kathleen

We decided to spend a week in the Central Coast area. Who knew there would be so much to do! We’d been to different areas of California in the past, but never to this region. We easily filled the week and would have been thrilled if we’d had a few more days, one more for wine and one to further explore the Big Sur area.

We spent our time tasting wines, taking two Hearst castle tours and walking around the grounds on our day at the castle, observing the activities of the elephant seals from the boardwalk overlooking the seals’ beach rookeries near San Simeon (twice, was mesmerizing), walking awhile in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park in Big Sur area, and visiting four of the area’s historic Spanish Missions, each different. Our hotels all worked fine—Wine Valley Inn in Solvang, Morgan in San Simeon, Castillo Inn in Santa Barbara, and the last night at an LAX hotel. Each had positives and negatives, typical of most moderately priced hotels. No major preference among them.

We booked a day long wine tour with a company that picked us up at our hotel in Solvang. We loved taking this tour! It’s a great way to taste wines and gain additional knowledge of wines in this particular wine valley. While in Santa Barbara we visited a few tasting rooms on the Urban Wine trail, also a fun experience. The courthouse there was simply stunning and the view from the tower, breathtaking. We wanted to visit the Karpeles Manuscript Museum, simply because we have one here in Charleston, SC, and wanted to know how they compared. Both buildings were impressive and the collections stimulating. And though the building in Santa Barbara was in far better condition, it was not as remarkable as the once grand structure (and once a church) here in Charleston.

Some of our favorite meals on the trip were: the Wine Cask in Santa Barbara, Robin’s in Cambria, and Toma’s near our hotel in Santa Barbara. And the pies we had at Linn’s Bakery in Cambria—absolutely the best ever! We took two pieces as take-out back to our hotel at San Simeon. Then, on the drive back toward Santa Barbara, we stopped to get two more for a snack break along the way. So very good! We really appreciated all the organizational help we received from everyone here. Thank you!

starrs

Sounds like a fabulous trip! I felt the same way. I had zipped up and down the coast for years, but never really stopped. A few years ago a former co-worker (from West Hollywood) wanted to meet up and I mostly blindly picked Cambria on the map. We had SUCH a good time - relaxing by the ocean, visiting the wineries, eating in Paso Robles and enjoyed Linn's bakery too.

What wine tour company did you use? When I go back I'd love to do that (i.e. not drive).

kathleen

It was a great trip. We'd go there again in a heartbeat and next time visit the Paso Robles wine region, which we didn't get to on this trip. We needed one more day for wines!

The tour company was called Grapeline Wine Tours, and I see on their website that they have a tour for Paso Robles wines! So when you do go back, here's your chance to try this company.

MichelleY

Glad you had such a nice trip! I just read in the San Luis Obispo news that Linn's makes most of the preserves and syrups for Knott's Berry Farm. We are headed that way in a few weeks. Love it down there!

Daniel_Williams

Kathleen,

Great trip report to a part of California I've never been to! Sounds like an interesting stretch of the state. You're giving me ideas for future trips!

Best wishes, Daniel

kathleen

Michelle, I didn't know that about Linn's and the preserves, but they are so good it doesn't surprise me about the link to Knott's Berry Farm. It was the Olallieberry pies that we had. So very, very good. We got slices of the pie, not the individual prepackaged single pies. They told us it was a choice whether one wanted more filling or more crust. We chose the filling.

Daniel, It really is a very interesting section of California. And, the passenger train rolls right into Santa Barbara, near enough to hotels to make that part easy too. I don't know about trains further north to other cities. Additionally, one can schedule wine tours from Santa Barbara into the wine valley too. You are all set to visit!

emalloy

kathleen, sounds like a great trip. We loved the elephant seals too. I'd love to go when the fathers were there, maybe when they were seeking mates.

starrs

If you go to Cambria, be sure to try Linn's famous Olallieberry pie!
http://www.linnsfruitbin.com/2-ready...ze-fruit-pies/

kathleen

emalloy, It was just last week, and there were lots of males around, and lots of babies (if that's what the very young seals are called). Some males appeared to be calling out for females, so maybe mating was still in progress. Could be that everything was happening. On the second day of our viewing, it was much warmer and there was much more activity. Really fascinating to watch!

Starrs, Yes, those Olallieberry pies were delicious. Good advice for everyone visiting!

sf7307

Besides Cambria, San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles, what other "charming/quaint" towns are worth visiting south of Highway 46 and as far south as LA?

clarkgriswold

Los Olivos/ Santa Ynez...........Solvang/Buellton and Los Alamos have some good stops for foodies.....Ojai has some good dining and an Olive Oil farm that's a fun stop. We usually stop in Avila Beach/ Shell Beach and downtown Arroyo Grande, too.

sanderskn

Great trip report. The Central Coast is my favorite part of California.