Travel: Our California Coastal Road Trip || Where We Stopped, Stayed, Wore, And What We'd Do Differently....

July 21, 2021

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Travel: Our California Coastal Road Trip || Where We Stopped, Stayed, Wore, And What We’d Do Differently….

As I mentioned in yesterday’s Napa recap we decided to split up our canceled trip into a couple’s portion and then a family segment… and for that part we opted for a California Coastal road trip. We’ve done small little road trips with the girls up and down the coast… San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo… and for my 30th birthday, before we had kiddos, TJ and I did a road trip all the way up through Big Sur to Napa (more on that trip here)… be we decided to go all the way up to Monterey Bay for this one…

The trip was such an amazing experience and the girls did so well… they were always excited to pack up and see where they were going next, and they did a great job during the longer drives (thanks to movies), and they slept as well as they could given they were in a new place every other night. It wasn’t the most relaxing trip we’ve had… but it sure was a memorable one… and that was my goal for this summer… to just have fun, make it memorable, and be present.

So for today I rounded up all we did over our six day trip and included our photos/outfits all below. I hope it helps if you’re considering doing the same!

WHERE WE STOPPED, STAYED, AND WHAT WE DID

STOP 1: Malibu: This wasn’t an actual “stop” per se, but we always loving taking PCH when we’re heading up north and stopping at Malibu Farms for lunch…. it’s perfectly situated over the water with great food… so I highly recommend!

STOP 2: Pismo Beach: I’ve lived in CA all my life and have never stayed in Pismo Beach… and boy were we missing out. The beaches are absolutely beautiful and it’s closely located to SLO and Morro Bay for easy day trips/dining options. We stayed at Dolphin Bay and I can’t recommend this spot more. We booked a room with a full kitchen, which is always nice when you have kiddos…. I love the ease of just being able to stock up on food and snacks. Dolphin Bay is also situated right above Shell Beach and has the most spectacular coastal views.

When we arrived, the sun was out so we headed down to Shell Beach for the tide pools and some early evening fun. We ordered take-out Thai (they have great gluten free options) from Bunn Thai Bistro and then just took in the beautiful sunset…

The next morning was overcast so we headed to SLO CO donuts (delicious, with gluten free options if need be) and then on to Morro Bay. We were hoping that the girls would be able to see all of the sea otters and seals but there were only two. I have so many memories as a little girl of there being so many… it might have just been the time of day or the time of year, but there weren’t many there… so we walked around and then headed to the shell shop (it’s been there since I was little so it was a fun memory). There is also a little aquarium you can visit as well.

After that we headed back to the beach and pool…. and did takeout pizza from Woodstocks (highly recommend).

A few other spots we wanted to visit but just didn’t have time for include: Surfside donuts (closed Tuesdays…), and Old West Cinnamon Rolls….

STOP 3: Monterey Bay: So here is where we would 100% do things differently. We thought it would be a great idea to stay at the Intercontinental Clement right in the heart of Monterey… but staying in Monterey felt like a tourist trap… the food was mediocre and it was just too crowded for our liking. The hotel was beautiful with gorgeous views and their restaurant is great, but other than that we found dining options limited. I would recommend staying in Carmel and then driving the 8 miles into Monterey to visit the aquarium…

Both nights we ate dinner at the hotel restaurant… we sat outside with a beautiful view of the bay, so I do recommend the restaurant (it has a really great kid’s menu too…).

The main attraction for us to head up to Monterey was to take the girls to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is a wonderful spot with so many great exhibits (due to COVID we did need to make reservations and purchase tickets ahead of time and masks are required of everyone over the age of 3 regardless of vaccination status). Given the girl’s ages we spent about an hour there… if your kiddos are older you can spend a longer amount of time exploring…

After we headed to Carmel for lunch and some shopping. Carmel is one of our most loved spots in Northern CA… it’s small, quaint, and just so beautiful. We ate at Carmel Fish house and it was really good. We wanted to go to The Inn at Spanish Bay for happy hour and the Bagpipes but Camille was super tired and we were fearful of a meltdown if we pushed the day too much…. it’s on our list for next time though….

STOP 4: Santa Barbara: Hands down our favorite coastal city in CA (we always say that if we were to ever move, which we have no plans of doing, it would only be to Santa Barbara….) where there is just so much to do! When we arrived we grabbed lunch at one of our favorite spots, Lucky Penny, and then headed to the hotel for some much anticipated pool time….

We stayed at The Bacara, and everything about the property is gorgeous. We headed up to their hilltop champagne happy hour and took in the beautiful views and then headed back to the room with the girls for some Mexican food take-out. We went with Los Arroyos because we were craving pozole… but Carlitos is our favorite spot down there (they didn’t deliver… but if you go be sure to get the halibut ceviche). For breakfast on the way out we stopped by a favorite, Jeannine’s, in Montecito.

** I should also note that we live in Orange County, Ca, so that’s where we started our journey You could also start from San Diego (if you’re coming in from out of state to do the drive that would be a great place to start since San Diego is so amazing) and have a stop in Orange County, Malibu, and then pick up the trip from where we started.
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(We left early Monday morning and took PCH up to Malibu for a stop at one of our favorites: Malibu Farms… highly recommend. Henley, Biker Shorts, Slides (Shannon15 for 15% off), Girl’s Outfits)

(Pismo Beach was our first stop… the beach was beautiful and Shell beach has great tide pools… my joggers, tank)

(The views and sunsets from Dolphin Bay were absolutely beautiful! Cozy Set)

(Grabbed some donuts and headed to Morro Bay for the morning…. leggings (grey color on sale here), cardigan, sneakers, crop)

(Once the morning fog rolled away we headed down for more beach time… girl’s dresses, hats)

(Pizza, bubbly, and the sunset for our last night in Pismo Beach…)

(Second stop was up in Monterey… where the temps were 10 degrees cooler…)

(Lots of fresh seafood and bay views…. jeans, crop, cardigan, slides)

(The main reason for our journey up north was to take the girls to the Monterey Bay Aquarium… lots of wonderful exhibits (and they require masks, at all times, regardless of vaccination status)… )

(Headed into the quaint and sleepy town of Carmel for some lunch and shopping… jeans (more AGOLDE jeans), bodysuit, cardigan, stroller which is excellent for traveling)