Highway 1 - The Pacific Highway {Travelogue}

Last month, I found myself with a free day with absolutely nothing that I needed to do. I haven't had one of those days in a long time so of course, I made my way to the beach to relax. Of course, before the relaxing can officially start, I needed to eat some greasy goodness that could only be made on a griddle, with some coffee that is only referred to as "regular" or "decaf."

1451 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117

From 8:00am-9:00am every morning, the Pork Store Cafe has an early bird special. All of the reviews said to try the Pork Store Special which consists of two massive slabs of pork chops, two eggs any style, a generous serving of hash browns, and two slices of toast. If you go during the early bird special, this meal comes with a drink (mimosa, bloody Mary, juice, or coffee) for $10.99. If you miss the worm, you lose out on the drink and it's $15.95. Pretty solid discount if you make it early enough though. Just depends on if waking up early is worth saving five bucks. 

Pork Store Special - two pork chops, two eggs, toast, hash browns. Be still my heart.





 Devil's Slide Bunker
Pacific Coast Hwy
Pacifica, CA 94044
Located right after you appear out of the Tom Lantos Tunnel going South on Highway 1, if you exit promptly, you'll find yourself in the parking lot for the Devil's Slide Trails. If you see Gray Whale Cove State Beach, you've gone too far. I have driven down this way many times and never noticed the bunker. Today though, while I meandered slowly around towards a worthy beach, I stopped to take a peek. 

The Devil's Slide Trail looks pretty interesting, and it's along the coast so I imagine the view would be good. I wasn't in the hiking mood though; I just wanted to see what this bunker was about since I kept seeing pictures of it. Walking over there from the small parking lot, I passed by a few people. Brought together in our curiosity, I felt better about trespassing. Hey, at least I'm not one of the people responsible for the graffiti! I am all about travel that includes taking pictures and leaving no trace.


Highway 1 and the parking lot


Apparently those are the peepholes used to watch for Japanese soldiers during WWII.

Sounded like some people were in there. I didn't venture inside.


Pescadero State Beach
CA-1, Pescadero, CA 94060
Found a beach! I walked North a bit from the parking lot to get away from all the dudes with their drones so it wouldn't sound like giant killer bees attacking me and found a nice spot to sit for a while. 



Continuing on my drive South on 1, the weather changed.

Natural Bridges State Beach Vista Point
2320 W Cliff Dr
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
I found myself in Santa Cruz at the Natural Bridges State Beach. They have two parking lots - one is for people who want to pay to hang out at the crowded beach, and one for people just passing by with a 30 minute time limit.





If you continue meandering South, you'll eventually get to Lighthouse Field State Beach. It's right next to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. This beach was one of the best because of all the dogs running around.



Walk further and as you get closer to the Boardwalk, you'll see some surfers.



Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Surfers Memorial

 Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks
522 Barber Ln
Milpitas, CA 95035
I didn't feel like hanging around the Boardwalk so I made my way back towards civilization. My plan was to get a snack at Shihlin, and then find some dinner. The problem with eating by myself is that I can't eat as much (who knew sharing could actually be useful?), and as someone who takes pictures of food and actually eats it all, I get full and can't eat anymore. So, the XXLarge Fried Chicken from Shihlin probably wasn't the best idea (or was it?). I've tried the location in Berkeley and wasn't super impressed, but this location does a pretty good job. Just don't stand too close to the guy seasoning it or you'll be sneezing for a few minutes. Don't worry, I did the research. 

Oh yeah, and medium heat at this location means medium heat. Medium heat at the Berkeley location means mild.




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