SANTA BARBARA

The last leg of our trip was to head back down the coast a bit to Santa Barbara.  Since we were flying out of LAX, we wanted to break up the drive back.  We harbor a not-so-secret dream of someday owning an Airstream, and we found a place in downtown SB where we could stay in one for the night - AutoPark.  It was adorable, even in the rain.



But - I'll back up a bit.  We left San Luis Obispo and hit up one last spot that John remembered from childhood - Pismo Beach.  They have a Butterfly Grove where monarchs spend the winter.  In years past, it has been hundreds of thousands of them.  This year, because of all the fires, there were only about 4,000.  We knew going in that there would not be many, but I still wanted to see it.








As we were driving away, we realized we were in wine country.  After a quick search of google, we took off to sneak in a tasting on our way.  Firestone Winery was really beautiful and made for a lovely stop.

(coyote we spotted along the way!)

It was nearly dark as we continued our drive to Santa Barbara.  It was also Valentine's Day, and we didn't want to fight restaurant crowds, so we went through the drive-thru at In-N-Out and took it to our Airstream.  Very romantic.

On our last morning, we headed out to explore the city just a bit.  A quick google search revealed that the top attraction was the County Courthouse, which seemed weird, but we decided to give it a shot.  It was stunning!  And free to wander around - double bonus.

The mission in town with its ocean view was also beautiful.



We didn't have much time left before we needed to head to the airport, so we stopped into a used bookstore (swoon!) and made our way to lunch on the beach at Hendry's.  The weather was really terrible throughout our entire trip, but even while eating outside, we were covered and had delicious food.  The Chowder Fries were a particular favorite!





This entire trip was one that was actually as fun to live as it looks via the blog.  That is not always the case, but we truly enjoyed our time together and were pleasantly delighted by the activities and food we chose along the way!  We had smooth travel getting back, though we did have a dead battery when we got to our car.  Thankfully, it was jumped quickly, and we made it home with little fanfare and all of our luggage.

So thankful for this time away to be refreshed and spend time together!

HERITAGE TOUR IN SAN LUIS OBISPO

John's family moved several times while he was growing up, which makes an answer to the question, "Where are you from?" sort of tricky.  From about ages 3-7, they lived in San Luis Obispo, CA, and when we realized that CFA was taking us to Anaheim, we made plans to drive on up for a heritage tour.  I had never been there, and John hadn't been in 28 years - it was time!



What we discovered is that the Central Coast is gorgeous and has SO much to do.  Honestly, we'd love to go back!  Our first stop was at Avila Beach, where John's family often went for the day.  The weather was pretty bad all week, but it wasn't raining while we walked around, which we appreciated.

From there, we made our way to Morro Bay where there was a Shell Shop that John remembered.  It was quaint and unchanged.

We had reservations for dinner on the water at The Galley.  We were treated to sea lions frolicking in the bay while we ate, and I exclaimed over them like a psycho from Arkansas.  I'm sure our wait staff thought I was nuts, though they were courteous enough not to show it.

After dinner, we headed to San Luis Obispo which is home to one of the most unusual hotels we have ever stayed at - The Madonna Inn.  It's a 60 year old, self-billed destination resort, and I can say that we loved the experience.  It shows some signs of its age, but they have done a nice job of updating it in places.  We chose the Cave Man room after reading reviews, and the level of theming was incredible.  I saved the Instagram stories where I did a tour if you are interested, it's in the CFA/Cali tab.  Here are a few pictures that don't quite do it all justice.

It has the most over the top dining space I've ever set foot in, where they are famous for giant pink cake.   We did breakfast in the Copper Cafe, because they only do dinner in the pink dining room.  We thoroughly enjoyed our food.  And now I want to try to make that pink cake, because it was so dang good.  The grounds were immaculate and beautiful, and it surpassed our expectations.  We would love to go back, because it was charming and also a bit insane - definitely a winning combo in our book.

We left the land of pink to head into town and see all of John's old haunts.  John knew it would feel this way, but it lived up to the idea that everything was "smaller than he remembered."  It made me wonder if I'll look back on my life 30 years from now and reflect that the things I think are huge now are actually quite small.  Perspective really is everything.  Moving on from the deep thoughts ...

Here's the place where John lived, though they basically took the house down to the chimney and rebuilt it, so it doesn't actually resemble the house he lived in.



They lived caddy corner from a lovely park that was super green from all the rain.

We visited the liquor store that they passed on their walk to school and regularly bought Tootsie Pops from.



We spent the rest of our time in the revitalized downtown that is hopping and definitely benefits from having a university nearby, and then we happened upon Bubblegum Alley.  We managed to park right across the street from it, not realizing that it was a "thing" until we saw people taking pictures there.  We wandered over and were greeted by the friendliest SLO ambassador who told us the history of people sticking gum there for the past 50+ years.  Honestly, it grossed me out, but it was cool to see.  They do wash it regularly.

We really loved San Luis Obispo and would love to go back!  If you are looking for some unique experiences on the Central California Coast - definitely check out this area.  It's amazing, and it was so cool to see where John spent a lot of his boyhood.