Take US 101 north of Santa Barbara along the coast maybe as much as 20 miles. Where 101 turns inland is called Gaviota Pass (Gaviota is sea gull in Spanish).
Go inland a very few miles, maybe 3, to where California Highway 1 separates and is marked as the road to Lompoc (pronounced by locals as lom-poke). Lompoc is famous in recent years for its minimum security Federal prison where white collar criminals are sent. If you reach Lompoc you've gone too far on Hwy 1.
Once you've left 101 and are headed northwest on Hwy 1 everything looks like old California - of the pre WW II era. After a few miles on Hwy 1 take a left turn on well-marked Jalama Road (Spanish pronounciation Ha-la-ma).
Take Jalama Rd. and slowly drive the several miles to Jalama Beach County Park. What you see along Jalama Rd. will look like pre-WW I California. A few small farms, cattle, and a whole lot of untouched coastal California rolling hills, being used as grazing land with cattle dotted among the coastal oaks and chapparal.
If you are a beach person, pay your day use fee and go into the park. There is a store and burger place there, rest rooms, and a nice beach. For pretty pictures see the other DrC's blog at cruztalking.blogspot.com.
If sand in your shorts isn't a thrill, turn around and slowly drive back to Hwy 1. You will have seen several miles of almost entirely untouched California coastal hills, much of it looking the way Richard Henry Dana saw it in the 1830s (except for the road you're driving on).
This drive will convince you why Ronald Reagan bought a ranch in this region. If you still have time and energy, continue northwest on Hwy 1 to Hwy 246, turn right, and drive a dozen or so miles to Solvang, a faux Danish community with architectural charm, many bakeries, and a really nice street fair on Wednesday afternoons (we recommend the apple pies sold there by the Solvang Pie Co.)
If it is supper time, the traditional thing to do here is go back on 246 to Buellton and eat split pea soup at Andersons, a California landmark. And the El Rancho market in Santa Ynez is worth a visit, very up-scale and you can easily assemble a meal from their deli.
