California Road Trip

As you probably known Franklin and I love to travel. You may not know that we are also former guidebook writers. This is a series of suggestions for a California coastal road trip from Phoenix through Palm Springs and up the coast along Highway 1 and 101 to the Oregon border.  Some friends asked us to write up our suggestions for a California road trip and used it as a basis for their own road trip. I thought I'd post it here in case others wanted to the information as well. 

Driving up the coast is every bit as entertaining as a road trip in Europe and while it may not be cheaper, (or much cheaper) there are no plane flights to deal with. Or for the most part, crowds. 

We brought along one general California guidebook and that was useful. But there is very good tourist literature available en route which helped. And of course a computer is a BIG help. 

We brought two small coolers, one with those freezer ice things, one not. I put our favorite cereals in sandwich baggies in case our hotels didn’t have breakfast all I had to do was pull out two baggies the night before and locate some milk. And it gave me a nice place to keep wine at the end of the trip when we stopped at a few wineries. It is hot out so I didn’t want the wine to get too hot. 

It is possible to drive to the coast in one day from Phoenix but a lot easier if you break the trip up in Palm Springs, an easy- but boring- 4 1/2 hours from Phoenix. But either way your first stop is Quartzite, Arizona, the last gas stop before the California border. Gas is more expensive in California. You exit where you see the McDonalds arches and you have a choice of the McDonalds or Burger King rest rooms and adjoining gas station. I prefer the Burger King because there is a picnic table and covered wagon in the back which are kind of scenic. Probably the only scenic thing in Quartzite which is one ugly place.

Palm Springs has lots of hotels and lots of good restaurants. On Thursday nights they also close down the main street to cars for a market which is rather charming. We have been many times, mostly in the summer when it starts at 6 pm. One can eat some street food but we go to an Italian restaurant instead, then cruise the market. 

Two restaurants that we like are Kalura and Zini Cafe Mediterrano, a casual, European-style, sidewalk café. Both are located  a few doors from each other on the main street, downtown. Zini Cafe has a good happy hour menu. 

There are many many hotels and motels in Palm Springs. We have stayed in four, all good with nice pools. Walking distance from the main street is the Comfort Inn. They may offer breakfast, I forget. Last time we stayed about half a mile up the road at the Seven Springs Inn. It was an older motel refurbished in very gay (in all senses of the world) colors and op art pictures. Two pools, no breakfast. But hey, in the summer it was $57 for a nice room or $63 for a suite, I had our own cereal and bought a small container of milk at the CVS drug store (I could not find any other food store!). The cereal was a backup for the whole trip but most places we stayed served breakfast. There is another older refurbished hotel almost next door, the Movie Colony. They have a higher rating on TripAdvisor and do serve breakfast but Seven Springs is cuter. 

The other place we have stayed in an elegant resort, the Marriott Renaissance. This is a real resort with a few acres of grounds and Marriott pricing. 

By the way, Palm Springs has fabulous thrift shops with nice stuff. The two I go to are Revival and Angel, both on the same main streets. Palm Springs seems to have two kinds of residents, old folks, and gay folks, but either way, they have some nice stuff. Some of my nice wine glasses come from here. 

If you’re looking for an excursion, there is a tramway to the top of the big mountain. We have done it in the past but on our road trip we are eager to get to the coast. Another fun thing to do is walk down the main street (Palm Canyon Drive) and look at the stars on the sidewalk from celebrity of the past. 
And make sure to see the 26 foot high statue "Forever Marilyn" in the park along the street. She will be in Palm Springs until June 2013. 

On Thursday evenings they close down the main street and have a street market with arts and rafts and food stalls.. I really like the market- it is charming to walk down 3 or 4 blocks in the evening and look at people as well as arts and crafts. 

We tried to avoid LA and LA traffic so we timed it to not be in rush hour. Continue on I-10 to to Redlands, then jump on the 210 to Pasadena, then take the Ventura Freeway (101) all the way to Ventura. But it may be called the 134before it becomes the 101- check mapquest or your GPS. 

The two north south roads along the coast are the 101, which is not exactly along the coast, but not far, and route 1 along the coast. We took the 101 to Ventura and spent the night in Ventura. 

We like Ventura. The downtown has a real main street with cute little shops and no chain stores. Mostly restaurants and thrift shops. Despite what I said above about Palm Springs I am not much of a shopper so I can’t tell you about any stores here or anywhere else. But there are plenty of restaurants. Last time we stated in the Crown Plaza hotel right on the beach- great location. But this time we stayed in a bed and breakfast - The Victorian Rose. It was very very cute- a converted church complete with stained glass done in a Victorian theme. Great breakfasts and tea/cocktail treats. Neither of these hotels were cheap but both were great. 

Ventura has a lovely beach and a boardwalk. Walking along the beach and the main street has kept us entertained for two years in a row. However, Ventura is the gateway to the Channel Islands and you can take a boat trip there. Some day we will. 

Ventura is about an hour- or less, I forget, south of Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is fabulous but more expensive. Last time we stayed in Ventura and did a day trip to Santa Barbara. This time we spent three nights in Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is a very classy town with lovely shops, fabulous restaurants, and is the start of the wine country. They have a nice little art museum, a botanical garden, a mission, and on Sundays they have a nice art show along the water. On Sundays there is also a surfing museum which sounds quirky but we didn’t get there. A street above the water there are murals along the deserted street that change occasionally. They happened to be painting them while we were there. 

We stayed well and dined well here. We statyed at the Santa Barbara Inn across the street from the beach (there are no hotels directly on the beach, at least none I saw). Expensive but very well run with great service, great views, but pay parking. I think that is common in Santa Barbara. Nevertheless we did park across the street one or two days for free. This is the view from the hotel to the ocean. 

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It was our anniversary and we ate in some of the best places in town like Downeys, Janes, Olio Pizzaria.  If you like good Italian food both Olio and Olio Pizzaria are great.  They are run by the same  Italian owners and have Italian cooks. Their food is excellent. The pizza at the pizzaria was imaginative and excellent. A romantic reasonably priced French restaurant  is Le Petit Valentine. 

Santa Barbara women dress well and have their own style of dressing. Bring some nicer clothes for walking around and dining here. And, like everywhere along the coast, it is cooler in the evenings so you may need a sweater. That is why you came here, isn’t it? 

We love walking along the beach and long the pier. We also like the Botanical Garden and have been twice. The museum is free on Sunday and is a nice excursion before or after seeing the art show. There is also a farmer’s market on Tuesday. All those nice California things- fresh almonds, walnuts, fruit, olives, olive oils, cheeses. 

There are two charming places to see about 1/2 an hour outside Santa Barbara. Lompoc to the west and Solvang to the north. Lompoc is where they grow most of the seeds for Walmart and Home Depot and there are miles of fields filled with flowers. Lompoc is a pretty quiet place but the main streets are filed with murals- over 30 of them. Stop in the chamber of Commerce and get a walking tour map. Look at the murals and look at the flowers. A nice way to spend an hour or two. 

 Solvang is a Danish settled small town with Danish architecture. Walk around and maybe get a Danish pastry. 

From Santa Barbara we drove to Pismo Beach- this was a mistake but we only stayed one night. It was not charming and the weather was grey but there are lots of hotels and a nice beach. And we enjoyed happy hour at Steamers was big bowls of clams for $4 each. More charming would be San Luis Obispo but I am not sure how many hotels they have. Anyway, they have good food. We ate lunch in the outdoors patio at Novo on the main street. Very nice. 

We were on our way to Cambria, a charming small seaside town south of San Simeon, the Hearst Castle. Most of the hotels are on one street along the ocean, along with a few restaurants. there is a boardwalk along the water. We loved it. Quiet, peaceful, beautiful. If you are going to San Simeon this is a great place to stay. We stayed at two sister properties- The Pelican Inn and the Fog Catcher. The restaurants were expensive and good but not great. Madeline's, in town was OK but a little pretentious- good but not great food. The seafood restaurants along the beach are expensive for what they are. But last trip we discovered Robin's in town which was delicious and well priced.

Not only is Cambria charming but there are charming things to do nearby. San Simeon, of course, and a few miles north of San Simeon there is a beach FULL of elephant seals. This MAY have been the highlight of our trip. We LOVED watching them and visited every day. Check them out on http://www.elephantseal.org/livecam.htm

These are two male elephant seals entertaining themselves. 

There are several other quirky sites in Cambria. The Nit Wit Ridge, a strange house rather like the Mystery Castle in South Phoenix. I don’t know if one can visit, I just drove by and said, wow, then moved on. And the Presbyterian church on the other side of town has a nice labyrinth, if you like to walk them like I do. 

A few words about San Simeon. Over the summer it is probably necessary to buy tickets in advance. Although we were advised over the phone to do that, we didn’t, we just walked in, waited half and hour, and took our tour. We did the general tour but there are three to choose from. But for a first time visit, the general one is very interesting. 

I would have done a second tour but they are $25 each. 

The drive from Cambria to Carmel takes most of the day but it is downright gorgeous. There are a few highly priced lunch stops but this is a perfect day for a picnic. You are driving the Big Sur. We stopped at a number of viewpoints, parks, and the Henry Miller Library which was a little flash from the past. And the excellent Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park where we walked some trails and admited the ocean views inciding a 80 foot waterfall that falls into the ocean.

We don't have a good suggestion for staying in Napa/Sonoma. but do recommend making reservations in advance. On summer weekends make them WAY in advance. We have been unable to book anything nice at the last minute. 

Napa and Sonoma are wine country. Franklin does not drink but graciously lets me stop at one or two wineries along the way. The best is Coppola in Geyserville, just off the 101. I strongly recommend stopping there. It is like a theme park with tasting rooms, great tours, an excellent restaurant, and a glamorous swimming pool. And Coppola makes many many wines, not just the line sold in the supermarkets. Unfortunately folks in Arizona can't join the club but  I bought several cases of their fabulous local wines. 

We stopped in Ft. Bragg to visit a friend. The Cliff House is right on the ocean and has nice big rooms, crummy breakfasts, but you hear a loud foghorn in the distance. Mendocino and Ft. Bragg are a good distance to stop. so I'll try to find somewhere else to stay next time. 

North of Mendocino County is The Avenue of the Giants, a 31 miles stretch of gorgeous redwoods with lots of pullouts for walks. You can easily spend a day or two on those 31 miles. 

The best place to stay in Northern California is the little town of Trinidad, a very nice vacation destination. We have stayed in two bed and breakfasts there, The Turtle Rocks and the Lost Whale and they were both great. Expensive but great. 

North of Trinidad are several wonderfully scenic parks, Patrick Point State Park and Redwoods National Park. This is similar to Avenue of the Giants with fabulous ancient redwoods. There is a scenic byway in this section alongside route 101 called Newton B. Drury which has pullouts for nice walks. I really think this area is worth at least 2 days. We would have stayed 3 if we could have gotten hotel space. 

Where to go from Trinidad depends on your next destination.  You're getting near the top of California and it may be time to turn around. In my opinion north of Redwoods National Park is not as pretty as south of it. On the other hand, Oregon is not far away. But that will be the subject of another travel blog- Tango in Portland, Oregon.