It seems our 2009 BMW 750i is the natural choice for road trips. It lays waste to mile after highway-mile effortlessly. This week's installment of the Edmunds Family Vacation takes us to Crystal Cove State Park south of Newport Beach, California. The Park is has a strange and complex history (Native-American habitat, Rancho San Joaquin, the Irvine Co., the burgeoning film industry, Japanese-American farmers, a small, eclectic colony of surfers who built most of what remains, and finally the State of California ownership who refurbished 21 of the original 46 structures), but the public may now reserve one of the cottages--if you've got the determination of a person trying to get a U2 concert ticket with a high-speed internet connection--for about between $65-$350 per night depending on the cabin and the season.
It seems strange that the State owns this ramshackle collection of surf cottages, but the unspoiled views and walks on the beach are there for the public to enjoy; just like they did in their heyday of the '40s and '50s.
You'll notice there's not single photo of the car because there's no vehicle traffic allowed in the Park and you must park on the East side of Pacific Coast Highway and hoof it to your cabin. They do offer a bellman service for your luggage, however.
What I will say about the car is that I'll echo the entire staff's sentiment that the marrying of awkward throttle mapping and busy transmission calibration do not make for a seamless experience in Friday bumper-to-bumper traffic--where I believe I achieved the worst fuel economy to date with an agonizing 7.7 mpg from Fullerton to Crystal Cove.
Click below to get a rough idea of what the cabins look like prior to and just after the renovations. Bummer the sun didn't burn through until we were leaving the next day.
The next installment will be the Paso Robles wine country and a day tour of J. Lohr winery.
Chris Walton, Chief Road Test Editor @ 16,150 miles
wrinklebump says:
10:32 AM, 09/21/09
Oceans suck. Great Lakes FTW. You can get a cabin on scenic Lake Huron for a song and drink infinite PBRs for the true low-cost beach experience
mercedesfan says:
11:01 AM, 09/21/09
^yes, but along southern-California's beaches you can actually get in the water without a wetsuit.
Oh, and that is some truly atrocious gas mileage. I think the worst I have ever gotten is 10.8mpg sitting in a parking-lot on the 880 for two hours. And I thought that was inexcusable.
7driver says:
03:26 PM, 09/21/09
^^ "...the 880"? The Nimitz freeway is in Northern California but adding "the" to a freeway number is pretty much an LA thing.
mercedesfan says:
05:39 PM, 09/21/09
@7driver-
It is hardly an LA thing. I have been pretty much everywhere in California and I don't know anyone who doesn't refer to freeways with a "the" anymore. Many people also do so in Arizona and Florida. Southern-Californians are hardly as unique as they think.