A Day Tour: The PCH, Malibu, LA, Hollywood, Burbank

Day 299 on the road.
Starbucks, downtown Palmdale, California

How did I end up in Palmdale, just north of Los Angeles? Well, it's the end result of taking a "day tour" of the Pacific Coast Highway (commonly called the PCH around here). When I awoke yesterday in Lompoc, I had not decided where I was driving my old SUV next. After looking at my trusty Rand McNally Road Atlas, I made the decision to drive south along Hwy. 101 and the Scenic Route Hwy. 1. The PCH follows the coastline and you can take the scenic road California Hwy. 1 to access all the beaches and towns along the way.

From Lompoc I drove south on U.S. 101/Cal. Hwy. 1 toward Santa Barbara. I toured Santa Barbara, visiting the downtown area and then driving to the harbor and pier on the west coastline of the city. The Santa Barbara Harbor is quite amazing and beautiful. Of course, thousands of people were spending the day at the beach so traffic was horrible. Santa Barbara is a great place, however, and it was worth the effort. The downtown area is a tourist mecca with shopping and local eateries a big attraction. Then the beach and local harbor are a must-see for anyone in town.

(Above and below: downtown Santa Barbara)

(Below: Santa Barbara public beach area and Santa Barbara Harbor)

Leaving Santa Barbara, I stayed on the scenic route and followed the coastline to Ventura. I ate lunch at the Ventura Harbor and Marina, an enormous shopping development and marina with hundreds of boats and yachts. Ventura also has plenty of beach access, of course, but I spent my time at the marina looking at the sailboats, fishing rigs, speed boats, and yachts. I ate BBQ (not very good) at a small cafe on the boardwalk overlooking the harbor. The patio on which I ate had a dozen tables or so and had nice view of the marina. The weather was perfect: a cool breeze and 73 degrees with a bright sun and blue sky. I sat for a long time just soaking up the wonderful scene as sea gulls flew overhead.

(Below: Ventura Harbor and Marina, and shops.)

Once I left Ventura, it was just a few minutes to Oxnard, the home of training camp for the Dallas Cowboys later on this summer in July. (Maybe I can come back and meet Pacman Jones.) The scenic road along the coastline takes a detour in Oxnard and I had drive north through town before entering the Santa Monica Mountains National Park and Recreation Area.

I must say the drive north from Oxnard toward Santa Monica on the PCH is quite an event. To the right was the Pacific Ocean; to the left were the cliffs of the Santa Monica Mountains. All along the drive through this area hundreds of cars were parked at access points along the beaches. Thousands of people were enjoying the beautiful weather, many swimming and surfing the waves breaking toward the coastline.

The scene was wonderful and it was an amazing drive, but I was not prepared for Malibu. Once I arrived in Malibu, the circus began. I have never seen so many people. I saw a sign that said "Malibu, 27 Miles of Scenic Beauty." As I drove that 27 miles along the beaches of Malibu, I was amazed at the number of surfers, swimmers, sunbathers, and people just hanging out and enjoying the wonderful scenes along the PCH. It was a Saturday afternoon, so I should have expected it. However, it was still an amazing drive.

After making it through Malibu, I arrived in Santa Monica just south of Los Angeles. The Santa Monica Harbor and Pier is a carnival of sorts, with Ferris Wheel, roller coaster, and all kinds of tourist attractions. I drove just past the pier and headed toward Los Angeles, with the idea of visiting Hollywood and Burbank before leaving the area.

I drove around Paramount Studios (just a bunch of white buildings with no signs or anything to see but a bunch of fences and security guards) and then visited Hollywood Blvd. and Universal City in Burbank. As I drove up and down Hollywood Blvd. on a late Saturday afternoon, all I could think was, "This is a zoo." I saw street venders, local musicians, local entertainers, and an assortment of costumed creatures advertising various movies that were showing in nearby theaters. It was a very weird scene. One group of Japanese tourists were standing around a guy in blue jeans playing his guitar and dancing to a song he probably wrote himself. Can stardom be far behind for this guy? I saw four pirates, all dressed up and looking for a ship to capture, outside a movie theater.

It was approaching 6 p.m. when I left Universal City and Burbank, so I drove north toward Santa Clarita to find a motel. Palmdale was 20 miles north of Los Angeles and so I decided to drive there for the night.

So, here I am, in Palmdale. after yesterday's "day tour" of the PCH and west Los Angeles. And to think I'm only an hour's drive away from Solvang and all those vineyards.

Today I'm heading back to Solvang. I'm going to stay there until Thursday of next week. For some reason, I can't leave this area yet. Who knows. I may never leave.

(Below: more photos of the PCH and Malibu.)

Scenic Hwy. 166, Solvang, and the Ocean

Day 298 on the road.
Starbucks, H Street, Lompoc, California

I'm sitting in a crowded Starbucks in Lompoc, California trying to recover from a couple of days of traveling through central California. I made the drive to Bakersfield on Wednesday after surviving a sandstorm and 60-mile an hour winds in the Mojave Desert east of Barstow.

The winds calmed a bit after I left Barstow. I drove past Edwards Air Force Base on Hwy. 58 and made it to Mojave in mid-afternoon. Once I made it past Mojave I moved into central California. I stopped for a while in a small community called Tehachapi for a chocolate shake and some fries and then arrived in Bakersfield around 5 p.m.






(Photo left: wind turbines near Tehachapi.)


















(Photo right: just east of Bakersfield, along Hwy. 58.)



I spent the night in Bakersfield (sounds like the title of a mystery novel). I was not that impressed by Bakersfield and don't see any need to go back there. It's a nice place to drive through when you're on your way somewhere else more interesting.



















On Thursday morning I drove south on Hwy. 99 to Mettler, then took the scenic route on Hwy. 166 toward Maricopa. Hwy. 166 between Mettler and Maricopa is one of those scenic routes you must see to believe. The route takes you past beautiful vineyards and farms as you make your way through a valley between the Sierra Madre Mountains to the south and the Caliente Mountain range to the north.





Some photos I took on Hwy. 166, between Maricopa and Santa Maria below:

My destination was Santa Maria, located near the Pacific Coast. Once in Santa Maria I found a Starbucks and had time to reflect on the beautiful drive I had witnessed, including a wonderful scene near the Twichell Reservoir just east of Santa Maria. As an artist or photographer could spend days on Hwy. 166 in this area, with majestic landscapes too numerous to mention as you drive the 50 miles or so west from Maricopa. I found myself stopping many times to take pictures.

(Photo above: near the Twichell Reservoir, just east and north of Santa Maria.)

From Santa Maria I drove south on Hwy. 101 to Solvang. I stayed at the Kronborg Inn in downtown Solvang. After checking in at the motel I walked around the Dutch community that has become a major tourist destination. I'm told that 2 million visitors a year come to Solvang for the wine-tasting, Dutch architecture, and beauty of the surrounding vineyards. Lake Cachuma is 11 miles away and is a major attraction offering RV sites and camping for year-round recreation. The Pacific Ocean is about a 30-minute drive from Solvang, and Santa Barbara is 30 miles south. Therefore, Solvang is at the heart of the central California coastline.

Other communities around Solvang include Los Olivos, Buellton, and Santa Ynez. Over 30 world-class vineyards surround these communities and the views of the beautiful mountains and green rolling hillsides in the area are among the most breathtaking scenes in California.

Yesterday, Friday, I drove south to visit Lake Cachuma. I continued south on Hwy. 101 through the Los Padres National Forest until reaching the northern edge of Santa Barbara. At that point, I turned north on Hwy. 1, the famous freeway that follows the Pacific Ocean coastline. I first glimpsed the Pacific Ocean a few minutes later as I made my way northward toward Goleta and the Santa Ynez Mountains. I visited El Capitan Beach and Refugio Beach, both state-run public beaches accessible from Hwy. 1. These public beaches offer camping and swimming for very little cost. The guards allowed me to drive through without paying. If I parked and stayed a while it would have cost me $8 for a day pass. Camping is $25 a night, assuming you can find a spot available.

I decided to continue my tour of the coast northward, hoping to find a cheap motel in Lompoc. I arrived in Lompoc around 3 p.m. yesterday, found a motel, and checked in for the night. My tour of the day was really just a loop, beginning in Solvang. I went southwest to Santa Barbara, the turned north toward Lompoc. Lompoc is only 30 miles or so from Solvang. One can take a day trip and view an enormous portion of the central California coastline without ever being more than 30 miles from Solvang.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do today. I may drive to Santa Barbara for the night, or I might continue north toward San Luis Obispo.

More photos from my tour of Solvang and Hwy. 1 on the Pacific Ocean coastline below:

Downtown Solvang

Vineyards Near Solvang

Pacific Ocean, North of Santa Barbara

Greetings from Barstow

Day 295 on the road.

Starbucks, Main St. in Barstow, California

I left Vegas at 9 a.m. and began the drive west. I stopped by Primm and paid $4.26 for a gallon of gas! I'm discovering that gas in California is going to be very expensive. The station across the street here in Barstow is selling gas for $4.79 a gallon. Give me a break!

The drive here to Barstow was interesting, if you like sand storms. Once I left Baker about 40 miles east of Barstow, the drive edged along the Mojave Desert National Preserve. The winds were blowing my car so terribly I had to concentrate to stay on the highway, not to mention the sun had been darkened by the swirling desert sand. As you can tell by the photos, this area of Interstate 15 between Baker and Barstow is desolate, sandy, dry, and beautiful in a strange way.

I'm just an hour's drive or so from Bakersfield where I'll spend the night. The photo below shows the sand storm obscuring the view of the mountains in the distance. The sun disappeared for about 30 minutes.

The WSOP at the Rio

Day 294 on the road.

Starbucks, Boca Park Shopping Center, Charleston at Rampart, west Las Vegas

After running a few errands in Laughlin, I drove in to Vegas yesterday and checked into my room at the Palace Station Casino Resort. I will be here two nights before moving on west.

I spent the afternoon at the Amazon Room at the Rio Casino Resort Hotel watching Event 2 of the World Series of Poker. (Photo on left,I took from the rail.) Event 2 is a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Holdem tournament that registered 3,929 players and offers a prize pool of over $3 million. Today, the final table will conclude with the winner taking home around $831,000. I watched for about an hour as some of the greatest players in the world tried to survive an onslaught of aggressive online players.

When I left Texas last year, my goal was to visit the Rio and watch the pros play at a World Series of Poker event. If nothing else, I have at least accomplished that goal! (Photo right, I took of pro Ted Forrest and others while watching the action.) The tournaments are held in the enormous Amazon Room at the convention center attached to the Rio Casino Resort. Hundreds of poker tables were lined up as far you could see. I played in a cash game located in a section dedicated for games like $10/$20 Holdem and $75-$150 Omaha Hi Lo Split.

(Photo left, is Doyle Brunson, the "god" of poker and a fellow Texan. Texas Dolly is perhaps the best known poker pro in the world.)

The WSOP tournament events will continue throughout the next six weeks or so. The Final Event, the big momma of all the events with a $10,000 buy-in, will be held the first week of July. The Main Event will take a week to narrow the field down to the final table. The players who make it the final table of the Main Event will not play for the championship until November. This is something entirely new, giving the players time off to regroup and give ESPN time to hype the shows that will be aired throughout the fall. ESPN will air the results of the final table in November on the same day it concludes, via tape delay.

If you would like to sponsor me for the Main Event, feel free to contact me. I only need $10,000 plus expenses for the week. If I win, I'll have about $8 million to share with you!

The final table production site for ESPN broadcasts.

MyRoadArt

Day 292 on the road.
Starbucks, Aquarius Casino, Laughlin

After 292 days on the road, it's become apparent that Las Vegas is not the end of my journey. I left Texas almost a year ago with no plans. All I had was a tank of gas and the desire to travel. The idea was to make my way to Las Vegas. I was in no hurry to get there, nor did I have any particular reason to target Sin City as my destination. All I knew is I wanted to head West.

Now that I'm here in Laughlin, 90 miles from Las Vegas, I'm ready to keep moving. I've made weekend trips to Las Vegas and will spend a day or two there next week before I move on. I've been here since March 1. Two months of Laughlin is enough for any sane human.

I've had to rethink my plans for this blog. I'm no longer "1100 Miles from Vegas," which was the original title of this travel journal. Las Vegas is not the final destination of my road trip. At least, not yet. I'm staying on the road and will continue to head West looking for whatever the future holds. And I will continue to write and document my trip here. But a change is in order.

I've changed the title of this blog to "MyRoadArt" to reflect the way I feel about my journey. Traveling on a tight budget with no agenda, and now no destination in mind, is more of an art than a science. I want to paint a picture of what it's like to live on the road.

MyRoadArt.com will be the new home of this blog, though technically it will still be hosted at http://2vegas.blogspot.com/. So, to find me just point your browser to http://www.myroadart.com/.

Tomorrow morning I drive to Las Vegas for a couple of days. I'll then put Vegas and Laughlin in my rearview mirror and head for the Pacific Ocean.

California West Coast Adventure

Day 291 on the road.
Firehouse Coffee Co., Laughlin

It's hot outside and so today's main goal is stay inside. The Firehouse Coffee Company is quiet today with just a few folks eating a light lunch. I'm enjoying the time trying to catch up on some planning, writing, reading, and resting.

I've put in more than 160 hours of poker this month in eight different poker rooms, including three trips to Las Vegas. I've had one tooth pulled, met four Canadians, changed the oil in my car, observed drunken college students on a late night river taxi ride, become intimate with the Las Vegas rail system, flopped a straight flush at the Red Rock, heard a country band play before a mob on Fremont street, discovered that blending cranberry juice and pineapple juice is a good idea, and laughed often with guys like Bruce, Lee, and Tim.

It's been an interesting month in the desert. But I'm ready to hit the road again.

I will drive to Las Vegas on Monday and stay there until Wednesday. On Wednesday I head west to Bakersfield, California. On Thursday I'll be in Solvang, a Dutch community founded in 1911. I've had many people talk about Solvang, so I'm going to check it out. Once in Solvang, I'm not sure of my plans. The Chumash Casino Resort is near Solvang, and so I'll be checking out the poker room there. I might decide to just hit the infamous coastal Highway 101 and drive north along the California coast until I run out of money for gas.

By this time next week, I'll be on the Pacific Ocean thinking about what to do next.