Dream Vacation: An Off-Season Trip Down Highway 1

One of the most spectacular drives in America begins at the rugged cliff tops of Big Sur, nips the broad public beach in Carmel, winds past the famous Pebble Beach golf course and aromatic pines and wave-washed rocks of 17-Mile Drive, snakes through the college town of Santa Cruz, hums on through Half Moon Bay with its quaint downtown and ritzy seaside developments and finally rolls to a gentle end in San Francisco.

Most of the drive follows California's aptly named Highway 1, aptly named because it is the Golden State's most-loved stretch of coastline road. It's visually compelling, varied and studded with homey cafes and funky bait-and-tackle shops and latticed with roadside hiking trails. Most people drive this two-lane blacktop on four wheels; a hardy few venture forth on motorcycles or high-performance bicycles.

Big Sur, about 140 miles south of San Francisco, took a big hit this year when wildfires ravaged the area, forcing evacuations and temporarily shutting down the destination restaurant Nepenthe. Made famous by Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac and the inner-space explorers of the Esalen Institute, Big Sur is recovering nicely now. Residents have returned home, and Nepenthe, on the ocean side of Highway 1, is once again serving gourmet burgers, salads and microbrews from its cliff-top vista point.

Driving north on Highway 1 brings you to Carmel, where Clint Eastwood was once mayor; his former restaurant, the Hog's Breath Inn, is still a local favorite, and his current property, the Carmel Mission Ranch, has a lively bar and overlooks a bucolic meadow and wetland. Sitting outside in an Adirondack chair with a drink in hand on a good-weather day is a fine way to while away an hour or two.