It was our first wedding anniversary and John and I decided to drive down the famous Highway 101 in California. We had never been to California before so we thoroughly researched the trip.
John and I flew into the San Diego airport, rented a car, and began our journey. California seemed like a paradise to us. The hot and dry climate with beautiful tropical plants and trees. It was just beautiful! We feel we should be close to heaven!
Later that night we drove to a nearby beach and watched the sun go down. We then cap off the evening with a late dinner at a Mexican restaurant. We then settle into our hotel and plan our trip for the next day.
We woke up early the next morning and had a light breakfast at the hotel. We then set out on our journey along the California Coastal Highway known as Highway 101. That particular day was our first wedding anniversary and we were like two little kids again, happy and carefree! We saw the most beautiful beaches and stopped at lookouts over the ocean along the road. For us such beauty and wonder was mesmerizing!
I discovered that California is mostly a desert landscape. It has so much history and beauty, with a lovely Hispanic influence.
I felt like I could see the ocean for the rest of my life and not get tired of it too! Its beautiful blue-green waters and aquatic life are beautiful beyond description! The sounds of the ocean are also very relaxing!
We drove through many famous California cities traveling north on Highway 101. Malibu was just one of many trendy cities along our journey.
Our goal was to drive from North San Diego to San Francisco on Highway 101 and stop for sightseeing along the way. We wanted to film the sunset over the ocean every night. Of course, we also videotape the charming and inviting beaches and other sights.
The second night we made it to Camarillo, California. We settled into a nice hotel and decided to drive to a local beach to watch the sunset. The map we used showed a couple of beaches about five miles from our hotel, so we started driving towards them. We were in a rural field of orange trees and strawberry fields. Everything seemed very nice and calm.
We started driving down the main street of a nearby town that was supposed to lead to the beach. As we drove, we saw police doing what appeared to be a drug bust on the side of the road. That was very creepy, seeing people on the ground and being handcuffed with some sinister looking bystanders at the scene. We continued driving a couple more blocks, and in a separate incident, police cars surrounded a vehicle that had struck a utility pole. Police had a man pinned to the ground and handcuffing other people. The incidents we saw in this small town were so shocking to me that I told my husband to go back to our hotel. That is exactly what we did as soon as we could! We dined next door to our hotel that night at a quiet family restaurant.
These two incidents, so close together, on the same street and in broad daylight, had really made me nervous. Traveling through a new state, new cities, not knowing anyone, or much about the areas we were traveling through. My mental red flags were up, and I was suddenly very apprehensive about our trip!
After a night of rest we felt refreshed and it was a beautiful day. We hit the road again. The road took us into the foothills of the mountains many miles from the ocean. The landscape was new and different as we went along. We were having a great time again, trying to forget the incidents of the previous night.
I could imagine what it had been like in the days of the Wild West, Indians peering over a hill or cattle being herded by cowboys. The mountainous and desert landscape made my mind wonder about the days of yore.
Our destination that day was Morro Bay, California. We drove through beautiful Santa Barbara on the way there. We decided it was a town worth stopping at on the way back for a bit of sightseeing.
Soon we were back driving along the edge of the ocean once more. That was always our favorite part of the trip. We arrive at picturesque and charming Morro Bay in the early afternoon. We went sightseeing there right away. We saw the famous giant rock formations coming out of the ocean and people surfing nearby. The wind was blowing very hard and it was surprisingly cool enough for our jackets. I had the impression that all of California was sunny and warm. Is not true! It’s sunny and cold sometimes!
We then decided to take a short drive further north along the coast to see other sights. The scenery became even more beautiful as we drove north. The waves rolling out of the ocean onto the beaches were amazing! We saw walrus seals and a beautiful lighthouse. We put some interesting people to visit in the scenic view areas. As we drove north, we saw that a thick fog was building, so we ventured no further. We went back to our quaint hotel room and stayed for a while.
We dined in Morro Bay Harbor that night at a wonderful seafood restaurant and met some nice Germans sitting at a nearby table. They were touring the west coast on a bus trip. They didn’t speak much English, but were very friendly and humorous. We communicate regardless of the language barrier.
After shopping for souvenirs the next morning, we decided that San Francisco was too far north for these middle-aged travelers to go. We decided to slow down a bit and start sightseeing on our way back south to San Diego on Highway 101 of course!
Santa Barbara was top of our list of cities to tour on the way back up Highway 101. We stopped at the visitor center there and ventured out to the nearby pier to take in the views. Of course, our video camera was always rolling so we could appreciate the scenery for years to come. We met some nice people from California and talked a bit about our individual home states. Later, my husband and I had a fresh seafood sandwich from a small outdoor cafe and watched a dolphin swim near the pier. Soon it was time to get back on the road and head further south.
My husband was using his new GPS to navigate our routes. John loved the way he got him where he wanted to go. He didn’t like me because he took us on longer routes to our destinations quite often. He sometimes he took us on paths through some abandoned neighborhoods
In Santa Barbara we made a wrong turn and found ourselves on a side street just off the freeway. We decided to walk up the block and turn around to try and get back on the road. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a large group of Latino men started running towards us from the side of the road running over our vehicle! I started screaming and my husband shot up our vehicle and started going through the crowd of screaming men. They seemed to be very threatening. Somehow my brave husband turned us around and quickly got us out of the situation. When I turned and looked back, the large group of men were shaking their fists and shouting at us. My heart was still racing and I was crying in fear.
We still to this day don’t know what it was about, but it scared me to death! I immediately had a migraine and my husband and I couldn’t even talk for about ten minutes. We were both breathless from the shock of the entire ordeal. I was nervous about the rest of our trip in California. After that, I started watching the local news at our hotel, and the media was talking about gangs and gang violence in California in general. Suddenly I realized the danger that I had never expected before.
We spent that night in Huntington Beach, California. He didn’t even want to go out to dinner. I went to bed early and told my husband I was ready to go back to St. Louis!
The next day we take our time and travel further south. We didn’t stop until we got to La Jolla. We got a nice motel by the beach and stayed three nights. We stayed close to the motel, seeing the sights in and around La Jolla. It seemed safe there and the area was very beautiful!
I was still in shock from previous bad experiences, and stayed close to my husband for safety wherever we went.
The last day of our trip we went to San Diego and toured a battleship. We then went sightseeing on Coronado Island and had a late lunch overlooking the harbor.
I was very ready to go home the next day when we left San Diego. I said I would never go to California again!
Maybe one day I’ll eat my words and visit Northern California. But I would prefer to go there with friends who know the area very well.
I don’t know if this was just our bad misfortune or if these scary incidents often happen to tourists in California and it’s just a big well kept secret. If you’re touring California or other places near the Mexican border, and going west as well, do your homework! Especially in travel security! Find out as much as you can about crime levels in the areas you travel through. Then learn the safety precautions for traveling and be aware of what to expect. Also be prepared for the unexpected!
We have been to many other places in many other states, and we have never experienced this type of terror or anything close to what we experienced in California. It was a true adventure in more ways than we ever thought possible!
Overall we enjoyed the amazing scenery and brought some good memories along with some bad ones home with us. We had self taught travel experiences that my husband likes to call adventures.
If you are planning to travel, happy travels and safe travels wherever you go!