Highway 1, probably the most iconic drive in America, or so I’ve read. For those of you who don’t know, highway 1 runs along the Pacific coast, where you can see little beach towns, farms with cows, and a lot of ocean.

Originally, I had planned on stopping at Glacier National Park in Montana and swinging by Seattle after Yellowstone. Unfortunately, the cold weather (freezing and below at night) forced me to skip ahead in my trip. I was not physically or mentally prepared to jump from 90 degree weather to a measly 30 degrees. So, I jumped ahead to highway 1!

I’ve been doing a lot of driving in the last couple of days so I already knew that I would only be completing a fraction of the scenic route. From Yellowstone, I stopped overnight in Idaho- I came across a Five Guys and couldn’t walk away from their cajun fries (I had no idea Five Guys was all the way out there)! I started my drive in Bodega Bay in California, a little beach town north of San Francisco and drove all the way through San Francisco to Carmel. I saw a little bit of everything: winding roads on the sides of cliffs (guard rails not included), the massive Golden Gate Bridge , super colorful houses stacked on steep hills in San Francisco, and tons of surfers in the ocean.

My friend Kellie suggested I take a look into 17 mile drive. It is a scenic drive between Monterey and Carmel looking out over Pebble Beach. I made it right before sunset and it was entirely worth it. The houses were beautiful (mansions to little cottages) and the beach was gorgeous. It was a great way to end a long drive.

Golden Gate Bridge

Carmel By The Sea

Pebble Beach