I had seen pictures of the Big Sur coastline before and thought that was the big draw to the area.  To be sure, it is, but what was fantastically unexpected was that Highway 1 takes you along sheer winding cliffs one minute and then through deep redwood forest the next.  Little Mom & Pop gas stations, dark wood cabin style inns, and general stores show up every 1/2 mile.  It feels slightly Route 66 - a highway passing through a classic tourist town, the way touristing used to be.