CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP!
last week i flew to san francsico to meet 3 of my good friends: jesse, james, and denise. we rented a car and drove down highway 1, making a bunch of fun stops along the way…
finding an airbnb at the last minute proved to be pretty difficult and expensive, especially because we were only staying one night. we decided to stay in this quirky hotel called the phoenix. it was sort of strange, but also sort of awesome. we were swimming in our clothes and staying up late chatting.
we had to make a stop at one of my best friends, victoria’s house. we all shared a glass of wine and planned our trip.
that night we ate THE most delicious meal at nopa. everything we ordered was incredible but i loved the butter beans and the burger. definitely order a bunch of dishes to share!
CLICK TO READ FULL ROAD TRIP POST…
in the morning i took the girls to craftsman and wolves for coffee and one of my favorite muffins with asiago, sausage, green onion, and a soft cooked farm egg inside. (still don’t know how they do that!) we met up with my friend jordan who has her oh happy day studio nearby. we toured her cute new house and took a bunch of photos in her photobooth at the studio. the perfect send off for our next stop…
on our way to big sur, we stopped at sam’s chowder house in half moon bay. we were craving lobster rolls and bloody mary’s. honestly, the lobster rolls didn’t blow my mind, but the place is still a fun spot overlooking the water. maybe the chowder would be better?
in a food coma, we continued the trip…
we pulled over on the side of the road around sunset when we got to carmel. the drive was SO mind blowing at this point, we wanted to just stop and take it all in. we climbed up some rocks and just sat and talked while the sun went down. (and of course took a self-timer pic ha)
that evening we arrived at the big sur river inn. since we planned this trip very last minute it was pretty hard to find a hotel that wasn’t already booked. luckily there was room at the river inn, which ended up being pretty cute. behind the inn they had chairs where you could sit in the river, which i loved. some other hotels i’ve heard good things about: deetjen’s, post ranch inn, treebones yurts, and glen oaks.
we had a crazy night of getting locked out of our room at 1am with no shoes, car keys and no front desk attendant. somehow we found a guy at a nearby bar to break in our room (sketchy, i know!!! but he seemed nice and we had no options but to sleep on the ground) it ended up being a funny story we will always remember.
in the morning we had brunch at deetjen’s big sur inn. that place is adorable! such a cozy spot for a hearty eggs benedict and a mimosa.
other things that we didn’t end up doing but looked fun: hearst castle, esalan hot springs.
we DID stop at the mcway falls on the way to the madonna inn. that place was AWESOME. a small hike down the hill to reveal an 80 foot waterfall and a surreal view. you definitely have to stop here!
and then that wacky madonna inn. what a trip this place was. there are 110 individually decorated rooms, each with it’s own theme and color. there’s a pink tennis court, a dining room with pink booths and oversized fake roses, a pool with a view, and kitchy details everywhere you look. i loved this night! we just stayed at the hotel, ate mozzarella sticks, hung at the bar, went to the jacuzzi and just laughed till late.
the colors were so beautiful at this hotel!
we got coffee and the best pastries at scout in the morning. and then stopped at goshi sushi for lunch (which we all loved!)
about 2 hours later we made it to el capitan canyon where we all stayed in a yurt. you can order burgers, beans, and s’mores from the campsite to grill on the fire and james made us individual “hobo pies” (veggies with butter and salt in tin foil)
we were all quite tired by this point, so we made dinner, had some wine by the campfire and went to bed. this spot would be great for families too, for those of you thinking about going.
this trip was full of unforgettable memories and stories. i love these girls. they all teach me so much and i’m lucky to have them in my life. the drive down highway 1 is absolutely worth every penny. you will not regret it!
photos by: designlovefest, jesse chamberlin, denise bovee and james kicinski
