Lompoc, The Big Sur and Carmel

I left out a fun place to visit before Cambria. That is Lompoc. Lompoc is a farming community where they grow all the flower seeds for Walmart and Home Depot. There are miles of flower field and it is very scenic. 

The town is not very interesting architecturally but there are dozens of large murals painted on the sides of buildings and it very interesting to walk around the town looking at the murals. 

There are two routes north from Cambia. One is driving along the coast on Pacific Coast Highway through the Big Sur . The other is heading east to San Luis Obispo or Paso Robles and north on the highway 101. The coastal road is scenic but windy and slow. The inland route is less interesting. We take the coastal route. But here is a little information about heading inland through The Central Coast. This area is about half way between LA and San Francisco. 

Paso Robles is a wine growing area and is a great place to visit wineries. There are also hot springs and olive oil farms,  We haven't really explored the area yet. 

San Luis Obispo is a nice small city and we sometimes stop here for lunch. We like Nola restaurant which has good food outside on a deck along a creek.

The Big Sur is a scenic, sparsely populated 90 mile coastal drive. There are stunning views with coastal views (though the fog) on one side and high mountains on the other. The relative isolation and natural beauty attracted artists and writers such as Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Hunter S. Thompson and Richard Brautigan.  

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The first stop heading north is probably Ragged Point, a viewpoint, and photo op with lots of rest rooms. 

There are several parks to visit along the Big Sur. My favorite is 
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (not to be confused with Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park). Julia Pfeiffer Burns was a local rancher. The park features a nice walk to an 80 foot waterfall. The walk is just long enough to stretch your legs during the drive, but not so long that you get too tired. It is an interesting and convenient photo op. you can park outside the park along thePacific Coast Highway to avoid the parking fee but the fee is good for all California parks for 24 hours so you might use the fee elsewhere. 

Henry Miller Memorial Library isn't really a library. It is a bookstore/alternative art museum in an  informal setting in the redwoods. There are lots of books about the beat generation, the culture of the Big Sur and of course, Henry Miller. They also have a music venue for evening and special events but I have never been to any. It's a interesting place to visit if you are old enough to have any associations with the Beat Generation or have read any books written by Miller or his contemporaries. 

At the north end of The Big Sur are some rather nice resorts. We like The Highland Inn and have stayed there several times in the past. not this time though, as the prices were in the $500 a night range in June. I see there are more moderate today though and it very charming. 

Just before you reach Carmel (three miles) is Point Lobos State Nature Reserve. We like the park but since is so close to Carmel I prefer to check in and deposit my luggage before we visit the park. As you can imagine on a three month trip, we have a fair amount of luggage with us. Anyway, the park has nice wooded trails through the woods and along the coast to watch sea lions, harbor seals and sea otters.

Carmel -By-The Sea is not one of my favorite places, however most people like it a lot. It is undeniably cute, charming, and has great food. It is a little too self-consciously quaint, WASPy and picture perfect for my taste. I prefer the funkiness of Ventura or the sophistication of Santa Barbara (which we bypassed this time up the coast in favor of Ventura). On the other hand walking the streets of Carmel is undeniably charming and entertaining.  There are numerous art galleries with nice quality art, interesting shops. There are also about 30 back alleys full of shops and restaurants that connect the street that we discovered on this trip. There is a nice local free map showing the locations of these alleys and we spent half a day discovering these cutsey wootsey shops and walkways. Carmel is also very dog friendly. This dog has his own shop. 

 There are lots of wine tasting rooms in town and very good restaurants. We have not been adventurous here; we found a good Italian one, Cantinetta Luca and have been back to it 6 times. But I suspect there are dozens of other places just as good here. 

On this trip we did not take Seventeen Mile Drive as we were heading in another direction but I should mention it anyway. It is a scenic toll road ($10) through a beautiful stretch of coastline passing posh residential areas and prestigious golf courses. There are beautiful trees and winding roads and lots of houses you can't afford. It takes you to Monterey. 

Just north of Carmel is the town of Monterey. There are some good attraction here such as the world famous aquarium, and the Monterrey Jazz Festival. We went to the aquarium once and it was excellent. But the town where we stay in Oregon, Newport, is home to another of the world's great aquariums so we don't stop in Monterey.