Highway One is the road of a thousand car adverts, and a primary reason for many visitors coming to California. It snakes up the coast from LA to San Francisco, with the most scenic section between San Luis Obispo and Carmel. It's only 90 miles but takes nearly four hours to drive due to the twisty, winding road and the frequent stops. This section is known as Big Sur, there is no town as such. Unfortunately during summer (we visited in July 2008) there is often a coastal fog which grips the coast road and renders the views significantly less spectacular. Maybe we had over hyped expectations, but Big Sur was a disappointment for us. It didn't help that the summer of 2008 was a bad season for fires, with a massive electrical storm in June starting nearly 2000 fires around California. Big Sur was affected and Highway One was closed for about ten days, and even when it reopened there was still smoke on the horizon, filling the sky just in case the fog had missed it!\ We drove from San Diego to Santa Barbara, then onto Pismo beach the following day. We didn't book accommodation in advance and ended up staying at Seaventure Resort, a beachside hotel with spa facilities. It turned out to be even better than expected - we had a whirlpool hot tub on our balcony. With a free bottle of champagne and complimentary champagne flutes they got our vote! After watching a lovely sunset on the beach we ate at the SeaVenture restaurant which lived up to the high standards of the hotel - recommended.
