California Coast: Part 2

Saying goodbye to warm San Diego, we continued up Pacific Coast Highway 1. We started in the late morning to bypass the excruciating traffic of L.A. (inevitably we got stuck anyway). After two hours of LA traffic, Katie and I decided that this was not the place for us especially considering the added bonus of a nice layer of smog over the city. At this point, we had been on the road for 4-5 hours and we had a couple of priorities: (1) bathroom break (2) lunch at In and Out Burger. Without much stopping after that we headed for San Luis Obispo where cousins Carolyn and Rich reside. Our hosts welcomed us with open arms and introduced us to their cats trouble maker Scooter, chill Oreo, and the elusive Snuffy as well as their dog Sephora. That night, Carolyn made us a delightful to all senses seafood dish consisting of orzo pasta, spring greens, grilled squash, eggplant, shrimp, and scallops. Unfortunately, we only got to stay one night here and had to move on the next day. Before we left, we attended the soft grand opening at a local chocolate shop and grabbed some tapas for lunch at an amazing restaurant, NOVO. The Korean Short Ribs and Indian Samosas were favorites.

Back to Route 1. Epic views, curvy roads, and lush landscapes await us. I drove first so that Katie got to appreciate the view being this was were her first experience. This would easily be one of our top picks for road trips that one must take at least once in their lives. We stopped whenever something caught our eye: kite surfers do their thing, a secluded beach to dip our toes in the cold Pacific, and of course, snap some shots for the blog. Other stops included Cambria and Carmel River Beach which was listed in Sunset Magazine as one of the top beaches of the summer. After 6 hours of driving we are about an hour outside of San Francisco at our good friends from school, Luke and Audrey's mountain house. They live just southwest of San Jose. Insanely windy roads that barely fit one car but allowed traffic in both directions led us back to their cabin! Unfortunately, Audrey was out of town but Luke was there to greet us and feed us corn beard! After a relaxed dinner, we all watched the fog roll through the mountains and caught up on some missed time. Morning was a perfect time for me to take some photos and for Katie to paint. Then back to the road and on to San Francisco!