RONANDPATTYTHOMASPHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES; INSET: RONBERG/VISITSANTABARBARA
R
,
jagged,craggy.It’s
thosephysicalattributesofthe
Californiacoastthatmanage
tobeguile,andthensome.The
PointLobosStateNatural
ReserveinCarmelwasonce laudedas“the
greatestmeetingof landandseaintheworld”
bylandscapeartistFrancisMcComas.
Indeed,thepark’sjaggedclisfallointo
whitesurfbelow,withthechanging light
intensifyingintotangerineandfuchsiaglows.
TheGoldenState’scentralcoastline
provesaneectivebalm, rejuvenating
and inspiringthemind, silentlyhumbling
andmoving ittoo. It’sthis intangibletrait
thatgets inyourheart,and it iswhathas
promptedmyhusbandandme,alongwith
ouryoungdaughter, toseekoutsliversof
blue fromSantaBarbaratoMontereyand
everywhere inbetween.
CALIFORNIACRUISING:
Jaggedcliffsdefinemuchof theCentral CaliforniacoastlineoffHighway 1.
Inset: SantaBarbara’s red-tile roofs serveasa reminderof thehistoryof thearea.
TRAVEL
FromSantaBarbara toMonterey,
California’sCentralCoast
isa
stunning stretchof the state that
offerscharmaplenty.
MIDDLE
GROUND
SANTABARBARA
Tuckedbetweenoceanandmoun-
tains, SantaBarbaraenduresas
a favoritestopalong thePacific
CoastHighway, andevenbills
itselfas theAmericanRiviera,
thanks toyear-roundblueskies
andoceanbreeze.Thered-tile
roofsofSpanishRevivalbuildings
serveasareminderofhowhistory
unfoldedhere, from theChumash
Indians to theFranciscanmonks,
whoarrivedandbuilt thecity’s
gorgeousmission in1786.
Theheartofmodern-day
48
SUMMER
AA.COM CELEBRATEDLIVING
