Our contract in California Landed us in the beautiful central coast! We worked in San Luis Obispo and lived in Paso Robles a perfect central location between Los Angeles and San Francisco. We are not all about the big cities but anywhere we visit we at least have to check out the iconic parts of the city! One of our first stops was Los Angeles and we were there for two days just enough time to see what we wanted to see. The first thing we did was the Mount Hollywood Trail that took you up to the infamous Hollywood sign. Used to you could go all the way to the sign but now its blocked off and they have security cameras for anyone who tries to walk off the trail up to the sign. This trail also gives you beautiful views of L.A.
Afterwards we were so close to downtown Hollywood we went to see the “Walk of Fame” and saw all the Hollywood stars. That evening we headed to our hotel then we took an uber to Venice Beach. We caught it just in time for sunset and it was beautiful. Sadly there are a lot of homeless people and tents set up along this area so don’t be shocked or disappointed if you visit. Also watch peak traffic times because you do not want to get stuck in work traffic in L.A.
From Venice Beach we walked to Santa Monica Pier. There are lots of fair games and the iconic big ferris wheel that is on the pier. We grabbed a bite to eat while we were there then went to a social bar nearby and had a few drinks before taking an uber back to our hotel.
The next morning we headed towards Beverly Hills. We parked downtown and walked around along Rodeo Drive. We were definitely out of our comfort zone but now I know what Vivian felt like in Pretty Woman. LOL. Afterwards we drove down Cannon Drive which is known to have a lot of houses owned by famous people and for the tall palm trees lining the street. As you leave L.A. drive up and along Highway 1. We didn’t stop in Santa Barbara but we have been told it’s beautiful if you have some extra time.
On up the coast you have some of the cutest beach towns that we visited often because they were within 30 minutes of where we lived. Pismo Beach, Avila Beach, Morro Bay, Cayucos, and Cambria. Each little town has its own charm from amazing restaurants to cute little shops and a lot of these beaches are dog friendly which our sweet pup loved! We worked in San Luis Obispo and it was a nice college town with activities going on all the time. We lived in Paso Robles and it was known as a mini Napa. With Napa having over 600 vineyards Paso has 300 and growing. They offer wine buses that can take you to an assortment of vineyards of your choosing. Lots of weekend fun in such a small area.
Just below Cambria is Montana de Oro State Park. This is a gorgeous state park with tons of hiking and biking. There is one hike in particular called the Bluff Trail and this trail goes along the coast with endless views of the Pacific and its beautiful cliffs.
As you leave Cambria on Highway 1, you will come to San Simeon where the famous Hearst Castle is. This is a beautiful tour if you have a chance to see it. We did the night tour and there were people dressed up as a reenactment of how it was in the castle back in that time period. Past Hearst Castle, you will come to an elephant seal view point, which is another awesome thing to see. If you hit it just right you will see tons of elephant seals sun bathing on the beach.
As you keep driving North on Highway 1, you will come into Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Just an FYI, there are frequent mud slides in this area so check the highway status before driving very far into it. When we went there was a road closure due to a mudslide in the south part of Big Sur so we had to take an alternate route to get back to the coast line. Our first stop in Big Sur was Limekiln State Park. We did a short hike there and got to see some of our first Redwood trees. Next we stopped and did the short hike to the viewing of McWay Falls, a beautiful waterfall cascading into the ocean. Our last stop in Big Sur was at the Bixby Bridge. Of course we pulled off several times along Highway 1 just to soak up the beautiful cliff views.
On a separate occasion we spent 2 days in the Monterey area and Carmel-by-the-sea. This is very close to and just north of Big Sur so I recommend stopping by to see these cute little towns. We stayed at the Carmel Lodge in Carmel-by-the-sea, which was a dog friendly lodge so that was a plus for us. Our first day we headed over to Monterey and did the aquarium there, which is a nice activity if you have kids. Afterwards we spent the afternoon roaming the adorable streets of Carmel. This town cannot get any cuter. They have several stores for shopping, wine tasting, and many places to eat. That night we ate at Demetra Café, a Mediterranean restaurant, and we highly recommend this place. The food was amazing and they had live music which gave it such a great atmosphere. The next morning we had breakfast at Katy’s Place, which was another great choice for breakfast food and highly recommended. After breakfast, we headed up to the famous Pebble Beach Golf Club and did a little tour of the place then ended our trip with the scenic 17 mile drive stopping in many spots to take in all the sights.
Finally the end to our Highway 1 experience is San Francisco! We spent two full days here and hit all the major things, but you can make your trip as long as you want. Our first stop in San Francisco was the iconic tiled steps. It was beautiful and so unique and the views from up top were gorgeous!
Then we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and just an FYI you will be charged when you cross back over the bridge to go into San Francisco to downtown and they will send it to you in the mail. So once you’re North of the Golden Gate Bridge there are several viewpoints along Conzelman Road. Our favorite viewpoint was from Battery Spencer and to me the best photo is at sunset.
We tried to go to the Point Bonita Lighthouse but it was closed that day so be sure to check there website before going they base there hours off of the weather and how rough the ocean is. On our way to Muir woods ,we stopped in Sausalito to waste some extra time. This was a cute little town along the bay. There were plenty of places to eat and shop here. Muir Woods National Monument is an area known for there beautiful Redwood trees. Also for this activity you have to make a reservation online in advance not necessarily for the Muir woods but for parking because there are limited spaces. There is also an option to pay for a bus charter to take you there if you didn’t want to drive. If you have the U.S. National Park Pass this will cover your entrance fee except parking.
The next day we set off to downtown San Francisco and did lots of walking. We parked our car in a general parking area near Pier 39 and just payed a flat rate for the day because we knew we would be in this area most of the day. We had previously bought tickets ahead of time to tour Alcatraz. Our tickets were for 11 A.M. so we boarded our ferry and headed over to Alcatraz. Once you arrive they provide you with headphones that guide you through the prison and tell you about the history of Alcatraz. I would say give yourself about 3 hours at this place including the ferry rides. Once your done with the tour you get in line to take the ferry back to the city and this ferry runs about every 15-30 minutes.
Once we returned, we were right beside Pier 39 so we went there to view all the sea lions. Then we walked down to Fisherman’s Wharf and found us a food truck to eat at for lunch called The Codmother. To this day this was probably the best fish and chips we have ever had. Of course after our lunch we got dessert from The Baked Bear which was right around the corner from the food truck. So we stopped and got ice cream stuffed between two delicious cookies!
Now that we had completely stuffed our bellies it was time to walk some of it off so we headed towards Lombard Street known as the most curviest street and in this walk we found out just how hilly San Francisco was! We arrived at the top of Lombard street and watched cars drive down and skate boarders ride down the street.
Before leaving, we walked down to view the street from the bottom. Finally, you can’t visit San Francisco and not ride the trolley so we caught a trolley down from Lombard Street and rode it for a few blocks heading towards our car. Last but not least, once we got our car on our way out of the city heading towards our hotel we stopped at the famous viewing of The Painted Ladies, beautiful Victorian-style homes, that were the back drop in the opening credits of “Full House”. It was a great end to our short trip to San Francisco!
