Our first ever road trip together was on the Highway 1 along the California coast. And that's when I realized how beautiful California is! It was the memorial day weekend and we had planned to go to Yellowstone National park and had made all the bookings. But the weather didn't cooperate and we realized there were snow showers the time we visit. That wasn't good news at all for us. So we ended up canceling our yellowstone trip and re planned a road trip. I planned everything in a day and we were all set to go and explore the coastal California! The Highway 1 stretches from Mexico to Legget in North California. Our trip was from San Diego->Solvang->Monterey->Big Sur->San Simeon->Santa Barbara->Los Angeles->San Diego.
May 27, 8.00 pm - We started off in our rental car from San diego and drove non stop to Buellton where we stayed at the Pea Soup Andersons inn. The stretch from LA to Santa Barbara is called Highway 101 and lies inland. Nestled between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the coastal curve, Buellton is an easy access to wineries and Solvang which is a beautiful Danish community and is just 3 miles away. It was a 4 hour drive from SD to Buellton. We reached Buellton and crashed at 12 am.
Day 1, May 28 (Solvang, Buellton,Goleta):
After a good night sleep, We munched on danish pastries at the complimentary breakfast and drove to Solvang just 5 minutes away. To see Solvang properly is to walk it. You can shop, eat, drink and when you're tired, relax and take a break in the Solvang park. This small town is very picturesque with danish inspired buildings and windmills everywhere. Alisal road and Copenhagen drive are places to shop antiques, collectibles and souvenirs. If you're a chocolate lover, make a visit to Ingeborg's danish chocolates. They have many different chocolates to choose from…Dark, milk, white, all nuts and dry fruits, anything and everything! We dined at the Solvang restaurant and was pretty good. The trip is not complete without tasting the traditional aebleskiver which I totally fell in love with! After lunch we visited Ostrich land, a fun place to feed ostriches and was a delight to watch them. After some shopping, we headed to the Circle bar B ranch in Goleta for horseback riding, a short drive from Solvang. My first ever experience on a horseback was very thrilling. It was a 1.5 hour ride through a canyon, waterfall, creeks and then a beautiful view of the ocean from the top. We returned to Solvang at 7 pm and headed to the Nojoqui falls county park which is on Alisal road about 15 minute drive from Solvang. A quick 10 minute hike to the waterfall, it was just the two of us and had a great time. We drove back to Pea Soup Anderson's restaurant for dinner and had their famous split pea soup. After a fun filled day, we headed to King City for our night stay.
An hour and 15 minutes drive took us to Monterey Bay. Had bread and nutella for breakfast while driving. The route was very scenic with fruit farms everywhere. We took a walk on the fisherman's wharf and the pier was beautiful. After meeting a friend, we headed to the Cannery Row. It's a historic place with lots of restaurants and shops. We had lunch at Bubba Gump shrimp Co which has been my favorite for some time now. Shopped for souvenirs and drove towards the "17 mile drive". The 17 mile drive is a scenic road through the pacific coastline. There is a toll fee but is completely worth it for the breathtaking views. The 17 mile drive connects to Highway 1 and we proceeded to Big Sur. Big Sur was the most dramatic stretch of coastline on the route. It has some 90 miles of road where u drive on the cliffs and can see the ocean down. It is a beauty to just keep watching it all day. We stopped at the Bixby bridge also called the rainbow bridge has a high arch and a good place to stop and take pictures. We went to explore the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State park to see the beauty of a waterfall plunging directly in to the pacific ocean. We walked the high trail that leads to the view of the McWay waterfalls and the blue ocean. You can stop at the Nepenthe restaurant for food which is high terraced and has some outrageous views of the ocean while you dine. Of all our stops, Big Sur was the hardest to leave behind. We really wished we stayed the night there, but since we planned it in the last minute, there were no bookings available. But we would definitely come back and explore it :) On our way back to San Simeon, we realized that the Highway 1 was closed to proceed towards LA due to land slides. After some research, we found out that Nacimiento-Fergusson Road will take us to Highway 1 and started to drive. But I should say it was dark already and the roads were winding and slopy and the drive of 24 miles was very scary. We safely reached San Simeon after a risky thrilling drive and crashed.
Day 3, May30 (Hearst Castle, Santa Barbara, Artesia):
We stayed at the San simeon lodge overlooking the beach and was an awesome location for a night's stay if you are visiting the Hearst castle. We biked around along the coast and had a scrumptious breakfast at the San Simeon restaurant and started off to the castle. We had made online bookings for the tour and it was 10 minutes drive to the castle. It's a historic national mansion and is worth a visit. We went for the tour 1 which was an overview of the castle. My favorite were the Neptune pool and the indoor swimming pool. The IMax movie of the making of the castle was too good as well. After spending 3 hours in the castle, we started driving back home which was six hours drive. We stopped at this city, San Luis Obispo for lunch, had mediterranean food, filled gas and moved on. We took a short break in Santa Barbara, the pier is a good place to visit. We drove to Artesia for dinner and dined at The India restaurant. Little India in Artesia is a place we always stop by for shopping and dining Indian food. After a hearty Indian dinner, we drove back to San Diego in 2 hours. What a trip it was! I should say I fell in love with road trips and more to come :)
May 27, 8.00 pm - We started off in our rental car from San diego and drove non stop to Buellton where we stayed at the Pea Soup Andersons inn. The stretch from LA to Santa Barbara is called Highway 101 and lies inland. Nestled between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the coastal curve, Buellton is an easy access to wineries and Solvang which is a beautiful Danish community and is just 3 miles away. It was a 4 hour drive from SD to Buellton. We reached Buellton and crashed at 12 am.
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| Danish inspired buildings in Solvang |
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| The famous windmills |
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| Aebleskiver at the Solvang restaurant |
After a good night sleep, We munched on danish pastries at the complimentary breakfast and drove to Solvang just 5 minutes away. To see Solvang properly is to walk it. You can shop, eat, drink and when you're tired, relax and take a break in the Solvang park. This small town is very picturesque with danish inspired buildings and windmills everywhere. Alisal road and Copenhagen drive are places to shop antiques, collectibles and souvenirs. If you're a chocolate lover, make a visit to Ingeborg's danish chocolates. They have many different chocolates to choose from…Dark, milk, white, all nuts and dry fruits, anything and everything! We dined at the Solvang restaurant and was pretty good. The trip is not complete without tasting the traditional aebleskiver which I totally fell in love with! After lunch we visited Ostrich land, a fun place to feed ostriches and was a delight to watch them. After some shopping, we headed to the Circle bar B ranch in Goleta for horseback riding, a short drive from Solvang. My first ever experience on a horseback was very thrilling. It was a 1.5 hour ride through a canyon, waterfall, creeks and then a beautiful view of the ocean from the top. We returned to Solvang at 7 pm and headed to the Nojoqui falls county park which is on Alisal road about 15 minute drive from Solvang. A quick 10 minute hike to the waterfall, it was just the two of us and had a great time. We drove back to Pea Soup Anderson's restaurant for dinner and had their famous split pea soup. After a fun filled day, we headed to King City for our night stay.
Note: Lake Cachuma is a place to stop for camping. We saved it for another trip.
Day 2, May 29 (Monterey, Big Sur):  |
| Monterey canning company at the Cannery Row |
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| Big Sur beaches |
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| The historic Bixby bridge |
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| McWay waterfalls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park |
An hour and 15 minutes drive took us to Monterey Bay. Had bread and nutella for breakfast while driving. The route was very scenic with fruit farms everywhere. We took a walk on the fisherman's wharf and the pier was beautiful. After meeting a friend, we headed to the Cannery Row. It's a historic place with lots of restaurants and shops. We had lunch at Bubba Gump shrimp Co which has been my favorite for some time now. Shopped for souvenirs and drove towards the "17 mile drive". The 17 mile drive is a scenic road through the pacific coastline. There is a toll fee but is completely worth it for the breathtaking views. The 17 mile drive connects to Highway 1 and we proceeded to Big Sur. Big Sur was the most dramatic stretch of coastline on the route. It has some 90 miles of road where u drive on the cliffs and can see the ocean down. It is a beauty to just keep watching it all day. We stopped at the Bixby bridge also called the rainbow bridge has a high arch and a good place to stop and take pictures. We went to explore the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State park to see the beauty of a waterfall plunging directly in to the pacific ocean. We walked the high trail that leads to the view of the McWay waterfalls and the blue ocean. You can stop at the Nepenthe restaurant for food which is high terraced and has some outrageous views of the ocean while you dine. Of all our stops, Big Sur was the hardest to leave behind. We really wished we stayed the night there, but since we planned it in the last minute, there were no bookings available. But we would definitely come back and explore it :) On our way back to San Simeon, we realized that the Highway 1 was closed to proceed towards LA due to land slides. After some research, we found out that Nacimiento-Fergusson Road will take us to Highway 1 and started to drive. But I should say it was dark already and the roads were winding and slopy and the drive of 24 miles was very scary. We safely reached San Simeon after a risky thrilling drive and crashed.
 |
| The Neptune pool at the Hearst castle |
 |
| The twin towers of the Hearst castle |
We stayed at the San simeon lodge overlooking the beach and was an awesome location for a night's stay if you are visiting the Hearst castle. We biked around along the coast and had a scrumptious breakfast at the San Simeon restaurant and started off to the castle. We had made online bookings for the tour and it was 10 minutes drive to the castle. It's a historic national mansion and is worth a visit. We went for the tour 1 which was an overview of the castle. My favorite were the Neptune pool and the indoor swimming pool. The IMax movie of the making of the castle was too good as well. After spending 3 hours in the castle, we started driving back home which was six hours drive. We stopped at this city, San Luis Obispo for lunch, had mediterranean food, filled gas and moved on. We took a short break in Santa Barbara, the pier is a good place to visit. We drove to Artesia for dinner and dined at The India restaurant. Little India in Artesia is a place we always stop by for shopping and dining Indian food. After a hearty Indian dinner, we drove back to San Diego in 2 hours. What a trip it was! I should say I fell in love with road trips and more to come :)
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