I have participated in many great drives over the last twenty five years that have expanded dramatically my sense of country.  One of my particular favorites is the stretch of California Highway 1 which prominently clings to the shore line and presents with some of the most beautiful  and spiritual vistas in America.   The thirty some miles running south between Carmel and Big Sur, California is particularly rich in jaw dropping views and has many special places that demand a stop and absorb kind of moment.  Just three miles south of Carmel, the State Park at Point Lobos is a must with spectacular ocean meets coast vistas and wonderful walking trails. Sea Lion Point and China Cove stay with you forever. From the park the highway continues south and opens into magnificent views and harrowing curves that were meant for an open convertible or motorcycle and should be experienced in that travel fashion to truly be memorable. Several more state parks organize the wild coastline for you and give many opportunities to drop to the beaches themselves. The untouched character of the coastline is what is especially appealing and when need to thank our forebears for their prescience. As the road climbs across Bixby Bridge and heads into the cliffs and woods of Big Sur, the views from Post Ranch make the Pacific Ocean stand up to its name as the greatest body of water on Earth.
If you need to get away a little, make the jog down from San Francisco and take Highway 1. It makes you glad that we still have places that we have preserved for the individual to experience nearly for free, what the king could not purchase for all the money on Earth.