Day 14
Friday August 28
Since I couldn't drive down Hwy 1, and I didn't know what to expect down the road, I had rolled the dice and cancelled my booking for the night. I could book something later in the day based on how far I had driven.
To get around the fires, I drove north on Hwy 1 to Monterey, Hwy 68 to Salinas then the 101 south. Easy enough.
Along the way, I read about something curious on the campus of Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. After ditching my car in the oddly empty student housing garage, I walked up to the unmarked turnoff for Poly Canyon Road.
Go around the gate and walk about a mile up the dirt road to a stone arch...
That's where you'll find remnants of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design's annual competition, known as Design Village. Every year, the students are given a theme. Then they're tasked with building a structure their entire team can live in a full weekend. Most of the structures are torn down afterwards, but some remain. Just watch your step, it's in a large field with horses. You can read more about the competition, and see some of the previous structures here.
Some of the remains from previous years...
When I told my friend Patty I was probably coming through this way, she said I just HAD to stop in and check out the Madonna Inn. There was plenty of outdoor seating, so I had lunch before walking inside to look around a bit. Click the link and you can see some of their themed guest rooms.
Sadly, I didn't find out about the Mo-tel Inn until I was already home, or I would have stopped by. In 1925, the automobile was firmly entrenching itself into American society. Developer Arthur Heineman saw it and had an idea. Just off Hwy 101 he build the Milestone Mo-Tel Inn, short for motor hotel. It was the first of its kind.
The motel shut its doors in the early '90s and remained empty. You can read an article about its closing from the Seattle Time here. Three years ago, a new group of developers bought the property with the hopes of building a fifty-five room hotel on the site, incorporating parts of the original structure.
I worked my way down to Pismo Beach and picked up Hwy 1 again. The route signs weren't always clearly marked, but every town I drove through was right there on the map. I should have gotten out and walked around Guadalupe. It seemed like every sign in town was in spanish, even the outdoor advertising.
Finally, back to the Pacific Ocean. From a random pullout.
I had a good cell signal, so I looked at the map and booked a room in the Super 8 in Goleta. It was nothing special, but clean and I didn't hear my neighbors. In lieu of their usual continental breakfast, they had bags with a small bottled water, a protein bar, juice box and fruit cup to go.
Just down a path by the northernmost public beach access point, you'll find a historical marker, all but hidden.
In 1942, this area belonged to the Richfield Oil Company. On the night of February 23rd, a Japanese submarine surfaced offshore and fired twenty-five shells into the oil field, before slipping away.
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