USA 2004

Route 1: San Simeon, Santa Barbara & Malibu

In San Simeon, it’s terribly cloudy and foggy again in the morning. We decide to skip the beach and drive straight on to Santa Barbara.
The drive to Santa Barbara is marked by shifting visibility—sun and fog alternate one after the other.

Once we arrive in Santa Barbara, we stop briefly to shop and then cruise around the city a bit. We all agree that Santa Barbara is the most beautiful city we’ve seen so far on our tour. The Mexican architectural style, the palm trees on every corner, and the beautiful urban design, along with a great beach, are all indicators of this.
We spend two hours at the beach, playing Frisbee and going for a swim.
The water is warmer than the day before, and so is the air.
Our lunch and dinner are eaten by the brazen seagulls, which foolishly got to our food after a gust of wind blew the towel off the bag. Since we were right by the water and didn’t have a direct view of all our belongings, I unfortunately arrived too late when I saw the flock of seagulls heading toward our things.

We continue on toward LA in the evening and stop in Malibu.
What we see in Malibu defies description. Secluded mansions with German cars—Porsches, BMWs, and Mercedes—in every driveway—at least in the smaller estates where we can catch a glimpse. We drive past the Baywatch beach, watch the sunset here, and look for a hotel. We don’t find anything in Malibu, so we drive to Santa Monica and stay at the Travelodge.