It’s time to write down the details of our car trip south, before I forgot!

The children rented a car at 10 am, picked us up, and off we went in a search of… a breakfast! Somewhere approximately in the San Jose area they’ve spotted Marie Callender billboard. After only 2 circles they found the place. It’s a chain, and a good one! I loved the menu which had not only oversized dinner dishes, but also smaller lunches. Lots of salads and everything else to choose! We all loved it! Only coffee tasted watery. Must be the free refills

Steinbeck center is surprisingly good! Not just his museum, which is very interesting, with artifacts and movies, but also the exhibit hall had surprised us with Goya drawings! And an agricultural hall of the area. And a dark room with 2 movies about Steinbeck run non-stop. Expensive, yes - $10.95, but well worth it! And park in the street for free, find a spot.

The house he was born in is 2 blocks away, he must’ve had wealthy parents to have such a large house! There is no access unless you have lunch which we’d missed. This can be easily skipped. Walk around a little, you won’t be back to Salinas without a reason

This was the first time I was participating in “winging it”. How high or low were our stakes in getting decent budget hotel rooms on a July Friday night in San Luis Obispo? We’d just passed the Apple Farm, and I saw a row of hotels-motels, so we took one side of the street, the kids… oh, well, at least they’d checked out the restaurant and asked for the room price With my husband, we were on a serious mission. No prisoners. Motel 6 front desk female didn’t look trustworthy. Neither did the 2 customers who walked in to ask for clean sheets. Even $99 couldn’t keep me there. Best Western was $159, OUCH!

And then I found it! Travelodge looked so clean, the lady behind the counter so pleasant. But I didn’t like $129. She gave me a “manager’s discount” knocking it down to $109. I didn’t even leave telling my hubby to get the kids if he still wants them The room was clean, looked remodeled, modest but with a fridge, coffeemaker, microwave, hairdryer, safe. A real find!

The only thing we didn’t enjoy was the breakfast. Nowhere to sit, we took it all back to the room, OJ, coffee, packaged pastries. None of the usual doughnuts. But for this price, who’d complain!

But… back to Friday. We needed a place to have dinner. Drove up to some park, and in an alley there was… Thai Palace? Loved the food! And the price was low. Walked around a bit, kids spent too long in a book shop. Ever wondered where people live before they grow old enough for Palm Springs? In San Luis Obispo! What a nice place! Really loved it.

Off to Cambria for personal reasons. Daughter-in-law’s relative got a property there. Had a brunch in a place called Redwood something or other. Mostly egg dishes, very long but limited menu. The place was packed later, people waiting outside for a table when we left. Waiting for what, eggs with toast and potatoes? So unhealthy! I dared to ask to substitute my potato for a fruit bowl ($1.50 additional, and it’s on their menu) and got a “soup”, cut fruit in liquid like a cup was ½ full with water. Eeewww… But the Havarty eggs were exceptional. Overall – overpriced, overrated.

Then we got to the Hearst Castle visitor center, and our son spoiled everyone’s mood. The children couldn’t decide whether they wanted to go on the actual tour ($24 per person!) so we went to the free exhibit, and our son’s comment was: don’t you think all this looks kitchy? Or maybe I’ve misspelled the word, he meant garish and absolutely tasteless. Like piling up all the riches to show off, and it was too much for the designated area. We all agreed with him.

The movie about the castle is free with a tour, otherwise $8 per person. Absolute rip-off! If staying in San Luis Obispo, tune to channel 22 your hotel’s TV to watch it for free! What I liked is the museum gift shop. There are 2 of them, the regular and the museum one. You may want to buy something from the museum gift shop! Warning to men: don’t leave your wives (or credit cards) there unattended!

Just north of the Hearst on HWY 1 there is an elephant seal colony. Do stop there to watch them! So much fun! Just keep in mind – the road up to Monterey will be very windy, and there is no way to get off it, or so I was told And we hit the fog so didn’t really see much while driving

Somehow survived the road, ended up in Monterey by the aquarium. Time to eat again. By the way, the line to the aquarium was 2 blocks long. Can’t these people make a phone reservation instead of putting their little ones through this long wait? There is a red building of China Garden behind the aquarium, we loved it! Great choice of dishes, fast service, nice atmosphere, very clean. Highly recommended.

Walked in the historic area, most places were closed already, missed the Maritime museum, but got to see a movie there. The weather was just right! In 2 days we were in places from 106 outside, just stopped to get out to feel it, back in to the safety of the air conditioned car, to freezing wind by the ocean watching the seals.

And that’s it, folks. Till next time…

A getaway for a long weekend is always fun Faina, thanks for sharing your family's trip. I am sorry you didn't get to do the Hearst Tour. In spite of so many trips back and forth to S CA I have never done it either. My husband always said "oh we will next time". I assume he wasn't interested?
Take care and have a good week.

Faina! You road warrior, you!

The Steinbeck Center sounds like a neat place...and a good deal! $-)

Thanks

-Bill

Great report Faina. I've stayed in that Travelodge before, and liked it. Basic and clean. We visited SLO a lot for a few years, as my daughter went to college there at Cal Poly.

Great report, Faina!

That reminds me, I still need to post our SF/Monterey report from May. Perhaps now that the wedding hoopla is over...

Lee Ann

Faina,

I stayed at the same Travelodge 40 years ago while in college on my first visit to SLO. A group of us went to visit friends during the Poly Royale Weekend in the spring which used to be hosted by the college. I think the room price was under $12 and we had four of us in the room. Your report brought smiles to my face.

Faina: Thanks for the report, what a pleasant car trip with the grown children!

Forgot to add - I checked the news for fires in that area, it seemed all clear, but on the way down we got into a gridlock, somewhere before Salinas - a lane was closed, and the firefighters were putting out a fire by the road. Few yards down in that bumper-to-bumper "traffic" there was a car completely burned down. That was scary!

Hey F2
Welcome back! I'm glad you had a lovely weekend. Talk about a 'fire and "ice" weekend', huh?

Hearst Castle may be "garish" but I think it's worthwhile to visit. We've been there a few times and will be visiting again next week. The architecture and grounds are quite interesting.

As a graduate of a design school I echo orangetravelcat's comment about Hearst Castle. While some of the architecture and art may be wildly eclectic, ornate and even ostentatious, I would hardly call it garish. It is recognized as one of the best examples of California colonial revival styles. Julia Morgan, the architect, was well-regarded and a pioneer in the field as a woman.

Hearst Castle is reflective of an era and provides great insight into the impact of William Randolph Hearst on U.S and California politics and culture in the early 20th century. To dismiss Hearst Castle betrays a lack of understanding and comprehension of the context and depth the experience offers.

I too am a fan of Hearst Castle for all the reasons mentioned. I haven't been there in years - I think it is time for a trip