The Pacific Coast Highway (referred to the PCH by the locals) is the highway that hugs the pacific coast of California. It is a beautiful drive. On one side is the view of the seemingly endless Pacific Ocean, sandy beaches, and small sea cliffs. On the other side is the view of the vast mountainous landscape. In Santa Monica, large homes with gorgeous views were nested in the mountains. It was an amazing drive!
The day started with breakfast and swimming, of course. Jason managed to get off work around noon, so we all grabbed some lunch and headed off for a drive. This was not the original plan for today. Jason was supposed to have a meeting in Anaheim but it was rescheduled for another day. Originally, we were going to go with him to Anaheim hoping to get a peak at Disneyland. Maybe next week!
We had a long but enjoyable drive. The kids didn’t even complain… much. Once we exited off the boring highway through L.A., we entered into some farm country. I’ve never seen so much land consumed by strawberry plants! And there were people out picking as we drove passed. I wanted to join them long enough to collect a small basket of berries myself. We also passed lots of cabbage, a sod farm, and others. It was refreshing to see so much farm land in the Los Angeles area.
Our drive led us to the Pacific coast – to the well-known Route 1 – the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).
We pulled off the first chance we could to see the ocean. It was amazing!
The beach here was a little rough. But sites were amazing! A seal was swimming in the water right before our very eyes! And as if that wasn’t exciting enough, we then saw dolphins!!! Two of them swimming side-by-side, which I believe would be a mother with its infant. I managed to snap a few pictures before they swam away... without my zoom lens. If you look closely, it really it there!
The large, white-capped waves roared onto the beach and sprayed against the rocks just down the coast as if they were being pushed by some unseen force. It was cold and bubbly as it flattened out and covered the sand. The girls jumped with excitement as they watched and waded.
Continuing our coastal drive, we came to Malibu. We pulled off to absorb the scenery and take some pictures.
On down the road, the beaches were well groomed and loaded with volleyball nets. It looked just like the beaches in movies. I didn’t snap a single photo in this area and I’m not sure we’ll get back there because traffic is so bad!
Our journey along the coast ended at Santa Monica Pier.
And this is the end of the trail (Route 66)
Wow! The kids were so excited to see the ferris wheel and other rides on the pier.
Unfortunately, that section was closed off for a private party. We still had fun though. We got to see an embryo shark swimming around in its egg. An employee from the aquarium beneath the pier was walking it around in a large test tube filled with water.
Katie, in Forrest Gump's shoes...
I would love to go back to Santa Monica when we could experience the fullness of all the activities. But it was fun just walking around, looking through some small shops and taking in all the scenery.
It was a long drive back, mostly due to all the traffic. Being a holiday weekend, it’s even heavier than usual. It was worth it though. And I would do it again.
We’ve done so many fun things, I can’t decide what is my favorite. I guess that’s a good thing!
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