Central Coast Getaway
We recently took a fantastic road trip to one of our favorite parts of California – the central coast. We both went to college in the area, and we don’t get down that way often, so we grabbed the chance to have one last summer adventure. Today we are sharing some of our all time favorite places and things to do, as well as some new favorites we discovered on our trip to the central coast of California. If you are looking for a low-key place to visit where the people and the weather are great, you must visit San Luis Obispo and the surrounding central coast area!
This trip we wanted to stay on the coast, so we booked a room at the Cambria Beach Lodge. It was our first visit there and we will definitely return! The lodge is right across the street from the beach. We couldn’t imagine a better location. Though the rooms aren’t huge, they are very well appointed and comfortable. There are Adirondack chairs just outside the door for lounging with a book and a beverage. There’s also a really nice little deck upstairs with chairs and couches and a wonderful view of the ocean. Bicycles are available to use if you so desire. They serve a nice little continental breakfast in the morning with pastries and breads from The French Corner Bakery in town. Cambria is a beautiful little town and not far from San Luis Obispo (45 minutes) and Hearst Castle (10 minutes).
We have both visited Hearst Castle before and are familiar with the most popular Grand Rooms Tour so this time we booked the Upstairs Rooms Tour, which includes some fantastic bedrooms and libraries. The history, architecture, art, interior design and decorating are incredible. Our tour guide, Eric, was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining. We highly recommend you visit this amazing historical landmark. Every time we go, we see or learn something new – and the view from the castle is spectacular.
Jenn graduated from Cal Poly so of course we had to visit her alma mater! The university continues to grow. Every time we visit, there are so many new buildings and this time there were some amazing new dorms! The bookstore hasn’t changed a bit, which is comforting. The Campus Market now carries a nice selection of cheeses, jams and honeys that are made by the students.
Downtown San Luis Obispo hasn’t changed much from the last time we visited. Most of our favorite haunts are still around. We love the cookies from Cowboy Cookies. Apropos is our favorite boutique (they carry Johnny Was!!!). Probably our all time favorite place downtown is Boo Boo Records. Holy crow, they have been around a long time and they are still going strong! Funny to think that we used to buy records at Boo Boo when we were in college and they are still selling vinyl today! Our favorite new place in town is Kreuzberg coffee roasters (their website is a work in progress but Google has some great pictures and other info for them). Not only does this coffee shop have the coolest vibe, it has excellent coffee. We also enjoy visiting the mission and the walking along the lovely creek that runs beside it.
One cannot visit SLO without going to Thursday Night Farmers’ Market. This market has been going strong for 35 years! The produce is a wonderful, if small part, of the market. There seem to be mostly food vendors and a few artisans. We grabbed some pizza and steak sandwiches and ate on the sidewalk before purchasing fruits and veggies for later consumption.
We may have saved the best part of our trip for last. Our family has a long history of visiting the little Danish town of Solvang. Solvang is a quaint town that was built to make it look and feel like you are in Denmark. The buildings, windmills, shops and restaurants all transport you to Denmark. We have a special place in our hearts for Solvang. We used to spend Easters there with our parents. And we have made many trips there since. The Danish pastries are the best we have had stateside. What a treat to eat French waffles (check out our recipe for them here), petit fours, Sarah Bernhardts, Napoleon hats….not to mention the butter cookies! There are bakeries everywhere in this town but our favorite is Mortensen’s.