Los Angeles to San Fransisco – my 30th birthday!
Traveling to LA for work the past few years, I didn’t really get the appeal of this crazy, trafficy, brand-loving, silicone-embracing, money-driven city. I obviously simply didn’t take the time to know it. To rent bikes and travel Santa Monica through Marina Del Rey and Manhattan Beach all the way to Redondo beach in a wide airy bike route.
To go to the many amazing parks and hikes welcoming you to the great nature within ten minutes from your flat, wherever that might be.
To visit the awesome museums with great exhibitions. And of course, there are many restaurants and bars, and not all of them are overpriced and overrated.
Los Angeles definitely deserves personal attention on this website, but for now, let’s stick to what the headline promises- HIGHWAY 1!
It’s really hard to express how incredible this drive really is. The beautiful coastline on one side, and every type of scenery changing on the other side- small towns, cliffs, woods, endless fields, farms, it’s all there, within a few hours’ drive.
It was my 30th birthday weekend and I was lucky enough to be with Or in LA and this trip was the perfect easy gateway. We camped one night at Big Sur and continue to San Francisco where we stayed with family. On the way over we stopped at every single location pointed out on travel guides for this route; great vegan breakfast at Santa Barbara at the Savoy, breathtaking stop at Lake Chachue, overrated coffee, and fudge at overrated Solvang, Elephant seal watching at Elephant Seal vista point (man that’s a weird creature!), and then finally BIG SUR!
Honestly, I can’t believe this place exists! This place is nothing short of magical. The beach, the cliffs, the camping grounds, the woods, the hikes, the viewpoints! Everything about this place is breathtaking. We stopped on the way and brought groceries for all meals, which is probably what you should do as there is nothing worth your time food-wise, and driving within Big Sur when it’s dark was not my favorite part, to say the least.
We slept at the Limekiln camping site, right by the lake overlooking the beautiful woods packed with wildlife and flowers, and the beach was right behind us! The place was quite full but still felt very intimate. We drank the two bottles of wine we picked up on the way throughout the day traveling the park, disguising it in coffee mugs, and had the best time ever running around laughing and playing around as if it was our first time camping. Apologies Lauren from LA for laughing too hard and waking your baby up.
After gazing at the incredible skies showering us with stars, we fell asleep in the cool breezy night for ten hours straight. I don’t think I’ve ever slept ten hours straight indoors. We literally fell asleep cuddled on one of the cots we brought and woke up in the same position, at 10 AM!
The next day after a quick onsite breakfast we went for coffee at Pheonix Café, a beautiful spot, and viewpoint, not a single vegan dish on the menu so I had to go for Bloody Mary. I consider it a pretty balanced meal. And it was a good one.
We then continued through Monterey’s very touristic harbor on our way to San Jose where Ors’ uncle lives and my cousin. Celebrated my 30th birthday at a cute bar with my loved cousin whom I don’t get to see enough, her unbelievably awesome husband (you’re welcomed Jeff), their friends, and Or. This easy, spontaneous birthday meetup, which nobody actually knew was my birthday, was everything I wanted.
San Francisco was our last stop before heading back to LA and it was great! The highlight of the day -THE FOOD!
We started off at Berkley where we had some of the best vegan meaty options I’ve seen in my life at The Butcher’s Son, then drove through traffic for a few hours but made it to the not very interesting pier.
Drove Lombard street, and went to meet friends at the incredible Palace of Fine Arts where I was showered with love and balloons. Planned on biking the Golden Gate but it was way too windy and we were way too lazy, so we drove to the viewpoint and then rested at a park nearby. Dinner at Shizen was mind-blowing! Vegan sushi has never sounded that attractive to me but this was mouthwatering and mainly surprising. Ohh, and expensive. But very worth it.
On the way back we stopped at Santa Cruz, which I have absolutely nothing interesting to say about. And enjoyed a beautiful sunset while driving the fields taking us all the way back to LA’s valley. Who knew turning 30 could be so perfect?
