Flying helped take out a lot of the drive time and going one way made it more enjoyable especially with a 3 year old. We took an early flight to Oakland to begin our spring break adventure. We flew into Oakland rather than San Francisco since the one way drop off for our rental car was much cheaper. We didn't have an exact itinerary when we left but we were originally going to spend 2 nights in SF. We were trying to beat a storm that was going to join us while we were in Big Sur (we wanted to do some hiking) so we ended up spending just one night in SF (if this is your first visit to SF I would recommend spending 2 nights). Because of a land slide near Julia Pfieffer State Park we had to detour from highway 1 and go inland and take the 101 around.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrived in San Francisco
Day 2: San Francisco to Santa Cruz
Day 3: Big Sur
Day 4: Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea
Day 5: Morro Bay, Montana de Oro State Park, SLO and Pismo Beach
Day 6: Solvang and Santa Barbara
Day 7: Malibu and Los Angeles
Day 8: Flight home
Day 1: San Francisco |
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| In San Francisco we...
Visited the Painted Ladies
Lucas Film to see the Yoda Fountain
Palace of Fine Arts
Drove over the Golden Gate Bridge
Dinner at Fisherman's Wharf
Ghiradelli for dessert
Checked out Union Square
Drove down Lombard Street
China Town
Golden Gate State Park
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Day 2: San Francisco to Santa Cruz
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| China Town Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory
The Fortune Cookie Factory is small but my girls thought it was pretty cool. Worth a visit since the fortune cookie was invented in SF. Another option in China Town is to get a foot massage. I had one on a recent layover and it is nice after a long day of walking.
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| Golden Gate State Park
We couldn't leave San Francisco without visiting this park. My girls loved it and especially this unique slide.
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| Half Moon Bay
Since we visited in the spring we saw lots of flowers and everything was so green from the record rain. It made for some gorgeous pictures and I kept feeling like I was in Ireland.
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| Pescadero My girls could have spent hours at the tide pools! |
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| Santa Cruz
My girls loved Santa Cruz and especially the rides on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We drove the scenic West Cliff Drive. It's a short breathtaking drive! It would also be a good place to get out and walk or take a bike ride.
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Day 3: Big Sur
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| Point Lobos State Reserve
I love this State Reserve! I took all of my photos with my iPhone and I think some of the pics look professional but its just because it's so beautiful here you can't take a bad picture. We entered the park at the end of the day only because it was full in the morning when we drove by. So glad we waited the views were amazing!
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| One of the many stops on the PCH |
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| How I was feeling about all of the AMAZING VIEWS! |
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| Bixby Bridge
One of the most photographed bridges in America. I've seen it on commercials and in movies.
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| Julia Pfeiffer State Park (park was closed but they let us hike near the lodge) We found 4 🍀 leaf clovers here! What luck!!! Day 4: Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea |
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| 17- Mile Drive
This is such a beautiful drive! We also enjoyed seeing all of the amazing homes along the way.
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| Monterey Bay Aquarium
Such a beautiful Aquarium with amazing exhibits. My girls loved all of the hands on activity's and the volunteers were so helpful.
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Day 5: Montana de Oro State Park, SLO and Pismo Beach
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| Morro Bay |
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| Montana de Oro State Park |
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| San Luis Obispo Bubblegum Alley |
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| Pismo Beach
This was our kids favorite hotel (SeaCrest Oceanfront Hotel). It was reasonably priced with amazing views.
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| Charlotte and I enjoyed a walk on the beach behind our hotel. |
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Driving on Pismo Beach. If your here at the right time of year don't miss the Monarch Butterfly Grove. We skipped Hearst Castle since we've seen it before and thought our three year old was too young. Good excuse to come back and see it when our girls are older.
Day 6: Solvang and Santa Barbara
Solvang- This was our second visit to this charming Danish town. We ate breakfast at Paula's Pancake House and had Danish pancakes then strolled along Main Street. Before leaving town we stopped at the Sunny Field Park.
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In Santa Barbara my girls found a park on the beach and we window shopped on State Street.
 Day 7: Malibu and Los Angeles  |
In Malibu we visited El Matador State Beach. We loved the beautiful views and sea caves. The girls played in the Tide Pools. We saw several professional photo shoots... guess it's a good place to take pictures.
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We saw spectacular views of Los Angeles from the Griffith Observatory. It's also a good place to get a picture of the Hollywood Sign. We looked through a telescope and saw stars and gained some knowledge about astronomy. We were there around sunset and got some great pictures of La La Land (was also in the movie). I loved the Art Deco architecture. The Griffith Park has great hiking trails and a fun place to bring kids but can be crowded.
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1 comments:
Wow! Amazing pictures! I need to do this trip again! The one with the sun rays breaking through is a framer!
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