Los Angeles Times
Driving California's Coast in 10 Days
Early on the first day of 2009, a gold Toyota Corolla exited
Interstate 5 in southern San Diego County and headed
west, dodging puddles and "SUBJECT TO FLOODING"
signs until it reached Border Field State Park, the coastal reserve
where California's coastline begins. That was me, on the brink
of something big.
To consume the California coast in a single gulp, never
mind the off-season, never mind the off-year.is more than a
meal. It's a revelation, a rediscovery, a marathon. Or maybe I
should just rely on the words of Mike, the 40-year-old Coloradan
I found on Day 4 north of Santa Barbara, sitting on a
driftwood log in his boxers, still soaked from a spontaneous
leap into the Pacific.
"This is as good as it gets," he said. "For two minutes, you
don't feel old and fat anymore."
You could say my itinerary was half-planned. I would
mostly stick to Interstate 5, then California 1 and U.S. 101,
skirting the sea. To allow time for bike rides and duck feeding,
there would be no 200-mile days, and I would allow myself
detours. To allow for recession, the lodgings would average
less than $150 a night.
Mile 15, Coronado: Ridiculous, meet sublime. With slime
clinging to my shoes, I penetrate the perimeter of the Hotel
del Coronado, inspect the seasonal ice-skating rink and the
wide, sandy beach, then climb on the jetty rocks. No rooms
for less than $300. I settle for a $3.75 cup of coffee.
Mile 177, Hermosa Beach: Bam: the sound of a volleyballer
ending a rally with an authoritative spike.
Whoosh: the sound of an early-bird surfer, zooming dangerously
close to the pier while most of his neighbors are still
snoozing or savoring coffee.
Tick-tick-tick: the sound of two bicycles and a low-slung
trailer, rolling north on the Santa Monica Bay Trail, a footand-
bike path that runs 20 miles from Redondo Beach to
Santa Monica.
That's us. Later come lunch and a pelican encounter on the
Malibu Pier. Dinner and overnight at the Embassy Suites in
Oxnard. The next morning we draw in the sand with sticks,
then say our farewells. At the Oxnard airport, I relinquish the
family's old gold Corolla, and the Budget Rent a Car people assign
me a new white one for the rest of my mission.
Hermosa Beach
Beach House Hermosa Beach, 1300 the Strand, Hermosa Beach; (888) 895-4559 or
(310) 374-3001, www.beach-house.com. Aimed mostly at couples and business
travelers (it's 7 miles from LAX), these 96 units (opened in 1998) stand next to a lively
26-mile biking/walking/path, are a block from the Hermosa Beach Pier, and all feature
firplaces, phones, TVs. No pool. I paid $269 for a non-view room, $22 to park; Wi-Fi and
continental breakfast free. Rates for Feb. 28 start at $289.
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