LET'S GO FOR A RIDE

    In 1957 my father bought a Volkswagen Beetle, but I think in his mind he had bought a Jeep. He packed our family of five into that Bug and we drove and drove. Sometimes indeed, we went to places where the only other cars were Jeeps. We drove from California to New England several times. On the first transcontinental trip, when we reached the Midwest and stopped at gas stations, people would stare at our car because they had never seen a Volkswagen. They were even more amazed when they saw five people climb out of it.

    These early family car trips gave me affection for "going for a ride". My all-time favorite cruise is the Pacific Coast Highway, or California Route 1. In the 1950's and 1960's we had the good fortune to live only about three blocks from Coast Highway in Newport Beach. But PCH runs all the way from Dana Point in southern Orange County, up the California coast to Mendocino County. It passes through elegant and crowded beach cities, tacky little beach towns, and rugged natural coastlines. It is simply wonderful.

    From the early days of the automobile, people have loved driving along the coast. This photo from the LA County Library collection shows how wildly popular it was, as seen along the Pacific Palisades.

    Such rich scenery as found along Pacific Coast Highway is of course inspiration to painters. Below, New Orleans born artist Warren Keating gives us his bright impression in "View from the Coast Starlight", and Southern California's John Comer peaks down at PCH in "Agave and Pacific Coast Highway".

    This graceful time lapse nighttime photo taken by photographer Luis Sinco and printed in the LA Times, documents where Sunset Blvd. meets Coast Highway.

    Two great atmospheric depictions of Route 1 were done by LA's Relja Penezic in his "California Road Chronicles #8", and by Marin County's John de Lormier in his nighttime depiction "From Bodega Head".

    Southern California's Michael Ward produces works that are more tightly focused upon the life along PCH. His "Lanai Apartments" reflects the scourge of Polynesian themed apartment complexes built in the 1960's, along with everybody's favorite surf wagon, the VW Bus. In "Nice Work If You Can Get It" he humorously depicts the challenge of parking at the beach on a beautiful day.

    From Laguna Beach, as seen in "Cycling on Forest in Laguna" by Frank Dalton, to Sonoma County's Linda Sorensen's "Road to Pt. Bonita Light", I love seeing depictions of this favorite roadway that we west coasters are so fortunate to have.