California dreamin’ on your mind? Here’s how we did it. Please enjoy this three part series on “How to Cruise the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).”
The Setup
We structured our roadtrip using a combination of AirBnB and hotel stays (using points, yay!). This would keep the big item lodging expense in check and spice things up with a couple of funky places. Hello, tiny houses!
We planned a few things, but not much. Our schedule would remain flexible for spontaneity, with key stops for guideposts.
The days leading up to our adventure, it became evident we were to employ starkly different packing strategies. M, would use a large, but not oversized plain black suitcase (which I guessed I’d be getting more acquainted with shortly), while I grabbed both my hiking and camera backpacks.
We packed for a week and a half (whatever that means), but left the option to pick up a sweatshirt or other wearable souvenir.
Our flight plan: BOS – DFW, quick stop, DFW – SMF. We tracked flights and booked in advance (Check out these tips on booking flights).
The live action movie “Dora the Explorer” (as I tried to read) filled the little screens on the first flight. Cracking my book minutes into the second leg, Dora the Explorer popped into my life again. Oh dear.
Luckily, the sweet, elderly woman next to me was a good conversationalist. As we taxied out, she informed me she was on her way home to Sacramento to see family. She had come down from her current residence, where she moved after her husband’s passing a decade prior: Bentonville, AK. Millenials like me sometimes call this geoarbitrage, she called it sensible.
Bay Area and Wine Country
The first installment of this three part “How to Cruise the PCH” roadtrip recap begins in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a quick stop first in Napa Valley! We’ll break down the whole trip day-by-day, showing you the important stuff: what we did and where we stayed.
Maybe you’ll get some ideas if you’re planning a similar adventure!
Napa Valley
What We Did:
We beelined to the rental lot to grab what would be our chariot and mobile suitcase for the next week – an “I’m a huge tourist and potentially equally as large douchetool” – Ford Mustang convertible.
Flashy and fast, the antithesis of our style, we thought it might amplify the experience if we cruised with the top down. We splurged here, but we’d soon find our theory to be spot on.
We felt closer to our surroundings (smell that eucalyptus!) and, of course, it was a blast to drive!
Minor flight delays made our short stint in Napa Valley even shorter. En route, M, assumed sommelier duties. She found an interesting-sounding vineyard to shoot for, but DARN!
We wouldn’t make the final tasting!
Upon check-in, my eyes drifted aimlessly towards a lobby sign. Bango! The vineyard we chalked up as a lost cause would be hosting a tasting in our very lobby that evening!
A fortuitous start!
Unfortunately, we only had time for a bite after and little else. Onward.
Where We Stayed:
Hilton Property, standard room with breakfast. (CC points, no out of pocket expense)
Bay Area
What We Did:
The travel and time change had one benefit: we sprung out of bed first thing, wide awake, ready to zip away.
The Mustang’s ponies pointed towards San Francisco. Dramatic hillsides, peppered with black cattle at varying degrees of density, rolled by our delighted eyes. Countless vineyards, with neatly organized espelier rows, leaves browning or fallen, dotted the landscape.
“We ready to put this top down, honey?” I asked, probably with a tinge of concern in my eye.
“Ahhhh, how ’bout we wait ’til we get closer to the Bay?”
Shortly before the Golden Gate Bridge, we grabbed our first west coast coffee and pealed back the top. We couldn’t possibly go over the bridge with it up, right? Thankfully, the morning’s spritzing nearly subsided and the sky began to exhibit the hallmarks of what would be a beautiful day.
We smiled our way across the bridge. Vroom.
Spirits soaring, we drifted down to San Francisco’s Presideo. Views of Alcatraz and Golden Gate make for nice backdrops to smooch-infused selfies.
But hey, let’s not get distracted…
Upon a recommendation from M’s pal (Thanks, Tracy!), we crossed back over the Golden Gate and pushed north towards Stinson Beach, where I got my first dose of PCH driving insanity.
It’s definitely gnarly!
M and I aren’t much for heights to begin with and wait, you’re saying there aren’t guardrails for much of it?
What the heck did we sign ourselves up for?!
And then, around a bend, it appeared below us in the fog, Stinson Beach. My grip eased, shoulders dropping slightly. Big intake.
We floated down. Long, deliberate pumps on the breaks controlled our descent.
Stinson Beach is a sleepy, seaside town. We rolled in, parked and, like magnets, gravitated beachward. Sauntering passed coffee shops, a park and a snack shack, M decried something along the lines of: “this place looks like it’s out of the 70’s… I love it!”
We walked the beach, took pictures, kicked around some sand…
Somehow we pulled ourselves away and hopped back in the car. We had our eyes on the prize: the redwoods of Muir Woods!
The drive from Stinson to the Muir Woods is… terrifying.
You’ll encounter insane drop-offs around each bend, with roadside homes precariously situated just off the ridgeline. Careful of wind gusts!
Thank god! You’ve cork-screwed down to the Muir Woods entrance.
The Muir Woods National Monument Park is a magical experience. The presence of the trees, the history of the location; it commands your respect.
We looped around. If we had a bit more time, extended hiking would have been amazing, but we were content to see the trees, touch them and smell the air.
We began (the first of many times on this PCH roadtrip) uttering phrases, like: “You can’t even begin to capture it, you know?”
Here are a few poor attempts:
Where We Stayed:
Late afternoon, we rolled up to our evening’s chateau, a horse trailer sized tiny house. I took the reigns for much of the lodging responsibilities, so I was a bit apprehensive as to how it would be received by M.
To my delight, she was game!
The tiny house, well, it was tiny.
M’s luggage (remember that hulky beast?) would consume the majority of the floor space. I hit my head, then my elbow and then my head twice more.
Beyond the obvious limitations, we had a ball! Roll with it homey. Pretend you’re on a boat or you’re in Japan… or the shire. Tiny houses necessitate a degree of mindfulness, you’ll become a more efficient allocator of energy.
Careful with expectations though!
In my mind, I envisioned walking along a path that led through a garden and behind the propreitor’s abode. The tiny house would almost emerge from a dense, twisted jungle of lush semi-tropical flora.
Reality.
The hitch of the tiny house extended into the parking area. We parked our charriot next to an almost literal charriot: the tiny house. “Yeah, that’s definitely it, babe.” I uttered, with a pang of concern.
My reservations (sorry) melted, upon entering the garden. I could imagine its glory in full bloom, but it was still pretty great in November. We opened the tiny house and laughed. It was so cute inside!
An ideal set-up for a night or two, the layout comprised of a kitchenette, a living room nook, a bathroom with shower and a lofted bed. If you’re 6’5″, go elsewhere, but an average to small sized humanoid will find it manageable or even cozy.
Other Tidbits on How to Cruise the PCH:
- No intention to disparage Sacramento… we just didn’t see any of it. SWF made way more sense than SFO.
- Watch out for tolls on the Golden Gate! Our traversing cost $35+!
- The North Face Endurance Challenge happened to be going on the morning we were shipping out of the Bay Area. We saw lots of super fit people (beyond the normal super fit people that reside in the area.)
- Sausolito is a great spot to grab brunch and look out to San Francisco. Just prepare yourself for a $15 plate of eggs… yikes!
- Mill Valley is similar to Sausolito, just a bit less highfalutin.
i’ve been to napa a bunch and sonoma. we quit going into s.f. completely a couple of trips ago after we had seen enough 3-4 times. i always wanted to stop in sausolito, though.
i got seasick or carsick after a couple of hours on the p.c.h. from santa barbara to monterrey the one time i drove it. that sunset seemed to take forever with no place to get off that windy road. i don’t blame you for not going to sacramento.
We’ll definitely head back to wine country again. For whatever reason, my experiences have all been cut short! Need to do it right.
When we picked up the car, the dude told us not to do the PCH because we’d get car sick. Ha! That was why we went out there to begin with! I didn’t expect that I’d be so affected by the hairiness of the driving as much as I did. Those drops are real!