The Second Half of Our Trip…
The following day we picked up a beautiful, space grey mustang to fulfil one of my life-long bucket list adventures of driving the highway 1 coastal route. Granted, we missed a big chunk of the highway because of a landslide but the trip was incredible none the less, and now we have an excuse to do it all over again!
In case you’ve been thinking of hiring a mustang too and are wondering about space, we managed to fit two large suitcases, one cabin case, one large backpack, a large handbag and some extras in this car so don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s a convertible.
Our 1st pit stop on our first leg of the tour was beautiful Santa Barbara and although we didn’t see a lot of it, the vibes here were similar to LA but quieter, cleaner and more peaceful. We’d have loved to spend a night or two here so onto our next Californian adventure list it goes!
Pit stop no.2 was to the quirky little town of Solvang: the cutest little Danish village you ever did see. I am SO glad that we made the drive here as it was honestly one of my favourite places of the whole trip.
Solvang is steeped in history: being founded in 1911 and described as “The Danish Capital of America”, the gorgeous little town is full of traditional Danish architecture, bakeries, shops and restaurants. The population as of 2020 was just shy of 6500 people and it’s clear that many of these families have lived here for a long time. Debs and I love small town vibes and if you do to, please add this to your road trip list! You won’t be disappointed.
We finished off our first day on the road in Pismo Beach and after a long week decided to take a quick look around, order some room service and make full use of our room which came complete with our own private hot tub!
*Find out everywhere we stayed in California here.
Our second day on the road took us through Morro Bay which was our only real stop this day as we had to drive inland for the duration of this route. Our other stops on this route were supposed to end up with Big Sur before we hit Monterrey but unfortunately, part of highway 1 has been closed for a number of months, meaning we’d have to double back on ourselves twice, which we just didn’t have time for.
Just a reminder: If you’re planning a road trip, make sure you check your route for closures well in advance. I’d known about this closure for months and had kept an eye out for updates to ensure I knew exactly where we’d be going.
Morro Bay was another gorgeous seaside town on the Californian coast, and as with many of the places we’d stopped, Morro Bay has made it back onto our list for next time around. If you’re planning a trip, make sure to stop here and head to the rock for gorgeous views and a great choice of little restaurants and shops. Perfect road trip pit stop.
After two days on the road and over 300 miles on the clock, we finally hit Monterrey, one of my most anticipated stops on the trip. I don’t know why but I’ve always loved the idea of Monterrey. I knew there would be sea lions which was a draw for me, and I’ve always adored seaside towns known for their fresh seafood and quaint shops.
We dropped our stuff off at our hotel (which by the way had a great view of the ocean) and picked up an Uber to the famous Old Fishermans Wharf. I think this was possibly my favourite, most memorable evening of the entire trip.
The wharf was incredibly peaceful even though there were tonnes of people around. The water was calm, the sky was a beautiful mix of grey with pink and blue light peeking from behind the clouds and our soundtrack of the evening was the barks of sealions chatting with other sealions from across the bay.
We strolled down the pathway of the coast before heading back and taking a snoop around the small shops on the pier before finally heading into our dinner spot which I had booked about a month before our trip. Why so early, you ask? Our chosen restaurant: The Old Fishermans Grotto, is one of the most popular in Monterrey and I knew that by booking in advance I’d be more likely to get a good table with a great view and I was right.
Our final day on the road saw us heading to Napa Valley via Santa Cruz but as it was mid-week it was pretty empty and very quiet. We ended up heading more into the town and found a cute little restaurant for brunch and getting back on the road towards half-moon bay. We skipped through the town and headed straight for the beach. Even though it was insanely windy and fairly cold as such, it was still something that I wanted to do so Debs (hater of the wind and the cold) reluctantly agreed.
I just want to take a moment here to say that as someone who is very into spiritual practices and feels more complete when in a natural environment, taking time out to ground yourself during a city break is a must. Taking my shoes off and sinking my bare feet into the sand after driving around 400 miles was a godsend. Granted, we didn’t stop long but it was just what I needed after being surrounded by concrete and glass for a week in LA.
That evening we arrived in Napa Valley and my Californian Dream had never been more alive. We checked into our hotel which was just a 15 minute walk along the river to downtown napa, grabbed an early dinner and had a much needed early night as we knew the next couple of days were going to be full on…
For our first full day in Napa Valley, I had gone ahead and pre-booked a quirky wine tour with Laces and Limo’s. There were so many vineyards to choose from that it was quite overwhelming. I knew by booking this particular tour, the guides would choose and book everything for us based on time of year, party size etc so decided that this would be the best decision for us.
I just want to say that we are SO glad that we chose this company. Laces and Limo’s offer a unique way of exploring Napa in their very own electric Tuk Tuk’s. Our lovely guide Lisa took us on all the back roads driving through actual vines, stopping to take in the scenery and teaching us all about the wine making process. She had planned tastings for us at Cuvaison and Ru Vango, organised a private lunch in the middle of a vineyard and showed us all of the best parts of Napa Valley. At our request, Lisa finished off our day by dropping us in downtown Napa where we had cocktails and dinner, before walking (stumbling) back to our riverside hotel for another early night, as we knew we had a 5am wake up call for the next day…
At 5am, Debs and I awoke groggy but excited for the day ahead. For those of you who know Debs, you’ll know she’s extremely well-travelled. From a young age, she spent years taking solo trips and doing crazy things like skydiving in Australia, driving in the sand dunes of --- and even teaching skiing in the French Alps. But in all her years, there was still something she’d wanted to tick off of her own bucket list: Hot Air Ballooning.
We arrived at the meeting point just in time for coffees and muffins whilst the crew got everyone signed in. It was clear that many of us were not morning people but the atmosphere will still full of excitement and at around 6:30am we set off in busses to the launch site, which was just a short drive from where our meeting point in Yontville.
You know when people go somewhere incredible and they say “The pictures don’t do it justice”? Well this was without a doubt one of those moments. I’ve seen many a picture and video of a hot air balloon being inflated but nothing quite prepares you for the sheer magnitude of these balloons. It was amazing to watch the team holding down this enormous balloon whilst pumping it full of hot air.
Once the balloon was up, they filled up the basket with us and the other 14 people plus the pilot and within just a few minutes we were floating effortlessly off the ground and into the calm skies of Napa. It was perfectly timed with the sunrise and the entirety of the balloon basket was silent during our ascent into the air.
The peace was like nothing I’ve ever experienced, apart from of course when the pilot needed to blast more hot air. We were in the air for around an hour and during that time we got to soak in the sights and watch the sun rise over Napa and even the San Francisco bay.
If you’re thinking about booking a hot air balloon flight in the Napa or Sonoma region, we’d highly recommend Napa Valley Balloons Inc. They’re the top-rated balloon company in the area and I can see why. Our entire experience was seamless from start to finish and we felt completely safe for the whole duration of our flight, including the landing which luckily for us was insanely smooth!
The rest of our day was spent leisurely exploring downtown napa, which was hands down our favourite town of the whole trip. I couldn’t tell you what it is about this place but the energy here was just different to everywhere else we went in California.
*Click here to read more about where to visit in Napa Valley
The next morning, we arose to embark upon the last leg of our trip. We packed up our cases and made our final drive into the heart of San Francisco, which is where we said goodbye to our beautiful little mustang and hello to SF’s iconic cable cars.
We made the drive over the Golden Gate Bridge (another bucket list activity ticked off) and checked into the last hotel of our two-week Californian adventure.
Our travel agent advised on staying in the Fisherman’s Wharf areas as in recent years, the more central parts of San Fran have been taken over by an increasing crime rate.
*NOTE: At no point during our stay here did we feel unsafe or concerned about safety. I know there are a lot of mixed opinions about SF but we had a lovely few days here and would absolutely return on another trip.
Our first night in San Fran was spent strolling down pier 39, checking out all of the shops, watching the sea lions argue with one another and having a lovely seafood dinner on the pier.
The next morning, we started off the day by hitching an uber to a golden gate view point, although it seemed we weren’t destined to get a great view of the bridge as Karl the fog, that’s actually what they call the fog in SF, had taken over the majority of the bay.
We strolled along the water side and took in the sights of the city before grabbing another ride to pier 33 to board a boat to Alcatraz Island.
Alcatraz was an iconic and eerie experience not to be missed in SF, so if you’re looking to tour Alcatraz make sure you book in advance and via the right website as only one company sells official tickets!
Website here.
For our penultimate dinner in California, I thought it was only right that we found a restaurant that specialised in San Fran’s most famous dish: Cioppino. We didn’t make a reservation as it was a last-minute decision but were lucky enough to nab a table at Sotto Mare, where the reviews come in thick and fast about the quality of their Cioppino.
For those who aren’t familiar, Cioppino is a tomato-based stew filled with seafood and shellfish, apparently originating in this area from many years ago. It was hands down the best meal we had during our entire two-week trip and I’d highly recommend it to any other seafood lovers.
For our last full day and with a mild case of the sniffles and two weeks of jet lag finally catching up to us, we decided to book ourselves a couple of tickets on the Big Bus Tour of San Francisco. It hit almost every sight we wanted to see, was open aired so we were less likely to pass on any germs and best of all we barely had to walk anywhere to see everything we wanted to.
It was a really good tour and stops off at every major sight so you can hop on and hop off wherever you want to. We coasted through China town, the financial district, the Embarcadero, the Ferry Building, Union square, the Civic Centre, Alamo square, Haight Ashbury, Golden Gate park before driving over the bridge and back again, hitting the final stops including the Palace of Fine Arts, Cow Hollow, Lombard street and Pier 39.
Our very last day in San Fran was technically a half day as our flight home wasn’t until the late afternoon. We decided to get out in the morning and try to tick off the last few things left on my ‘to see/do’ list.
We took one last stroll to pier 39 and got a lotus coffee (which by the way was the sickliest yet yummiest coffee I’ve ever had), before taking a super slow walk along to coast to the Powell-Hyde cable car line to hitch a ride up to Lombard.
You can buy tickets from the little booths or online via their app (which is signposted at the ticket booth) but we opted for physical tickets to be able to pop them in my memory box at home! Our little ride on San Fran’s historical cable car was the highlight of my day and the perfect way to end our trip. It was also a great way to get up some of SF’s steepest hills and stopped directly at the top of Lombard street, ‘the worlds crookedest street’, which is a must see in San Francisco!
After two weeks on an incredible trip along the Californian coast, we made our way back home to the UK with full bellies and even fuller hearts. This trip has made it into my top three trips, and we can’t wait to go again one day.
If you’re planning a trip to California and have any questions about planning, drop me an email or DM me on our IG. I’d love to chat about your upcoming trip and help advice you on where to stop, stay and eat during your trip.
Thanks for reading!
Becca x
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