Road Trip Wednesday 18 June 2014

San Luis Obispo

Over-nighted here, a pretty little town, heavy with Spanish influences, Spanish Mission architecture, with some amazing Art Deco buildings like the Court House and the Movie Theatre and some New Zealand style Villas, was a little like Grey Lynn in the Central California.

The town is nestled between a series of small hills with desiccated grass, a title like you could expect in Canterbury, Marlborough or Hawkes Bay in Summer.

We headed out by car down Cabrillo Highway, California Highway 1 and 101.

Pisimo Beach, Santa Maria, then we must have taken the wrong option with the GPS, so we took the 101 option which went inland rather than on 1 which would have gone along the coast, quicker, but maybe not as scenic. 

Then on to 154 past Cachuma Lake Recreation Area, no time to stop but  here it is:

https://www.google.co.nz/maps/place/Cachuma+Lake+Recreation+Area/@34.5953834,-119.9902353,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x1bba5496ee5c9c4f?hl=en

The land around the coast appear more productive, while inland it is dry pasture and no stock.

Then back onto the 101 at Santa Barbara. which is real California:

Back to the Coast and Highway 1, through Capinteria, to Ventura, so this must be Ventura Highway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ha-ZsGxCb8&feature=kp


Oxnard was not memorable then around the coast on 1 again. Then on to Malibu.

Now, this is where the starts are, some fantastic houses up on the hills , but did not feel like Monaco or even Gold Coast.

Now here is something surprising:

Or closer:

I have never heard of the Getty Villa and there t is the big Italian building up on the hill above, but when I googled it, I found it looks like this in inside?

It is sort of like  Dr Who's tardis, is this really the same place?

It's is part of the Getty Art Collection, appears Getty may have never even lived there.

Through Pacific Palisades

So next is Santa Monica.

Hey someone else has been here:

http://www.focusfeatures.com/slideshow/wiwh_locations

Then to Howard Johnson at Torrance, where the Manager is Ian also known as Dean, because Ian and Dean sound   the same????

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Howard-Johnson/108195122555580

Then flew back to Auckland on Air New Zealand, business class, the only way to to travel.