jet519

I am starting to plan my annual trip to visit my best friend in Folsom, CA in March of 2005. We always plan a 3-4 day getaway to an area to see the sights. Last year we went to Sonoma for a day then drove to Carmel, Big Sur for a couple more days.
This year we want to drive down to the San Luis Obispo area. We definitely plan to go to Hearst Castle and visit lots of wineries. Otherwise, we like to shop, eat, light hiking, beach walks, and general sightseeing.
So far, I think we may leave early on Sun. morning and try to arrive in Paso Robles by afternoon where we will spend the rest of the day visiting wineries and checking out the town. The next morning I plan to have reservations for the Experience tour at Hearst Castle as early as possible and then spend the rest of the day working our way south to San Luis Obispo.
I will be happy to take any advice I can get but I have a couple of specific questions.

Would it be better to stay in downtown Paso Robles the first night so we are close to what we are going to be doing that day? Any hotel or other lodging suggestions there? Also, restaurant suggestions would be great. All of the inns along Moonstone Beach Drive in Cambria sound very appealing but we are not set on anything. Since we will still be able to explore the coast the next day all day, we wouldn't have to stay someplace where there is an ocean few necessarily. I would be very interested in restaurant recs for lunch that have outdoor, oceanview dining for the day we go to Hearst Castle. Last year we had a long lunch at the restaurant at Ventana Inn and it was absolute heaven so someplace like that would be wonderful.

Also, which state parks in the area are most spectacular and diverse? There are so many that I don't know where to start. If we can find one that has ocean views, beach, sea life, tidepooling, some wooded area, that would be it! We loved Julia Pfeiffer Burns and Point Lobos last year.

Which towns are the best to just see the sights, shop, etc.? How much time should we allow in each one to get a nice taste? We may have a guest house to stay in at San Luis Obispo for the other two nights so that is why we will be headed that direction and spend the third day and night in that area.

This is enough to get started. I appreciate any help.

jet519

ttt

jet519

I noticed lots of good suggestions of wineries to visit in the Santa Barbara area. I am still hoping for some replies to my post and any winery suggestions in the San Luis area as well. I would love to go to Santa Barbara but I think that may be too much for this trip.
Can anyone help??

kimamom

HI there! You may want to check out the Pelican Suites in Cambria. They just sent me a promotional e-mail offering a partial ocean view suite, a bottle of wine AND dinner at the Cambria Pines Lodge all for $169 mid-week. I would go for that!

In Cambria, for oceanview dining, we like the Moonstone Bar & Grill, it has recently been remodeled and is very pretty inside. We also really like the Sow's EAr Cafe for a romantic dinner.

In Paso, my favorite wineries are: Meridian, EOS, Martin & Weyrich (very nice reds), Peachy Canyon (taste the Old Schoolhouse red) and Mastantantu (sp). Have fun! ***kim***

jet519

Thanks! I will check this out!

kimamom

BTW, jet519 Pelican Suites is supposedly the best lodging on Moonstone Beach. I haven't stayed there, we really like the quaintness of the Cypress Cove Inn which has gorgeous oceanviews from their rooms. ***kim***

curmudgeon

The distances aren't really that great (30-45 min) between Paso, SLO, and Cambria, so you don't really need to change lodging unless you want to. SLO definitely has more life in the evenings than the others.

I think at that time the elephant seals will be on the beach just north of San Simeon; worth asking about when you are there. Montana de Oro park is a favorite along this stretch of coast, though you are out of the redwoods zone this far south.

je

There's a good seafood restaurant on Moonstone Beach, the Sea Chest, but they don't take reservations as I remember. It's always been very popular when we've gone.

sequess

If you decide to spend the first night in Paso the place closest to downtown is the Paso Robles Inn. From there you can walk across the street to the town square, shops and restaurants. Some good restaurants are Bistro Laurent, Buona Tavola, Paris and Panolivo. There is a Hampton Inn not too far from downtown and I've heard the Adelaide Inn is okay for the budget-minded. There are several inns in the wine country including: Inn Paradiso, Just Inn (at the Justin Winery) and Summerwood Inn. The majority of the Paso wineries are located either in the Hwy 46 East area or 46 West. On the eastside I like: Chumeia, Clautiere, Rio Seco, Eberle and Tobin James but there are lots more fine ones as well. On the west side my favorites include: Doce Robles, Wild Coyote, Villicana and Tablas Creek. For more information check www.pasowine.com

The drive on Hwy 46 W from Paso to Cambria to get to Hearst Castle is a beautiful drive. After your tour if you want to be by the ocean the only place is Moonstone Bar and Grill(there's also the Hamlet but the food is not good). If you don't require an ocean view both Robin's and Bistro Sole in the village of Cambria are nice.

The city of San Luis Obispo has a very charming downtown with some good shops, galleries and restaurants. You can find more information at www.visitslo.com. Also there are some excellent wineries near SLO. These include Tolosa, Edna Valley, Domaine Alfred and Claiborne and Churchill. Information on these can be obtained at www.slowine.com
Enjoy your stay!

kimamom

The Sea Chest is very casual, but has wonderful, fresh seafood. They don't take credit cards, either. When we went a line formed at the door around 5:15, the doors open promptly at 5:30 for dinner.

Sometimes someone will bring a bottle of wine to pass around while they wait. It's a kick. Very good desserts, also. I loved the lemon pie with raspberry sauce. ***kim***

jet519

These are wonderful suggestions. I have checked out some of these websites so it is good to hear the opinions and advice. It sounds like it will be so much fun! Some tough decisions to make too!

kimamom

seguess, we may be going to Paso to pick up some wine on Sat. Which do you prefer, Buona Tavola or Bistro Laurent for a nice dinner? I've never been to downtown Paso, but have visited their wine country many times. ***kim***

jet519

kimamon, I am so envious that you can just run over to Paso to pick up some wine!!!!! And I have to wait until March to cram all the wineries into 2 or 3 days! Let me know where you go to eat in Paso and how you like it, maybe we will go there in March!

kimamom

2 or 3 days should be plenty of time to enjoy the area, we'll only have a few hours, LOL! I don't even think we'll get a full day on Sat. to play, but I'm hoping for an afternoon and a little bit of evening fun!

Tobin James and Tablas Creek are two I want to visit and Eberle if time allows. Still haven't decided on which place to eat, leaning towards Buona Tavola just because it's Zagat & Wine Spectator recognized. I wonder if we'll need a reservation if we get there when it opens? ***kim***

kimamom

www.btslo.com is the website, view the menus and let me know what you think of this place, jet519! ***kim***