CALIFORNIA CRUISING!!! I took this photo while riding in the front seat of Cousin Kathy's car, as we followed Cousin Linda in front of us, along the Sonoma County section of California Highway One. I know the car in front of me is my cousin's, because it has her name on the license plate. What I don't know, is how she can be going down this hill, pointed straight toward the Pacific Ocean, and not have her brakes on (as indicated by no brake lights shining!) It is not because the brake lights were not working, because just seconds before the turn, I have another photo of her car, where the brake lights are shining brightly, as she decided to go left, instead of straight! I was very thankful to be in the front seat for this long-awaited drive, because California Highway 1 is also known as "Dramamine Drive". I soon understood why! Our caravan was not the only group on the road that day. There was also a huge caravan---complete with eighteen-wheeler trucks, catering trucks, police escorts, food catering vehicles, roof-mounted movie cameras, and "gawkers" like us, wondering what they were filming. A very kind man with the group, explained that they were filming a commercial for the Hyundai Sonata car, that would be televised in South Korea. The man said they were trying to get a mental association of the "California lifestyle" and the Sonata car, in the subliminal mind of potential customers in South Korea. And who can blame them?? It is a gorgeous location to film anything, including a commerical for an automobile!!
One of the many good parts of the drive along California Highway 1, as it climbs up, down, and around bluffs above the sea, is getting to see the beautiful wildflowers in bloom along the route. The ones in this photo collage are just a sampling of ones that we DO NOT have blooming along the roadsides, that make similar twists and turns, where I live in the Ozark Mountains.
This is a collage of just a few of the pastoral scenes that our group of ladies enjoyed as we cruised along California Highway 1. Our eyes feasted on coastal mountains, agricultural lands, and great ocean views as we drove this famous highway, that hugs the shoreline and winds sharply around headlands high above the Pacific Ocean. I was quite amazed when I felt a loud rumble beneath the car, as we went over cattle guards in the highway, in this section of road. Shortly after going over the cattle guards, sure enough, there were cows on, and alongside, the highway. I suppose the official orange highway sign, warning of cows ahead, could also be taken as a "wake up call" for anyone crazy enough, to not be totally alert when driving this particular highway. Alertness is especially important because of the frequent closing of one lane of the road while road slides are being repaired by storms that regularly hit the coast.
California Highway 1 has had many names since construction of it was first begun in the early part of the twentieth century. Would you believe its first name included the word "Legislature" in it??!! Today, California Highway 1 is so popular, and so iconic, that it has been designated an "All-American Road", which, indeed, it is. Since it is a "path for cars", alongside the beautiful west coast of North America, and since it fills its travelers with joy, I think the verse from Acts 2:28 is an appropriate way to end this little story about this expedition: "You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence. " Miles of smiles! Tricia
CALIFORNIA CRUISING!!! I took this photo while riding in the front seat of Cousin Kathy's car, as we followed Cousin Linda in front of us, along the Sonoma County section of California Highway One. I know the car in front of me is my cousin's, because it has her name on the license plate. What I don't know, is how she can be going down this hill, pointed straight toward the Pacific Ocean, and not have her brakes on (as indicated by no brake lights shining!) It is not because the brake lights were not working, because just seconds before the turn, I have another photo of her car, where the brake lights are shining brightly, as she decided to go left, instead of straight! I was very thankful to be in the front seat for this long-awaited drive, because California Highway 1 is also known as "Dramamine Drive". I soon understood why! Our caravan was not the only group on the road that day. There was also a huge caravan---complete with eighteen-wheeler trucks, catering trucks, police escorts, food catering vehicles, roof-mounted movie cameras, and "gawkers" like us, wondering what they were filming. A very kind man with the group, explained that they were filming a commercial for the Hyundai Sonata car, that would be televised in South Korea. The man said they were trying to get a mental association of the "California lifestyle" and the Sonata car, in the subliminal mind of potential customers in South Korea. And who can blame them?? It is a gorgeous location to film anything, including a commerical for an automobile!!
This is a collage of just a few of the pastoral scenes that our group of ladies enjoyed as we cruised along California Highway 1. Our eyes feasted on coastal mountains, agricultural lands, and great ocean views as we drove this famous highway, that hugs the shoreline and winds sharply around headlands high above the Pacific Ocean. I was quite amazed when I felt a loud rumble beneath the car, as we went over cattle guards in the highway, in this section of road. Shortly after going over the cattle guards, sure enough, there were cows on, and alongside, the highway. I suppose the official orange highway sign, warning of cows ahead, could also be taken as a "wake up call" for anyone crazy enough, to not be totally alert when driving this particular highway. Alertness is especially important because of the frequent closing of one lane of the road while road slides are being repaired by storms that regularly hit the coast. 
California Highway 1 has had many names since construction of it was first begun in the early part of the twentieth century. Would you believe its first name included the word "Legislature" in it??!! Today, California Highway 1 is so popular, and so iconic, that it has been designated an "All-American Road", which, indeed, it is. Since it is a "path for cars", alongside the beautiful west coast of North America, and since it fills its travelers with joy, I think the verse from Acts 2:28 is an appropriate way to end this little story about this expedition: "You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence. " Miles of smiles! Tricia
