After an early morning flight, misplaced baggage and a long-tiring journey – it all worked out well when we landed in San Francisco to begin our ‘Christmas in California’ trip.
Overcast skies and beautiful vistas awaited, as we decided to take the ‘Pacific Coast Highway’ (State Route 1) – known for a picturesque drive along the ocean. One of the 500 drives mentioned in the book ‘Drives of a lifetime: 500 of the world’s most spectacular trips‘, and it surely lives up to the expectation and even beyond it.
We began our drive from San Francisco around noon, giving us enough time to enjoy the scenery along the way. The highway goes through the city of Monterey and climbs onto the Carmel Highlands, while trudging by the famous Hearst Castle, the Old Coast Road and then turning to the beautiful Bixby bridge, along with two state parks tucked in the wilderness and the incredible Big Sur – the entire route abounds with natural beauty.
It took us approximately seven hours to reach Los Angeles by the Pacific Coast HIghway and it was totally worth it.
Truly, a breathtaking California coast ride – with the twisting and winding roads, deep blue ocean views and an unbelievable landscape.
Copyright © Vasudha Aggarwal & travel-defined.com, 2014 -15. All rights reserved.
Traveldefined 
A friend and I will be doing the 1 in about 2 weeks. Your pictures make me more excited than I already am!
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Glad you liked the pictures.
Its a beautiful drive, you will definitely enjoy the views. Have a great trip.
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Beautiful photos there. I want to head up the California coast and check out Big Sur sometime. Thanks for sharing this.
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Thank you, glad you liked the post.
Its a wonderful landscape – surely not to be missed.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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Your pictures are gorgeous! The California Coast has got to be one of my favorite places on the planet. Awesome post!
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Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the post.
It is such a gorgeous coastline.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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Any time! I’m really enjoying reading through your blog. Thank you for the follow on mine! 🙂
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You are very welcome.
I would say the same, I enjoyed exploring your wonderful blog.
Looking forward to follow your journey.
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Lovely photos, Vasudha!
We would like to invite you to participate in the next edition of our Travel Photography Competition. Every week we publish 3 winning shots on our website and write a nice bio with a link to the photographers’ websites/FB/G+/Flickr pages etc.
Find more details here: http://hitchhikershandbook.com/your-contributions/travel-photography/
Have a great weekend!
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Thank you so much.
Oh that’s wonderful. I would love to participate in the Photography Competition.
Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend.
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Wow, stunning pics! Makes me wanna travel to California! 🙂
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Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the post.
It sure is a beautiful place.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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This is truly one of the most impressive scenic roads I’ve ever traveled ❤ Thanks for bringing up some wonderful memories!
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Glad you enjoyed the post, Claudia.
And thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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I like the way you broke the pictures up. I am sure you have come across some nice restaurants that are out of the way, why not share them?
I am confident you have travelled already in Washington and Oregon. We travelled along the Oregon coast and down through Yachima, Washington area – what a contrast! See my recent post for Oregon pictures, my wife took hundreds of pictures in Oregon and Washington. Something about the salty air I suspect.
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Thank you. Glad you liked the post.
Sure, I will share pictures of the restaurants.
Not yet, the Oregon/Washington road trip is still on the list. I would love to read your post about it. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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Glad you liked my blog post. Keep watching because in a couple of days I will post details from Simien Mountains National Park–really a spectacular place. Love your photos of the coast–my college roommate and her husband live near Carmel and I love visiting them.
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I enjoyed exploring your wonderful blog. I will look forward to reading your post about the Simien Mountains National Park.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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Beautiful photos. I need to travel more in the US. Thanks for liking my blog.
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Thank you. Glad you liked the pictures.
Yes, there is so much to explore in this beautiful country.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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Great lead photo.
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Thank you, glad you liked the picture.
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Beautiful pictures. Everything California makes me nostalgic since I lived there for 4 years before moving to Italy. I used to drive the PCH whenever I could!
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Thank you, glad you liked the pictures.
Wow, how wonderful that must be. California is such a beautiful place to live.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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It’s a fantastic drive and your pix do justice to the awesome landscape!
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Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the pictures.
Definitely, it is one of the most beautiful drives.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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Reblogged this on createthinklive and commented:
Travels to California
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Lovely photos and merci for visiting my blog too!
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Thank you, glad you liked the pictures.
And thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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I did a stretch of this with my family from Washington state down to the Redwoods last summer, this same time of year…really unforgettable. Something everyone should see and do…lovely.
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I agree, its such a wonderful landscape – surely not to be missed.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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beautiful! one of my favorite things about CA. You’re making my move next week a lot easier 🙂
happy to have found your blog! xx
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Thank you for your kind words. Glad you enjoyed the post.
California is such a beautiful place to live.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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This is truly a beautiful stretch of coastline. My husband and I followed Rte 1 from San Diego up North, all the way to Yosemite, on a motorcycle. One of the most memorable drives of my life!
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Wow, motorcycle trip – nothing can beat that. It must be a fabulous trip. More so, through such a wonderful landscape.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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Stunning drive (and pictures) – we did this years and years ago, your post makes me think we need to go back!
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Yes, absolutely breathtaking vistas.
Glad you enjoyed the post.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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I base myself out of San Francisco and know the coast reasonably well; it is an amazing drive that can also be done via train called the Starlight Express…or something like that. Beautiful photos and glad you enjoyed the trip.
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Glad you enjoyed the post, Tim.
Its the ‘Coast Starlight’ which covers the West Coast from Seattle to Los Angeles. That would really make a beautiful trip. Thank you for mentioning that.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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This inspires me to do the same. Beautiful. Thanks for visiting and liking my blog
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You are very welcome, Leah.
Glad you enjoyed the post.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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Beautiful photos of some gorgeous country. Loved your pictures. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Glad you enjoyed the pictures.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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I have to do this drive again! I did it at sunset and it was a bad idea- I couldn’t see anything!!
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