Pan American Adventure: Day 150 - The Magic Kingdom (Los Angeles)

Friday, June 3, 2011

Day 150 - The Magic Kingdom (Los Angeles) - San Simeon

Distance travelled (by bike): 18,640

Picking up and changing the front tyre and rear brake pads at the garage was an experience. It turn out hey have a museum of old motorcycles in storage behind the shop. A really impressive collection, all owned by the owner and his son. I was given coffee, bagels and the hugely enthusiastic guided tour of the collection.

Setting off slightly later than i expected i headed though LA to Santa Monica, where the famous route 66 starts or finishes. This is also the start of route 1, the Pacific Coast Highway. I decided to take this route up to San Francisco, a longer and more indirect route than the 101, but more scenic and iconic.

As i drove north through Los Alamos temperature started to drop, it got cold! A fantastic drive, though all not many opportunities for photos as its interchanges from two lanes to one every 10 miles and although the speed limit is 55mph, i think most people saw it as a guideline.

I got to Hearst Castle and was told that there had been a landslide on the road ahead, the road was closed for until late June. Getting late in the day i turned around. I was filling up with petrol at San Simeon and got talking to two guys, one was a chef at a restaurant in town, he would give me 40% off. With the light fading i found somewhere to stay and ventured to the restaurant, arriving it looked like an average bar on the end of a strip mall. What they didn't tell me was it was billed as one of the best places on this stretch of coast and hugely popular among locals and tourists. The food was fantastic and even if i didn't have the 40% off would have been great value. A good evening!

Tomorrow i have to drive 50 miles back down the road to take the diversion to the less scenic route 101 to San Francisco.