5 towns you must visit on the northern California Coast
This sounds cheesy, but damn, California is freaking amazing.
The older I get, the more I really grow to not only appreciate more, but visit more of it’s beauty! I live in north county San Diego where it’s all beach town. And although I’m growing to love the coast more, but at heart (and maybe it’s just because I crave new scenery), I love the desert and mountains.
I love how we can jet up to the mountains in less than 3 hours, go to the desert in 2, and literally feel like you’re in an entirely different state. Nope, just California. Full of every single freakin scenery and vibe you would love and crave, we’ve got it all. I’m so grateful to have these spots at my finger tips. Yet, there are so many amazing spots I have not explored. Including a lot of our coast.
So, I was really excited when we decided to very spontaneously do a drive up our beautiful state. We were so grateful that my fiancé Jay’s aunt & uncle graciously offered for us to stay at thier house located on the channel islands of Oxnard. They were going to be traveling, and said we could social distance there while they were away. We jumped at the opportunity since Jay is able to work through video right now anywhere in California. I was still not working, so we figured - why the heck not? We were super safe, and got the heck out of north county. I barely went on my phone for the entire week, as we enjoyed the beautiful home on the water and our time together. We rode bikes, tanned & I even finished an entire book. It was just the reset that I needed after a lot of life stresses that have been happening.
So, after Jay had finished all of his weekly sessions, we decided to be super spur-of-the-moment and take a little road trip on both days of his weekend.
Saturday after his appointment, we went to Santa Barbara and Solvang. The second day, on that Sunday, we drove from Oxnard all the way up to Northern Monterey. We stopped in Santa Barbara (never been), San Luis Obisbo (never been), Morro Bay (never been), Solvang (never been), Carmel (never been), and several other little pit stops. We joked that we drove all the way up 3/4 of Cali basically to have snacks… because a lot wasn’t open yet due to the pandemic. But, we were safe about our travels and hey- we were itching to get out of town!
But, it was much more than that.
It was a car ride full of laughs, some miles on our new car,
some amazing food, some great songs and podcasts…
and two days worth of amazing memories where we both (for the most part) UNPLUGGED!
No one, except our families knew where we went, what we were doing, or where we were headed.
And, you know what?
IT WAS RAD. (said in full California verbiage, lol.)
So, since I didn’t post every picture per-usual. Here they are, must later than taken… but none the less, a beautiful memory roll of our journey...
Picnic lunch in Santa Barbara over-looking the pier.
We got sandwiches from an adorable little deli called Mutropulos Fine Foods.
Good food & some fresh air was what the Dr. ordered.
Okay, not really- but just hypothetically. We stayed in the back of our car & watched some cute dogs walk by & definitely a ton of people watching. Not sure if it was the time we visited, but it almost reminded me of the vibes of Venice beach.
The Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery.
Okay, I didn’t even know this spot existed. It was early on a Sunday morning and we drove through the foggy coast and found this little gem where you can see elephant seals for miles and miles! There is a full-on viewing area on the coast about 90 miles south of Monterey, and just 5 miles north of Hearst Castle. I could have stood and watched them all day, they were so cool!
Solvang.
A cute little Danish-inspired town, located in the Santa Ynez Valley… which is technically in Santa Barbara county. And, well, we felt it was super necessary and well deserved after the many miles of driving to get an ice cream cone. Boy, I didn’t skimp or worry about caloric intake- which you can clearly see by reading the flavor of ice cream I chose, LOL.
Big Sur.
Big Sur has been almost #1 on my list of California travel destinations. It did not disappoint. I was seriously taken aback from the views. How the mountains meet the sea was seriously insanely gorgeous. I didn’t even take enough pics because I was just soaking it all in. The pics that I did manage to take… don’t even do the views justice, IMO. Like, wow… I want to go back and hike more and see more of what this beautiful place has to offer when we have more time to explore.
Monterey
Since most everything was closed in Big Sur, like the hiking trails we really wanted to visit… we decided to keep driving and make our way into Montery to find some lunch. We found a little local market that had amazing sandwiches togo, and we went to the harbor to eat them while social distancing. I really want to go back because not only was the drive amazingly beautiful, but the little town looked like it had some incredible shops.
San Luis Obispo- Madonna Inn.
Okay so contrary to the title of this blog…this obvi isn’t really a town, but a destination. The madonna inn is a cute little stop in SLO. From colorful rooms, cute dining, to gawdy decor… this place has seriously been on my bucket list for SO long! I want to come back and dine and stay, but we were just passing through. Even so, the all pink theme is nothing short of my ideal design. If you know me, you know. THIS PLACE IS SO MUCH YES! Now, it’s just time to convince jay that this is going to be our future house remodel theme. Wish me luck, LOL. JK.
There are so many amazing places I want to stop by on our next CA coastal drive, but I just had to share the beauty we saw along our way. Cheers to California- I am forever in awe of you.