow winding road to Pfeiffer Beach which has to be the windiest beach I have ever experienced. The wind must have been gusting 40-50 mph, and the sand stung your skin. It's a good thing the SL wasn't near the windy area or I would have lost the paint. The beach itself was beautiful with lots of soft sand. I don't know if the gusty winds are normal for this beach or not.

We met a very nice lady ranger at the gate into the park. She seemed very mild-mannered and relaxed as she told us about the area. After we left the park and headed back down Highway 1, a park service pickup truck came flying down the road behind me. The pickup closed in to within feet of my bumper, and I could see the mild-mannered lady ranger leering impatiently at me! Now I didn't intend to race down Highway 1, but I couldn't let this go unchallenged. I stepped on the accelerator and pulled away from the underpowered pickup. But then some nasty twists appeared, and the pickup was once again on my tail. After a few repeats of this, I gave up and pulled onto a turnout to let her pass. Owned by a park service pickup - how sad. To further grind my ego into the dirt, she politely waved "thank you" as she sped by. In my despair, I sought to save face and thought, "I'll give her a taste of her own medicine". Once again I stepped on the accelerator and thanks to my 300 HP closed the distance to the pickup. But I was again foiled at the next series of turns. This lady ranger was on a suicide mission it seemed. I took a series of turns fairly aggressively, and my wife suddenly took notice of the 500 foot drop to the rocks and ocean just on her right. Some battles are not worth winning, so the duel ended, and we cruised on at a more sedate pace to Pismo Beach. I kept expecting to see the burning hulk of that pickup at any moment, but the lady ranger apparently knew the road well. My wife and I drove the whole road with the top down, and by 8 pm the weather along the coast had dropped to 59 degrees F. My wife was a real trooper but kept the heat on high and the heated seats on max.

The drive down Highway 1 from Monterey to San Luis Obispo was a blast, and the SL is the car in which to do it. If you get the opportunity to give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Will

hotel_calif

What a drive!

Bigdot

wow great pic and good wrightup!

Mark

elau

Thanks for sharing.

The 17-Mile drive is truly amazing. I was married at the time when me and my ex took the drive. Pictures brought back memories.

tipds

Wow, those pictures are beautiful. The scenery's not bad either! Ha ha. If I hadn't looked closely, I might have thought someone was driving my car! Same color scheme. Don't you love that thing?

Tip DS

hotel_calif

Glad you enjoyed the pictures and the story. That was a great trip.

hotel_calif

If you are considering a drive down Highway 1, you might want to check out the following URL which has very nice descriptions of America's Byways. Does anyone have any other such travel sites they can recommend?

http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/2301/

Will

ChrisB

I googled a series of workd and found this

http://www.azcentral.com/travel/drives/south-yuma.html

We have driven a rental car from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon and back. It would be a great drive in the SL.

Sedona, Flagstaff, Jerome.

Chris

hotel_calif

Nice link, Chris. I bet you had a wonderful drive. I've always liked the peace and tranquility of the desert. We'll put that drive on our list. Didn't you drive down the coast from Canada to San Francisco once?

I hope you get a chance to try Highway 1 from SF to SLO. It was a blast. Look at the smile in this photo.

hotel_calif

We had a great time in Pismo Beach. Not much to do but walk down the beach and relax. Had to put the soft-top up for the night. We stayed at the Kon Tiki Inn - every room an ocean view. They have a restaurant - Steamers - adjacent to the hotel. Very good seafood lunches and dinner.

Wehrmacht_benz

those roads look like alot of fun...and such beautiful sights...you want to know about the roads we have here...pothole, pothole, pothole, nails in the road, broken down hondas chraging at you!! you are very lucky..and nice car

HLG600

Great photos, it looks like a ton of fun.

Over in NJ, the Palisades Parkway is a beautiful highway lined with trees on both sides. RT 80 is also nice to do some high speed driving!

ChrisB

No we have never driven the west coast of the US in the SL.

We drove down the Oregon Coast about 10 years ago in the Jeep.

It would be a completely different experience in the SL.

We have talked about it often but never have made time for it.

Nice pictures!

Chris

hotel_calif

Glad you guys are enjoying the photos. Here's another photo my wife took. I especially like the palm tree reflection on the hood.

hotel_calif

Here's another photo of the SL by the ocean in Pebble Beach. I'm ready for another trip up and down the coast on Highway 1.

crb49

Great stuff Hotel. Brings a tear to my eye.

Just this past week I was supposed to go on a golf trip to Carmel for four days and was taking my 500. Playing at Purisma on the way up Wednesday, Inn at Spanish Bay Thursday, Poppy Hills Friday, coming back Saturday. Great.

Ended up needing to fly to the midwest (hot, hot, hot) Wednesday-Saturday on personal business...Best laid plans.

hotel_calif

Hi crb49:

Glad you enjoyed the photos and sorry you missed your golf trip. The courses we saw at Pebble Beach were really something. I'm not much of a golfer having been humbled at an early age on the Ivy Hill golf course in Forest, VA. Good thing the R129 can fit a set of clubs in the trunk! I don't think the same can be said of the R230. Here's another shot of my R129 by the ocean in Pebble Beach.

hotel_calif

Are those twins in your sig photo, Blahzayblah? My wife is an identical twin, but I don't think I could get her and her twin to pose like that. Dangit!

hotel_calif

Hi Blahzayblah:

I liked your old sig picture much better. Please switch back!

Wehrmacht_benz

hey man..i am sure a lot of people will find they liked it better...but i just felt id change it because a lot people have been asking who the girls are and thinking it is my personal picture...it is a picture i found somewhere on the internet and thought people here would get a kick out of it...anyway nice car and nice pictures...

crb49

It looks like your pic is where the breakers come perpendicular (sp?) to each other. Pretty incredible drive.

Just got back from a 2 weeks drive up the coast to Seattle and Victoria Island. Beautiful, and the weather was 65-75 all the way. Stayed in Carmel Sunday eve but to late to see any of the car show. But saw pleanty of incredible autos headed out of town Monday on PCH 1. What a great drive, beautiful scenery and autos on the road; Morgan, Bentlys, Mbz. Spoke with two couples from Victoria during a stop. Driving a TR4 and an MGB. Actually saw them on the road 3 times in three days. Pretty cool.

percykwong

Truckers have definitely helped me out by slowing me down with regards to local enforcement. I've had other MB owners do it also

As for driving the Palisades Parkway at high speeds, you're just beggin for trouble. I've been pulled over at 55 mph and the speed limit is 50.. So.. Watch out..

hotel_calif

MSN has the following article on America's Best Driving Roads. Highway 1 got top billing, but quite a few other roads across the USA are mentioned. Time to plan your next road trip in your SL.

hotel_calif

No problem, Blahzayblah. Variety is the spice of life. Thanks for the compliments!

Will

hotel_calif

That trip sounds like a blast. Was the car show the Concorso Italiano on August 18? I had a friend in high school whose Dad had a TR6 - a really fun car. Once I win the lotto, I'm going to get one.

Will