Carmel/Monteray

Carmel/Monteray

Carmel-by-the-Sea, often called simply Carmel, is a small city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, the town is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history. In 1906, the San Francisco Call devoted a full page to the "artists, poets and writers of Carmel-by-the-Sea", and in 1910 it reported that 60 percent of Carmel's houses were built by citizens who were "devoting their lives to work connected to the aesthetic arts." Early City Councils were dominated by artists, and the town has had several mayors who were poets or actors, including Herbert Heron, founder of the Forest Theater, bohemian writer and actor Perry Newberry, and actor-director Clint Eastwood, who was mayor for one term, from 1986 to 1988.
The town is known for being dog-friendly, with numerous hotels, restaurants and retail establishments admitting guests with dogs. Carmel is also known for several unusual laws, including a prohibition on wearing high-heel shoes without a permit, enacted to prevent lawsuits arising from tripping accidents caused by irregular pavement.^[3]
Carmel-by-the-Sea is located on the Pacific coast, about 330 miles (530 km) north of Los Angeles and 120 miles (190 km) south of San Francisco. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 3,722, down from 4,081 at the 2000 census.


The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on Central California's Pacific coast. It stands at an elevation of 26 feet (8 m) above sea level,^[2] on a land area of 70008470000000000008.47 sq mi (21.9 km²). The 2010 census recorded a population of 27,810.
Monterey was the capital of Alta California from 1777 to 1846 under both Spain and Mexico. It was the only port of entry for taxable goods in California. In 1846 the U.S. flag was raised over the Customs House, and California was claimed for the United States.
The city had California's first theatre, public building, public library, publicly funded school, printing press, and newspaper. The city and surrounding area have attracted artists since the late 19th century and many celebrated painters and writers have lived there. Until the 1950s, there was an abundant fishery.
Among Monterey's notable present-day attractions are the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fisherman's Wharf and the annual Monterey Jazz Festival

Big Sur

Big Sur

 

Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big country of the south", referring to its location south of the Monterey Peninsula. The terrain offers stunning views, making Big Sur a popular tourist destination. Big Sur's Cone Peak is the highest coastal mountain in the contiguous 48 states, ascending nearly a mile (5,155 feet/1571 m) above sea level, only three miles (4.8 km) from the ocean.^[1]
Although Big Sur has no specific boundaries, many definitions of the area include the 90 miles (140 km) of coastline from the Carmel River south to the San Carpoforo Creek, and extend about 20 miles (32 km) inland to the eastern foothills of the Santa Lucias. Other sources limit the eastern border to the coastal flanks of these mountains, only three to 12 miles (19 km) inland. Another practical definition of the region is the segment of California State Route 1 between San Simeon and Carmel. The northern end of Big Sur is about 120 miles (190 km) south of San Francisco, and the southern end is approximately 245 miles (394 km) northwest of Los Angeles. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sur)

Cambria and Moonstone Beach

Cambria

 

Cambria (also known as "Cambria, Pines By the Sea") is a seaside village located midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the California State Route 1 (Highway 1). The name Cambria was settled upon in 1869 (previously the town had gone by the names of Slabtown, Rosaville, San Simeon and Santa Rosa).
It is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 6,032 at the 2010 census, down from 6,232 at the 2000 census.

http://www.cambriachamber.org/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g32148-Cambria_San_Luis_Obispo_County_California-Vacations.html

Moonstone Beach

 

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g32148-d104595-Reviews-Moonstone_Beach-Cambria_San_Luis_Obispo_County_California.html

Morrow Bay

Morrow Bay

                                 


Morro Bay is a waterfront city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,234, down from 10,350 at the 2000 census.

http://www.morro-bay.ca.us/
http://www.morrobay.org/

Pismo Beach

 

Pismo Beach

 

Pismo Beach is a beach city in southern San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast area of California, United States.^[2] The population was 7,655 at the 2010 census, down from 8,551 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Five Cities Area, a cluster of cities in that area of San Luis Obispo County. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pismo_Beach,_California)

http://www.pismobeach.org/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g32894-Pismo_Beach_California-Vacations.html

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, Spanish: [ˈsanta ˈbaɾβaɾa]) is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Santa Barbara's climate is often described as Mediterranean, and the city is known as the "American Riviera."^[2] As of the census of 2010, the city had a population of 88,410, a loss of 1,190 from the previous census, making it the second largest city in the county after Santa Maria^[3] while the contiguous urban area, which includes the cities of Goleta and Carpinteria, along with the unincorporated regions of Isla Vista, Montecito, Mission Canyon, Hope Ranch, Summerland, and others, has an approximate population of 220,000. The population of the entire county in 2010 was 423,895.^[4]
In addition to being a popular tourist and resort destination, the city economy includes a large service sector, education, technology, health care, finance, agriculture, manufacturing, and local government. In 2004, the service sector accounted for fully 35% of local employment.^[5] Education in particular is well represented, with five institutions of higher learning on the south coast (the University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara City College, Westmont College, Antioch University, and the Brooks Institute of Photography). The Santa Barbara Airport serves the city, as does Amtrak. U.S. Highway 101 connects the Santa Barbara area with Los Angeles to the south and San Francisco to the north. Behind the city, in and beyond the Santa Ynez Mountains, is the Los Padres National Forest, which contains several remote wilderness areas. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Barbara,_California)

http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/
http://www.santabarbara.com/community/visitors_center/things_to_do/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g33045-Santa_Barbara_California-Vacations.html

Highway 1 - Pacific Coast Highway - Introduction

 

California Pacific Coast Highway

 

State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north-south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of California. Highway 1 has several portions designated as either Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Cabrillo Highway, Shoreline Highway, or Coast Highway. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 5 (I-5) near Dana Point in Orange County and its northern terminus is at U.S. Highway 101 (US 101) near Leggett in Mendocino County. Highway 1 also at times runs concurrently with US 101, most notably through a 54-mile (87 km) stretch in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, and across the Golden Gate Bridge.

The highway is famous for running along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the USA, leading to its designation as an All-American Road. In addition to providing a scenic route to numerous attractions along the coast, the route also serves as a major thoroughfare in the Greater Los Angeles Area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and several other coastal urban areas.

SR 1 was built piecemeal in various stages, with the first section opening in the Big Sur region in the 1930s. However, portions of the route had several names and numbers over the years as more segments opened. It was not until the 1964 state highway renumbering that the entire route was officially designated as Highway 1. Although SR 1 is a popular route for its scenic beauty, frequent landslides and erosion along the coast have caused several segments to be either closed for lengthy periods for repairs, or re-routed further inland. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_1)