So I was truly surprised for the PCH lack of tips, zero reviews, and complete absence of pictures…read morewhen passing by the other day. I even commented to that regard while checking in. So what's up with that? In the Santa Cruz area, we're talking the stretch between Bonny Doon and Natural Bridges, all the way through the city of Santa Cruz, accepting traffic from Hwy 9 and Hwy 17 (going off Pasatiempo) somewhat in parallel to Water St and Soquel Ave, by Capitola (New Brighton Beach State park), crossed over by 41st Ave near the Capitola Mall, and further southbound through Aptos, as Cabrillo Hwy, eventually flowing into Watsonville. I have driven this road too many times to count, and can positively attest to its beauty and local flavor. To me, everything you pass on your way driving along PCH, anywhere, this stretch included, is legendary in one way or another. For those of us who live here, we're lucky. For visitors coming from far away, or nearby counties and states, this area is striking, unique, pleasant, vivid, distinctive, gaudy, florid, colorful and flavorful (have I inadvertently picked adjectives describing food?! I might have, this is Yelp after all, not a travel site, right?) No amount of traffic, bad drivers, jerks, accidents and what not can detract from these facts and discourage me from coming through again and again. And so this ode to PCH 1 Santa Cruz is intended to showcase my respect and love for the surroundings. Love and piece, smiles and cheers, my friends!

The Pacific Coast Highway is one of California's most scenic routes. Once you wind thru the Central…read moreCoast, the PCH becomes spectacular- from Hearst Castle perched on a hill in Cambria, to the Santa Lucia Mountains plunging into the ocean at Big Sur. In Santa Cruz, the PCH takes you to the ancient redwoods. It's hardly a perfect route with perfect drivers, but that's not the point. It's an adventure. The PCH is California's Mother Road. It's worth the steep, winding roads because you get exhilarating views. If the PCH had its own scent, it would be salty sea air. It's one of the PCH's many panoramic drives (I'm partial to the stretch between Stinson Beach/Bolinas Lagoon and Fort Ross) There's the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Natural Bridges, the mission, Henry Cowell Redwoods, Big Trees/Pacific Railroad. Santa Cruz is an oceanic paradise, for surfers, hikers, tourists and locals alike- and Highway 1 is the #1 way to get you there!

Decent view from the beach. But pretty small and parking is 10 dollars. There's a bathroom too if…read morethat's your thing.

Almaden Valley is a small part of San Jose. it's almost the outermost edge n if u keep driving away…read morefrom San Jose, u will most likely be driving into Morgan Hill. the small patch known as Almaden Valley is a quiet town, great for families n the like. (Leland High School is a highly rated, very competitive school.) to me, best part of Almaden isn't where all the noise, shops, n restaurants r. it's where the homes on the rolling hills r situated cuz the scenery is great at night n there's plenty of hiking even behind the homes where there's still grass n trees. (where modernization hasn't yet touched.) that also includes the Almaden Lake Park. it's such a pretty place for picnics n doing some paddle boating, especially in the Summer months. the main things attractions in Almaden Valley r probably the Oakridge Mall. it has a couple of reasonable prices stores i.e. Target, Macy's, Old Navy, n H&M. there's also some popular restaurants there including P.F.Chang's, Cheesecake Factory, BJ's, n CPK. if u r in the mood for a movie, there's a Cinemark theatre there also. there's also The Plant plaza where there's a couple of restaurants, a Home Depot, a Target, n a Best Buy. if u r looking for more restaurants around the area, it's probably best to either drive to Little Saigon for some really good Vietnamese food n drinks or drive a couple more miles to Santa Clara for even more options. I would totally give Almaden Valley 5 stars if not for the low amount of good authentic Asian restaurants. the best sushi restaurant (in my opinion) isn't even here. it's in Willow Glen. (talking about u Yuki Sushi! : )) oops, I tried to make this short n I still blabbed on. : )

The Great Blue Heron Walkway is a work of art at Jose Avenue County Park, featuring two beautiful…read moregreat blue heron mosaic sculptures, created by Barbara Abbott and Sandra Whiting, made up of diverse pieces of random objects submitted by community members when it was built in 1999, including toy cars and seashells. Brief trails of oversized blue heron footprints are etched into the cement along the walkways inside the park, matching the sculptures on site, adding a nice touch to the artwork even if minimally noticeable and not as eye-catching as the great blue heron sculptures standing in the grass. I enjoyed checking it all out this past Friday, while spending the day in Santa Cruz.

This sculpture is located directly in front of the Morgan Hill Library, surrounded by grass and…read moretrees, and a few giant stones. The artwork was created by sculptor, David Middlebrook, in collaboration with the Morgan Hill Peace Project, and unveiled on International Peace Day 2022. The word "peace" is portrayed in 28 different languages, with a dove and olive branch at the top of the structure, symbolic of its purpose. The sculpture is meant to promote unity and inspire viewers to spread its message. There's a bit of wear and graffiti on the monument (as of June 2026), but it's still a captivating piece in its simplicity and tranquil setting surrounded by lovely scenery.

Highway 152 is like that kid you hung out with in your middle school years (if you're a guy) only…read morebecause he had a hot older sister. Wait, you never did that? Umm yeah, me neither. I'm only speaking hypothetically, of course... What do I mean? Well I, and I'm sure many others, only take the 152 to get from the 101 to the 5, and vice versa. The typical route between the South Bay Area and LA. "But the 5 is bland and the 152 is more scenic, so your analogy is flawed." Yes, it's not a perfect analogy, so sue me. But if there were a more direct way to get to the 5 from South Bay, I wouldn't bother taking the 152. The rolling hills and winding road do make for a scenic drive, but they also put more wear on my car. Also, there's a 9 mile "daylight headlight section", where the 152 narrows down to a single lane in each direction, and cars are required to always have their headlights on due to the road being so dangerous. There are lots of potholes along this stretch of road, because it would be impractical for Caltrans to ever close a lane to do maintenance. When you're driving here, pray that you don't get stuck behind a slow vehicle like a semi truck. And if there were to ever be an accident here, game over. But here's a tip that will save you some time. If you're heading north to the Bay Area, after you clear the daylight headlight section, you'll come to a fork where the 152 turns left. Most people turn left here. But if you continue straight onto Ferguson Road, you'll avoid the traffic and have a generous 50 MPH speed limit with no stoplights. After 2 miles, Ferguson Road curves left and becomes Leavesley Road (with just a couple stoplights there), and after another 2 miles, you'll find the 101. Take this detour and you'll get to the 101 faster than everybody else who stayed on the 152!

I have come to a point in my life where I am writing a review about a highway. Let us reflect about…read morethat for a second. OK, now that we have established that I have an interesting way of defining meaningful things to do with my time, I have to go in on Highway 152. This is easily the least favorite part of my drive to and from the Bay Area. I guess I'm singling the portion from Los Banos to Gilroy here. It is absolutely ridiculous how dangerous this road is. Here, we see speeds of over 60 miles an hour on average on a road where there are two lanes: one going up, one going down. What's the barrier between the two? Measly embossed reflective disks! Now, there are cement blocks along certain parts, but the curvy section close to Gilroy with basically nothing in between the is grossly irresponsible and negligent. It's so bad that daytime headlights are enforced. That's how you know you have a messed up highway. Don't even get me started on the nighttime--it's just sick. You're either blinded by the cars going the opposite way or the cars behind you flashing their highbeams because they're either impatient or simply can't see the road ahead of them, which is unfortunately a pretty natural condition of this extremely poor-lit highway. My advice is to try and avoid Highway 152 when the sun goes down, and if you can't, then PLEASE try to be the best driver possible and don't do anything reckless. Pay attention to the road, do not tailgate other cars, do not take wide turns. Use highbeams if you can't see the road but do not excessively do so to blind drivers on the other side. Look, I may be being a bit harsh here, but there is no reason that this road is as dangerous as it is besides money or officials not caring enough. More attention needs to be thrown the way of this highway which is very difficult to avoid if you like driving that LA-SF route. Adding another lane might be tough logistically, so I suggest: 1) Some reflective poles in the middle--a good start and doesn't seem to be excessively costly or intrusive 2) More lighting throughout the highway--are we living in the stone ages? Put lights so that drivers don't blind each other! 3) Somewhere down the line, better middle barricades--a head-on collision at 20 miles per hour can be disastrous. A head-on collision at 60 mph+ just because a highway is made like that is pure idiocy. I'm sorry, but Highway 152--as nostalgic as it can be--will go down on the wrong side of history as a very unnecessarily dangerous highway.

This unique wind sculpure, created by Saori Ide & Jonathan Russell, can be found at the Morgan Hill…read moreCivic Center, surrounded by lovely trees, greenery, and a few tables with seating. The artwork is made up of nine stainless steel branches with fruit baskets at the ends of each, filled with items representing the growth of the local community. This includes bells, butterflies, musical notes, even bicycles. I was lucky to have come on a breezy evening to see all of the parts spinning, not just the branches, but the symbolic objects displayed in each of the baskets, illuminated at sunset with color changing LED lights. It was a joy to view on a peaceful Sunday in June, one of several interesting art pieces in the plaza celebrating the city of Morgan Hill.

Gotta love a huge hidden garlic mural in a parking lot in downtown, if you can call it that,…read moreGilroy! It was a fun end to a hilarious and fun garlic filled day! Pickled garlic? Check! Raw garlic? Yes! Garlic sauce? Definitely! Garlic toys for relatives! Absolutely! Garlic pesto? For sure! Garlic magnet for our fridge? Affirmative! Garlic soup and garlic burger? Delicious! Life is great with garlic!