CA Central Coast Report
 

I must say reentry into the "real world" has been tough. My husband I had 4 days and 3 nights away from the kids and what a great way to spend our time. As we had never been to the area, we wanted to see as much as possible. The theme seemed to be, explore a little and move on to the next site.

We started by flying very early out of DEN to LAX on Wednesday, 6:00 am flight. Airport was very quiet at 4:30 am! We were on separate flights to take advantage of FF miles. Husband arrived in LAX first and picked up the car. What a surprise when he picked me up in a white convertible! Top down, Santa Barbara here we come.

Traffic wasn't too bad and after getting off on the wrong exit in SB, buying a map (the myth about men asking for directions seemed to hold true on this trip), back tracking, we made it to the wharf by 12:00 for lunch. We walked out on the pier and had lunch at SB Shellfish Company. Had the special, lobster tacos and a few cold beers from the local brewery, ahhhh- vacation!

Headed out hwy 154 to the Santa Ynez Valley and some wine tasting. Stopped at Gainey and Fess Parker based on recommendations from friends and websites. Loved Gainey, pourer was friendly and knowledgeable. Tasted some good chardonnays. Fess Parker, pourer was young girl with attitude, wines weren’t too impressive. We aren’t wine aficionados by any means, but Fess Parker didn’t impress. Took a quick walk around Los Olivios then headed out for San Luis Obispo. We arrived around 5:30. We had reservations at the Holiday Inn Express on Monterey St. Using points the night was free and it was one of the nicer Holiday Inn’s we’ve seen. We walked across the street to what we were told was a newer good restaurant, 1865. It was a pretty slow night and we weren’t too hungry so we took a seat in the bar. They were having a happy hour, free chips, salsa and pizza. We had some wine, happy hour munchies and split an order of yummy crab cakes. The atmosphere was warm and unique (kind of reminded me of an old mine shaft décor). The waiter said the some engineering students from Cal Poly helped design the place. They also had a gentleman playing acoustic guitar. As we were leaving we noticed the outdoor fire pit and seating. Looked cozy.

Next morning, much to my husbands protesting we headed out to Montana de Oro State Park to run on some of the trails. Very beautiful scenery from the bluffs and some interesting coves to explore. Back to the room, packed up and took a walk around downtown SLO. Checked out the Mission and some of the stores. Took off for Morro Bay.

I have to say this was one of my least favorite stops, but we did have a good lunch at Giovanni's Fish Market. Bought a few gifts for the kids at the Shell station. Then headed out to Paso Robles. Maybe if would have had more time to explore we would have found the charm that others see.

Paso Robles wine country was one of our favorite stops. I think the lack of traffic on a beautiful fall Thursday contributed to this fact. We decided to stay on the west 46 because we were spending the night in Cambria and wanted to get there before sunset. First stop was Norman vineyards. We thought this was Greg Norman for some reason, but no relation. We’d had a Greg Norman petite sryah while doing some trip planning and loved it. Wine was OK. Next on to Tablas Creek, walked into tasting but left as it was a little crowded. Headed east to Wild Coyote. Great location and cute tasting room. Only reds here, which we loved. Fun owner/pourer, good conversation. Even though the tasting room dog bit my husband (no blood!) we bought a syrah to have that night on our deck at Moonstone Beach. I really liked this stop and the adobe style B&Bs looked cute. Last stop was Peachy Canyon. They had a nice tasting room with some good gifts and wine accessories. Purchased thank you gifts of Paso olive oil and wine for the babysitters (Grandma and Grandpa).

More later!

My favorite part of the trip thanks to tips from Kimamon, Ellen_griswold, Lauricelli and I’m sure other fodorites was Moonstone Beach at Cambria. We had the second floor ocean front with balcony room at Moonstone Landing Inn. It was well worth the $. Pulled in just in time to catch the sunset with a glass of Wild Coyote Syrah, watch the surfers and just listened to the ocean waves. Eventually headed next door to the Sea Chest for dinner. What a cute place. We had a table by the window. I had really yummy shrimp scampi and husband had the swordfish I think. We went for walk on the boardwalk after dinner. Slept with the balcony door cracked so we could be lulled to sleep by the ocean. Got up a little early the next morning, wrapped up in a blanket, drank coffee and watched the surfers. Once again, talked husband into a run on the boardwalk. Checked out the other properties on the beach and decided ours was the best!

Really wanted to stay in Cambria forever but Big Sur was in our future. We went into the east village of Cambria on the way out of town, stopped for coffee at Lily’s (very good) and hit a few shops. Wished it was later in the day but just couldn’t do a tasting at Fermentations at 10:00 am. Still bought some Tobin James Sparkling wine and picked up a cute moonstone necklace next door. I think the store had the name Moonstone in the title – it was a very unique store with lots to browse through. Burton Street?

Headed north on Hwy 1 to the gift shop at Hearst Castle. Tour was not a priority to us but needed to get a souvenir for MIL. Next stop was viewing the elephant seals on the beach. What an amazing site! A nice docent/volunteer stopped to answer some questions. I guess this was the time of year for the young adult and juvenile males to be on the beach. Very fun to watch these guys on the beach. The stop off is between the Hearst Castle turn off and the light house on Hwy 1.

Continued up Hwy one and should have listened to advice to get gas in Cambria. Paid $4.00 per gallon at Ragged Point. Very nice little area at Ragged Point though. Stopped at Limekiln to hike to the falls, very cool – thanks easytraveler for your tips. Also, did the Julie Pfeiffer Falls hike. Amazing stretch of Highway 1. We stopped at Nepenthe for lunch. The west deck was really hot due to unseasonable warm weather, so we sat outside with a view to the south. Had the goat cheese appetizer, pretty good. Would have been nice to stay and watch the sunset and sit by the fire pit but we had reservations in Monterey for the night.

Monterey…. What can I say, but not a big fan. After the peacefulness of Cambria and Big Sur, we ran into Friday night “rush hour traffic” going through Carmel. Map quest didn’t give us the best directions to the hotel, but we found the Holiday Inn Express on Wave street pretty easily (another free night). Got in around dusk and made a new travel rule - No arriving in a new place in the dark! It makes it hard to get your bearings and a feel for the town/city. Our lack of enthusiasm for Monterey probably had to do with the fact that we were pretty tired, and cranky that we had to go home the next day. But we wanted to make the most of our last night. By this time I was tired of consulting my notes, so we just walked down to Cannery Row. Yuck! Too touristy even for us tourist. Should have listened to our instincts and headed to Pacific Grove and PassionFish or Fishwife. I was in the mood for low key but good seafood, but didn’t want to navigate in the dark anymore. Stopped to have a glass of wine and regroup. Someone recommended Charthouse for best seafood within walking distance. Ended up next door at the Plaza because the hostess at the Charthouse said that Schooners has outdoor seating. This was exactly my speed, sat outside had some drinks, food and watched the giant orange moon rise over the bay.

The darn seals woke me up early the next morning! We had until about 11:00 before we need to leave to SFO and we wanted to make the most of it. Checked out and headed down to Fisherman’s Warf to see these noisey seals. We had the place to ourselves that early in the morning and it was a treat to check out the seals. We walked down some steps on one of the piers that were for “employees only”. My husband came face to face with one of the seals and his friend sunning themselves on the lower deck. He lifted up his head and “talked” to us for a few minutes. Got a great picture and then left them in peace.

Took off for the 17 mile drive. Last minute husband decided he must see Pebble Beach. I’m glad we did part of this drive. Drove the coast side, saw some beautiful homes, seals in the water and stopped at Pebble Beach. It was Saturday and they were having an event so got to see some semi famous pros teeing off. Left the 17 mile loop right at the Carmel Gate. We parked the car on Ocean Ave., grabbed a coffee and headed down to the beach. Beautiful!! Another place I would have like to see more of. Went for walk on the beach , stuck my feet in the ocean (COLD) and jumped back in the car to head for SFO.

Wrap up to follow.

jd denver

Looking forward to your wrap up. Thanks for sharing.

Sandy

Having just returned from a weekend in SLO/Morro Bay and South of that, I, too am enjoying your report and am looking forward to the wrap-up.

Glad you enjoyed your trip! Thanks for the report. ***kim*** ((f))

BTW jd denver, we spent a couple of days in Southern CA this week. It was over 80 degrees in DL, when we went to Huntington Beach and I did that water-wading thing, the ocean was not cold at all and many were swimming without wet suits and tanning in swimsuits. It was like August in November! ***kim*** ((f))

Thanks for all the positive replies. My first attempt at a trip report!

Since we returned several people have asked me how we decided to take this trip. One reason, I have to admit, was the movie Sideways. We love to drink wine and thought the Santa Ynez area would be great to explore. Another reason was the Benni Harper mystery series. These are a series of fun reads by Earlene Fowler with the main character living in a fictional town based on SLO.

Living in Colorado, I always think we are so fortunate to have an amazing state to live in and explore. Well,CA with the added bonus of the ocean is pretty special too!

What did we love?
Cambria and Moonstone Beach
Paso Robles
Carmel Beach
Weather - Kim - we kept hearing Aug in Nov
Convertible!

Will definitely be back! Maybe the Paso Zin festival in May????

Cheers

Too bad you guys didn't stop to eat dinner at the Hitchin Post in Buellton, one of the restaurants in the movie Sideways. We went there end of October and were very impressed by the food and ambiance, and the wine, of course. Down the street is Solvang, but there is just so much to see in that area, could spend a few days.

The Hitchin post is where Mia in the movie, worked. It is a wonderful, cozy place that offers some of the best wine and grilled meats. Great fun to sit at the bar and meet new friends. Maybe next time.

Yes, after reading my report it seemed we didn't do any one area justice. My husband isn't much of a stay in one place and relax traveler. I on the other hand could sit by the beach with a good book and relax. I'm glad we were able to see all that we did this trip, next time we know where to put down roots.

Hi jd_denver! I'm just now seeing your report! Sounds like a fabulous trip but i'm more like your DH - i love going from place to place vs. beachin it for a week, which is what my dh prefers.

So glad you enjoyed giovannis, the holiday inn on wave and moonstone landing! Would love to spend a long weekend at moonstone landing and then a longer weekend at the Desert Pearl in Springdale, UT, another place you'll have to visit :)

Thanks for the report; now i want to plan another trip west!

thanks! Nice trip report -- am in complete agreement w/ you re. Monterey...