this is the iconic California Highway one cutting through one of the most
stunning at meetings of land and sea here at Big Sur my name is Eric Conover
and this is what to do when traveling to California part two
I'm here in the beautiful state of California in partnership with visit
California on a two-week long road trip with my good friend Mike shepherd my
mission in this three-part video series is simple show you the top destinations
to experience on the ultimate road trip through the state of California starting
here in Big Sur
Big Sur has been called the longest and most scenic stretch of undeveloped
coastline in the United States the drive along Highway 1 is in a class all to its
own characterized by raw beauty and an
intense maritime energy Big Sur is the perfect destination if you're looking to
just simply unplug and reflect on life no joke when you drive this 70 or so
mile stretch of highway you are gonna want to pull over every 10 minutes and
stop at the Vista points it's another beautiful day in California what do you
say Mike Shepherd I love it here one of the nicest drives I've ever been on in
my life it's also interesting none of these Vista points really have names
they're just pastures on the side here there's our SUV pulled over but they're
all up and down the road I'm talking 1 2 3 4 Vista points within a quarter of a
mile you have these massive waves crashing below me on a beautiful white
sand beach every mile you want to stop on the side of the road like we are
right here and just admire the beauty one of the highlights when driving
through Big Sur is Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park the park is known for the
iconic 80-foot high Mick wave Falls which flows year-round over granite
cliff and free Falls directly into the sea when we are scouting this trip and I
first saw photos of Mick wave Falls on the internet it didn't look real it
looked photoshopped and I have to say it looks in real life how it looks in those
photos right behind me a beautiful sunset but I think the best way to truly
see this place is to come for yourself shut off your phone find a nice quiet
spot which is easier said than done with over 4 to 5 million tourists visiting
Big Sur per years certain beauty points they can get pretty crowded but there
are plenty of spots right off the side of the road to get those iconic views of
that California sunset over Big Sur the Big Sur Drive is longer after a quick
overnight stay a Big Sur River Inn we hit the road again in the next
so we're driving down the one and we're taking a little detour now and we're
heading to a Hearst Castle the next stop on my road trip Travel Guide Hearst
Castle is flat-out jaw-dropping perched high up on a hilltop is the castle of
former newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst the castle has 165 rooms
over 123 acres of gardens terraces pools and walkways all built to Hurst's exact
specifications at showcasing his legendary art collection I am currently
in mr. Hearst study basically Hearst Castle is like real-life Great Gatsby
the castle was a massive part of the film culture in the early 30s and 40s as
a hot spot for Hollywood celebs back in the day such as Charlie Chaplin and
Jimmy Stewart after his death the castle became a California State Park in 1958
so the world could enjoy all mr. Hearst love for art continuing to drive south
I recommend stopping at Pismo Beach for a quick sunset surf you know just to
break up the long drive finally making our way down to the sprawling Southern
California city of Los Angeles hands down my favorite and one of the more
interesting parts of LA is Venice Beach in Venice I stayed at one of the most
unique hotels I've ever seen so I wasn't kidding when I said this was one of the
most unique hotels I've ever stayed at I mean look at the bedroom behind me you
have that poster of Elvis with the two guns turn into flowers you have a
comic-book dresser you have one of those old cool dialogue bones with the actual
dial to someone up this place just has character
you think the bedroom is cool check this out let's go outside outdoors the hotel
comes complete with a cool mural of an Asian man jumping into the pool hammocks
and ping pong tables if you are in Venice I highly recommend staying at the
kinney venice is known for its bohemian free spirit head down to the
world-famous boardwalk pick up an electric scooter and just go for a
cruise just really they take it in and stop and do some
people watching of course you can't miss out on the Venice Beach skate park
that's always a cool place to hang out sunset but my favorite thing to do in
Venice wake up at sunrise when the only other people up are the surfers heading
out for early-morning paddle and get in a good solid body weight workout at the
world-famous Muscle Beach it's a little different from New York here you have
palm trees in the background blue skies Sun you can't really be
working on the sand after Muscle Beach I like to head to the Venice canals they
were built by developer Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a way to recreate the appearance
and feel of Venice Italy in socal nowadays the canals are more of a
Matthew McConaughey early two-thousands rom-com sort of vibe than Venice Italy
but still look how picturesque this water is it's flat it's early morning no
one's really up yet the city is still sleeping you come back here you do a
nice peaceful jog this is one of my favorite things to do when I come to
Venice from the beach we headed up into Hollywood and traded in the SUV for
something a bit more fitting for a California roadtrip for the next half of
this California roadtrip this beast behind us this is our home for the next
week in Hollywood I recommend staying at the Hollywood RV park tell the owner
Steve that Eric sent you from Hollywood we continued south and park the RV right
on the beach in Surf City USA first night in the RV I actually slept like a
baby oh it's a party mr. Jeff Mars if you
don't know this is a legend of Southern California mr. Jeff Larson woody you
boys want to do you want to go surf surf culture is deeply rooted in the SoCal
lifestyle Jeff and his twin brother Derek surf almost every single morning
at dawn even on days like today when the waves are anything special we
got the SoCal x4 here with the surf report what's it looking like Jeff ways
to chest high it's gonna be fun I actually met Jeff on a surf trip in
the Maldives about two years ago cut to the footage so that you can see this
guy's a total stud out there on the water we're gonna suit up and go send
out some beautiful Cala friend Reimers yeah starting the day running into the
cool SoCal waterborne in hand it's a surefire way to wake you up and and just
be stoked on life this morning surf session with Derrick
Mike and Jeff is hands-down that thus far the highlights of the road trip the
positivity that these guys bring it's unreal and it's infectious and this is
something that I haven't really touched on yet in this road trip travel series
it's cliché for a reason but it's not the places that make travel memorable
it's the people you choose to surround yourself with on the journey
what does California mean to you what it means to me it means freedom
this short date trip in Huntington Beach was a breath of fresh air from the fast
pace of the trip so far surfing all day until the Sun sank low over the Pacific
and painted the sky so that is the end of part 2 of the California roadtrip
series make sure to subscribe to see the final episode from Joshua Tree I'll see
you in the next video you