Callifornia Cruisin'

Recently, I took a trip up to San Francisco, with the plan to drive down the coast all the way to Huntington Beach, CA to meet up with a surfer friend.  It turned out to be an amazing drive, and I strongly recommend renting a car and driving down Highway 1, along the breathtaking coast and the well-preserved national park Big Sur.  It was gorgeous country, literally the type of place where you find yourself stopping on the side of the road every 10 minutes or so to take photographs or just soak in the atmosphere.  Before arriving in Huntington Beach, we decided to stay in Santa Barbara, just south of Big Sur, and right outside the bustling LA traffic.  At the Montecito Inn, we found a nice little relaxing hotel, just off the Highway 101.  After a long day on the road, the Montecito was a great find and as it turned out it was originally built by Charlie Chaplin. The hotel featured free wireless internet, meticulously designed rooms that maintained a historic feel, and most importantly large, comfy beds.  It was a nice end to a big day, and after arriving back home I looked on hotelbook.com and I found there’s a lot of great California hotels for a future trip, under the Top Ten hotel lists.  I know I”ll be heading back soon, as I've still yet to see the great redwood trees that are wide enough to drive a car through up in North California.