Coming to California for the Hot Rod Réunion in October, We will be travelling down the PCH from the 18th. Just wondering if there are any cruises , breakfast meets , rod shops etc anywhere on the way we can check out,
Can’t help you for what you are asking, but 20+ years ago I was working in Orange County (south of LA) and my girlfriend flew down to visit, wanted to see some relatives of hers down south somewhere. She wanted to take the costal highway. Dang it took hours and hours, so many towns, stop lights, etc, just wasn’t a pleasant cruise I recalled from movies made in the ‘60’s . I didn’t take the PCH back to Orange County!!!
You definitely want to go from North to South. All of the pull offs to see the scenery are on the right so it is easy to get into them when headed in this direction. We started in San Fran and made it to Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur before turning around and staying in Monterey. The sand at Pfeiffer beach is pink/purple and has some cool rock formations. I can't help with the car aspect of your trip but the drive was enjoyable
Hello, Assuming you are flying in to LAX or SF. But, one other choice is San Diego. It is a nice drive up the coast from the big bay harbor right next to the airport. The Northbound I-5 freeway is usually not crowded, except for the 8 am work/college traffic near La Jolla/Del Mar/Encinitas. We normally call it the "Encinitas slow down." You move, but it is a lot slower than driving to and from the airport/harbor region at 5 am. (At 5 am, from Laguna Beach to the San Diego Harbor takes less than 45 minutes. At 10 am, it takes an hour and 15 minutes, La Jolla traffic included. ) The route North from the airport, goes through communities if on the coastal highway. It is a great drive. But, for speed, the I-5 freeway is 70+ all the way to Los Angeles. Now, the Golden State Freeway North to Bakersfield is simple transition and should not be a problem. Just don't try it from 7 to 9am and 3-6 pm. You will get stuck. Jnaki We have lived and driven on all freeways/roadways in So Cal, since 1946 for me and 1950 for my wife. But, together, we started a ton of road trips in 1966 and stopped during the pandemic. The highways provide a better view, of course, but if you pick the time and place, the freeways are what they are... free or so of heavy traffic and it flows to your destination. When we have to drive to get out of So Cal to routes north to Santa Barbara or points North to S.F., we leave about 9:45 am. The freeway are always faster and we cruise right through downtown Los Angeles or up near the Airport until we get to the coastal route near LAX. Now, the cool drive up the coast begins and it is so much more relaxing and enjoyable. The event in Bakersfield is right in the middle of California. Dry and hot. Mountains to the East and coastal mountains to the West. So, the middle of California is ripe for two giant freeways heading North/South from the S.F. Bay Area down to Los Angeles. In the middle of California, it is always warm to hot unless it is in the middle of winter and now there may be some snow. Jnaki The event has lost some luster since the early days. But for some, it is still exciting. There is always a group of old, original racers/builders from the 50s-60s in attendance from all over. So, memories still abound in drag racing. But, if you stick around for a couple of more weeks, you will attend the biggest, most comprehensive collection of 50s-60s hot rods/drag race cars and original builders/racers from all over, attending this yearly event. It is put on by Steve Gibbs and Company at Irwindale Raceway... Check out the website, the whole show and attending racers. It is the biggest and best show found anywhere in the world of drag racing. Now, those fuelers/race cars are drag racing's history... YRMV
I know this isn't car related but the wife and I drove from San Fran to Monterey and we both absolutely loved the Monterey Bay Aquarium
PCH is an amazing route but as said, some parts have become clogged with traffic. This is especially true in the southern sections with high population. The best way to approach it is to set your travel so it's not time constrained. Enjoy the drive, not stressing about getting miles covered. Lots of places where pulling over and enjoying the view, the weather and various sights. As said, getting from the coast to Famoso is going to be long stretches of inland freeway after getting over the coastal range.
Simple - This site has about 95+% of SoCal automotive "stuff" in it. Pick your poison. http://www.socalcarculture.com/events.html Mike
Don't know your exact route but don't forget about the closure near Big Sur. Highway 1 Conditions in Big Sur, California (bigsurcalifornia.org)
West out of Bakersfield, through San Luis Obispo and then south through Santa Barbara and onward to Santa Monica is a pretty great drive. After that, the PCH becomes pretty congested, running through the LAX area and what not, but after that, the South Bay area is pretty nice. The stretch between Torrance and Long Beach is terrible however, passing through Harbor City, Wilmington, etc. which is mostly all industrial areas. AFTER Long Beach, PCH once again parallels the coastline South and into Orange County, making for a GREAT drive. If it were me, I would take the 46 East out of Famoso all the way to the 1 (PCH), then head South and have fun!
With that itinerary, having driven pch a number of times, I think I'm right in saying there's little or nothing of rodshops / cruises etc on your route. 17 mile drive at Carmel is a must do though. Chris
HAHAHA, it's worse now. If you pick at town down here and just walk around the beach area it's not as bad........that's why I only cruise at night.
South of SF, you enter a tunnel that's a recent replacement for the Devil's Slide area. It was cheaper to dig than to keep fixing the road and cliffs. This northern end at Pacifica was where my dad used to ride his bikes and is the cliff in the scene from Harold & Maude. Past the tunnel is Montera. The waves offshore here are world famous Maverick's Next is Moss Beach and just past that is the airport where they used to hold Half Moon Bay drags. Half Moon Bay is next, beautiful if you can handle fog a lot of the time which is true of the entire coast. This entire section should have fairly light traffic, but it's been many years since I've been there. The next big town is Santa Cruz. Lots of history and cool stuff here.
Lots of cool stuff around Huntington Beach area. Saturdays early AM like 5am is Derilict Donuts Cars N Coffee. Usually ends at 8 am. Then travel south further then there’s another Cars N Coffee. Probably have ask the locals.
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