Something to keep in mind for the next one. Manage expectations. Kids will not listen better and bicker less on the road. Spouses will not leave their annoying habits at home. Everyone will need to take turns having a small fit (parents included).
BUT all road struggles will be worth it.
With all of the summer camps and summer school, we didn't have a week to spare until August. So we closed out the summer with a bang. We didn't go out of the state. California actually has enough amazing sites and attractions on its own to fill up months on the road. We took a week and hit up some spots we'd been to and wanted to show the kids and some new ones we hadn't.
Dan planned the whole thing. He's been wanting to do this trip for years. I was just along for the ride, literally =)
Warning: There are a TON of pics. I didn't want to leave anything out in case we want to look at the post again someday down the road. That and Mya, Dan and I all took pics from our phones so we had 1000 to choose from.
Day 1 -
Cambria, Tickle Pink and Monterey. We drove up to Cambria and ate lunch at a nice seaside restaurant, Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill with a lovely walking path across the street. We continued up to Carmel where we popped by the "Tickle Pink Inn" where Dan proposed to me on the balcony of our room overlooking the ocean at sunset. Very romantic. The kids thought it was boring but thanked us for showing them =) We continued to our little inn/cottage that was like a double room and checked in for two nights and unpacked. We then headed to a little Italian restaurant for dinner. Then we ditched the kids in the hotel room who watched movies in bed while Dan and I took a dip in the jacuzzi and met some nice people from Arizona.
"This ketchup is so clean. Hope I don't ruin it..." - Addie
"Eew gross I mean thank you." - Mya when I let her try some of my pesto gnocchi =)
Day 2 -
The Monterey Bay Aquarium, Phil's Fish Market and Eatery and the 17 mi drive including Pebble Beach.
Addie and Dan LOVE sea life. Dan is kind of a sea nerd. He knows more about life in the ocean than anyone I've ever met, except Addie. Addie knows maybe just as much. I ask her questions about animals all the time and 90% of the time, she knows the correct answer. Sea animals are her specialty. So this was pretty much the reason she agreed to this road trip. =) Mya, on the other hand, does not like 99% of animals and keeps her distance from them. But sea otters have won her heart for some reason so she was excited to see them. 💗 Winter and Angus love everything and everyone so they enjoyed the day. I was happy seeing my kids happy. Plus, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has the best view from the deck outside. It's one of my favorites.
Phils Fish House in Castroville has one of the best Cioppinos (in Winter and Dan's opinion). Winter calls it fish soup and asks for it all the time. So they were very excited to order a giant bowl plus clam chowder and crab chowder to try. There was lots of seafood eating on this road trip.
Addie's fish face.
Addie's shark face.
The view from the outdoor aquarium deck.
Dan's family took a picture in front of this giant artichoke in Castroville, "the artichoke capital of the world" when Dan was Angus's age so of course we had to do it too.
The 17 mi Drive is one of the most beautiful places in the country. The white sands, unique cypress trees, sea life like seals and sea lions, and giant dark rocks make it what it is. Plus you can find some of the nicest golf courses there. We stopped at Pebble Beach to use the restroom and decided to have a drink on the balcony overlooking the golf course and the ocean. It was very fancy so we told the kids to act rich but they didn't really know how =)
Dan and I explored the 17 mi drive after we got engaged about 16 years ago so it was fun to go back.
Pebble Beach Golf Course
The famous "Loan Cypress."
Day 3 -
Taylors, V. Satui and the Lake House.
We headed up to clear lake where we rented a lake house for a few days. We passed through St. Helena and took the kids to Taylor's (Gott's Roadside) where I used to work when I went to College near Napa. We were joined by my lovely cousin and her fiance who live in the area. We went to one of my favorite wineries, V. Satui after that to share a bottle of wine in their lovely shaded picnic area. The wine train passes right by it so that was fun for the kids to see.
Taylor's
V. Satui
Our Lakehouse Rental came with a game room...
and a lovely view.
Day 4 -
Skunk Train, Redwoods, Sea Pal and the Lighthouse.
We headed over to the Skunk Train that takes you through the Redwoods. We all loved it. It stopped to turn around and we got to get out and explore a little bit. Then to Sea Pal Cove in Fort Bragg for lunch, our favorite food stop on the whole trip. They had amazing food, tons of different bears on tap, a very chill atmosphere, and probably the best fish and chips I've ever eaten. The outdoor seating area is on the water. There was a seal that swam around right by us that Addie named Harold or something like that =)
Then we drove to a cool lighthouse. We had to walk about 1/4 mile to it. The kids complained but we got some good pics. Then we headed back to the lakehouse and stopped on the way to take some more pics with redwoods.
This is the Skunk Train Singer. He's been walking up and down this train singing and playing his instruments for over 35 years. He was quite entertaining.
Mya doing her best not to freak out because the skunk looks real.
Walking down to the lighthouse
Day 5 -
Lake House. On day 5, we took a break from the car and just relaxed at the house. The kids went for a paddle in this boat but it started to sink so they paddled back in and that was it for the boat. The rental manager was cool about it and gave us a partial refund after a few emails back and forth with Dan.
We brought our favorite games with us to play at the house while we rested from our travels =) And there was also plenty of TV watching of course.
Day 6 -
Napa & San Fransisco. In the morning we drove down to Napa for brunch with my Napa family at Black Bear Diner. I haven't seen some of them in a decade or so so it was lovely to catch up for a bit.
We then headed to San Fransisco. I hadn't been to San Fran since I was pregnant with Mya so it had been a while. The city has gone downhill but I still loved seeing it again. It brought back great memories of time with family and college friends. I really wanted the kids to ride a cable car but the wait was about an hour long and it was $13/person, then another hour-long wait to get on the return car, so not quite worth it for a family of 6. We did get a pic of the kids in front of one, however. And we ate ice cream at Ghirardelli Square where we met a family visiting from Germany, practiced gymnastics on the grass and explored Fisherman's Wharf. We also saw a few crazy people swimming in some sort of race in the icy waters. And then we saw another race in which participants seemed to be older men running down the street with their dogs, wearing regular clothing covered by a sexy red dress.
We looked into taking a tour of Alcatraz but it would have been over $600 for our whole family to go so we appreciated from a distance.
We had gorgeous sunny weather which is rare in that city and also got to experience the fog rolling in quickly and a light drizzle before the sun set. We stayed in a little Inn by Fisherman's Warf with no AC and only two beds but we planned ahead and brought an air mattress. And the carport was gated so we didn't have to worry about our car being broken into. Not everyone loved San Fran as much as I did but I'm glad we went.
Day 7 -
Home James. Stopped in Coalinga for lunch so the kids could experience the terrible smells of cows. Carl's Jr. serves an impossible burger so I was happy.
We all agreed that it was an awesome trip. Mya's favorite part was hanging out with the family the whole time, even in the car. Winter loved the food. Addie loved the aquarium and Angus loved the game room at the Lake House and the car store in San Fran =) Dan and loved the amazing views and food. We talked about doing another coastal trip and hitting up other spots like Santa Barbara, Pismo and Big Sur. Highway One was closed up by San Simeon which limited our trip a little bit so we plan on doing it again in a year or two. It was better than I expected and I fell in love with the coast in Northern CA. It's a lot different up there. It's not as hot, there are much fewer people, no traffic and it's just gorgeous. We agreed that we would definitely do Sea Pal in Fort Bragg again. It was that good.
If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them!
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