Pacific Coast Highway

It's on days like today I hanker for my favourite stretch of road. The Interstate 405 in California connects San Fernando and San Diego. It's particularly evocative in Summer - I first experienced it when visiting an old school friend of mine now living in San Diego: flying into LAX , jumping in a hire car and driving to within spitting distance of the Mexican Border beats your average UK commute hands down. Keeping the Pacific Ocean on your right hand side, you can't get lost. You pass Long Beach, Fountain Valley, Orange County in a heat haze. With the sun beating down, the air-con on full tilt and the radio dial locked onto Smooth Jazz 94.7, all's well with the world. Marc Antione wrote PCH in honour of it, but it's this tune that became the soundtrack to our first vacation over there and still makes the hairs on my neck stand to attention.

Marc Antoine: Sunland