We recently finished up our six-week trip to CA where we competed with good success in two National Tours, a Pro Solo and a regional event. But some of the best times we had were in-between competitions as we took a slow crawl up the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) seeing the sights and stretching the legs of our dual-purpose STS2 Miata.
When home in Texas, our usual morning routine is to take the Miata out for a Starbucks along a nice twisty canyon road. Its only a couple mile drive, but it gets the juices flowing nicely (as does the caffeine). The Monday after our win at the El Toro Pro Solo found us at a campground right on the PCH where the Santa Monica Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. In fact, we were right at the intersection of Mulholland Highway and the PCH. Perfect! Up early and feeling the need for a caffeine fix, the top came down on the Miata and off we went in search of coffee. Mulholland through the national forest is like a 90 minute autocross. Driving briskly, but carefully, we had a blast through turn after turn after turn after turn. Coming to the end of the paved portion, we found a Starbucks as we eyed up the morning parking lot on the nearby LA freeway. After a nice conversation with local Spec miata racer who spied our Miata at the coffee shop, we were back off on the return trip. It was one of those glorious drives that is what sports cars are all about. 2+ hours of twisty-turny in a great-handling car with little traffic. It just doesn’t get much better than this.
Further up the coast we dropped the car a couple more times to drive along twisty sections of the PCH around San Simeon and Big Sur. Jaw-dropping scenery and perfect convertible weather made the days memorable as we decompressed from the race weekends. Through it all, our Miata performed flawlessly.
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