California Dreamin’
Erin, Mike, and I converge on Sean’s house in Los Angeles in late October. After we three travelers settle in, we start to plan our California coastal drive from LA to Monterey. We agree that we will see how far we get each day and book our hotels as we go.
We need food for the drive and gather ourselves for the walk to the grocery store. Sean grabs his reusable bag and slings it over his shoulder. We glance at him and all start laughing. His bag is a brightly colored pink and aqua flower-patterned Lilly Pulitzer Frames tote that I gave Sean while we were at an optometry conference in Las Vegas. He uses it proudly and doesn’t see the reason for our mirth.
Once we organize the car in the tetris style, we are ready to go. We pause to take a quick picture on the street in front of the car with Sean’s house and horizontal cedar and wrought iron fence in the background. Sean takes the first driving shift. We merge onto the 101 and steer north.
Sean has done some research, asking friends for their recommendations. Our first stop is Martha Stewart’s and Julia Child’s favorite taco stand, La Super Rica in Santa Barbara. Katy Perry, born and raised in Santa Barbara, also added to the fame of this rundown shack in her song This is How We Do, singing, “at the Super Rica, grabbing tacos, checking out hotties.” We arrive before lunch, there is already a line, and we didn’t notice any hotties. My veggie tortilla, though, was delicious.
Santa Barbara has a distinct Mediterranean feel, with lush foliage and many outdoor seating areas. The street signs are in a font called Mission, and add to the old world aura. On the hill above the downtown area, with expansive views of the Pacific Ocean, is the Old Mission. It was built in 1786 and it’s the only mission continuously run by the Franciscan friars since its inception. The Franciscan tradition practices “radical hospitality”, honoring creation and all people. The grounds include the mission, three churches, a mausoleum, a fountain, a museum, and a rose garden. Our group finds the most entertainment in the peep-through photo boards of three friars of all shapes. Sean is Friar Tubby, I am Friar Thumper, and Erin is Friar Jellybean. Mike dutifully takes our picture.
That evening’s accommodations are at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo (SLO). Unassuming and oddly painted white from the outside, the inside appears as if every design aspect has been elaborated. A railing never has straight rungs, but filigreed. If it can be metallic gold-plated, it is. If hot pink can be incorporated, it is. Even the tennis courts are hot pink.
Room descriptions are grouped in the usual way- Suites, Economy, King Bed, Double Bed, and then there is Rock Shower Waterfall. These rooms include (you guessed it) a rock shower waterfall. The description of the room labelled “Rock Bottom” is: “Beginning as early as the Stone Age, rocks have had an impressive impact on our culture. Mining techniques have been used to construct man-made caves, although Rock Bottom is more symbolic of an underground cavern. Caverns are a natural wonder that encompass a mystical charm that can be found in this magical world of solid rock walls, floor and ceiling. A simulated erosion technique was used in the bathroom to create the primitive rock basin and sculptured waterfall shower. From top to “bottom,” this room is “rock-solid” fun!”
Our room is Room 185, the Sky Room. The description on the website is: “Located on the top level of the hilltop unit, the “Sky Room” is dusted in shades of blue and textured with white clouds to enhance the celestial theme. This cheerful and airy room has a cozy loft area with a double and twin bed overlooking a king bed on the first level. Dark blue carpet and decorative light fixtures echo the restful qualities of this two-level room. The bathroom continues the color scheme with blue tiled floor and shower and white pedestal sink. At this elevation, the private balcony provides a perfect outdoor space to relax.” The description doesn’t mention the gold-plated headboard, mirror, chandelier, fixtures, or the heated toilet seat. The leopard-print bedspreads added a primitive feel to the Sky Room.
Below the bar and restaurant in the main building, the Madonna Inn features world-famous restrooms. They were created as a competition between Mr. and Mrs. Madonna. The ladies room features holographic metallic fuchsia wallpaper, beautiful red leather and velvet furnishings, and pink marble. The men’s room includes giant clam shell sinks, large natural boulders, and a motion-activated waterfall urinal. These restrooms have won contests for the “best” restrooms in America.
Dinner is served in the Gold Rush Steak House. Again, the entire decor has a base color of hot pink. The tables are round booths, with hot pink leather cushions, topped with a metallic gold headrest. In the center of the dining room is a gold tree “growing” from the floor. The branches of the tree are chandelier arms and lit with candelabra bulbs. The ceiling has a border of tufted hot pink velvet. The wallpaper is hot pink damask. Photos of famous people who have dined here adorn the walls, on top of floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The table cloths and napkins are Pepto-Bismol pink. Jumping off the carpet are large pale pink roses, with green tendrils, and a hot pink background.
Earlier, I spied the bakery, showcasing its bright pink layer cake in the display case. Honoring the soul of Madonna Inn, I order that for dessert. The slice is gigantic and tastes like the Madonna Inn looks – sticky sweet, and a bit too much.
The next morning, we move onto Morro Rock Bay. We have lunch on the water, in the shadow of Morro Rock. It stands 576 feet tall and is perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the harbor. Home to nesting Peregrine Falcons, it’s part of a chain of nine volcanic peaks that extend from San Luis Obispo to Morro Bay known as the Nine Sisters. This California Historic Landmark was formed about 23 million years ago from the plug (remnant neck) of a long-extinct volcano. It’s composed mostly of dacite, an igneous, volcanic rock, and partially of petrified bird feces, which have compacted into the plug over the years.
We agree on visiting a winery next, to wash down our lunch. According to their website, Daou winery is owned by 2 brothers, Georges and Daniel Daou. When they were children in Lebanon, a missile that began the Lebanese civil war struck the sidewalk in front of the Daou family home. It sent shrapnel tearing through the house. For two years, the family recovered from serious injuries. Soon after, the Daou family moved to France to find a brighter future where, surrounded by vineyards and centuries of winemaking tradition, Georges and Daniel first dreamt of a life in wine.
After the brothers moved to California as adults, Daniel made wine in his garage in rural San Diego, tending a one-acre vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon, and learning about winemaking. With Georges as his business partner, Daniel told his father, “I’m going to buy a property in Paso, I want to become a winemaker, and I think I can make the best wines in the world.” Without hesitation, their father said, “Go and don’t look back. Go full throttle.”
DAOU Mountain rises 2,200 feet in elevation and has mountain slopes of up to fifty-six percent, The winery is the highest winery on the Central Coast of California, rising dramatically above the Coastal Range and providing breathtaking views. The mountain is cooled by the gentle breezes of the Pacific Ocean, fourteen miles away.
As the four of us sit at a table overlooking the grape vines, the carefully crafted wine smooths our conversation into a relaxed rhythm. We loosen and release with glass after glass. At one point, a five-inch-long tarantula decides to meander across the grass to join us. The wine allows an uncharacteristic response of curiosity instead of fright.
As we drive away under a full moon rising over the ocean, the rocking motion of the car winding along the coast lulls me into a slowed haze. With the coast to our left, mountains to our right, and wine in my blood, the effect is pure California.
Hearst Castle in San Simeon is next. Driving up to the house, we see zebras in the fields, residual from when the castle had a zoo, and they foreshadow the decadence of the castle. The land started as wilderness for the Hearst family to “rough it” on camping trips. In 1919, William Randolph Hearst told his architect: “We are tired of camping out in the open at the ranch in San Simeon and I would like to build a little something.” Julia Morgan, California’s first female architect and one of America’s preeminent architects, supervised the construction of nearly every aspect of Hearst Castle, personally designing most of the structures, grounds, and pools.
Hearst’s initial ideas became grander and grander over time. Construction would continue on the hill until 1947 – totaling 28 years. In the end, Hearst and Morgan constructed one giant house (Casa Grande) and 3 bungalows of varying sizes (Casa del Sol, Casa del Mar, and Casa del Monte). There are 161 rooms across these four buildings. There are also 2 giant swimming pools, a tennis court, a wine cellar, a private zoo, a private theater, an airfield, greenhouses, and elaborate landscaped gardens. The sitting room is 2498 square feet, which is much larger than my home.
William Randolph Hearst owned the largest media conglomerate in the world, which included a number of newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and even a film company. He was also very involved in politics, even unsuccessfully running for President of the United States in 1904. He had connections that ranged from actors and writers to senators and presidents. Hearst Castle became a coveted getaway for Hollywood celebrities who could enjoy first-rate amenities at an isolated spot far from the paparazzi. Visitors over the years included Clark Gable, Sir Winston Churchill, Howard Hughes, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Cary Grant, George Bernard Shaw, Jack Warner, Calvin Coolidge, Charlie Chaplin, and Louis B. Mayer. While his guests enjoyed the house and grounds, Hearst would spend most of his days in his office running his businesses, and then join his guests in the evenings for dinner and entertainment.
Hearst’s last visit to the castle was in 1947. He died in 1951 and the home passed to the parks department of California. It attracts about 750,000 visitors annually.
Weird Al Jankovick, the comedian who parodies popular songs, wrote a song about his hometown of San Luis Obispo that mention all of the places that we visited in this area. “Well, there’s Bubble Gum Alley and the local car rally, not to mention the toilets at Madonna Inn. Take me down to that good old SLO town. I’ve got to get back to that city today. It’s not much of a hassle to drive up to Hearst’s Castle and it’s not too far from Pismo Beach or Morro Rock.”
On the beach below and north of the Castle, Pierdras Blancas is the place to view the northern elephant seal. This seal is the largest in the northern hemisphere and the second largest in the world (after the southern elephant seal). Adult males are about 16 feet in length and 5,000 pounds in weight. The females are much smaller at about 12 feet in length and weigh 1,800 pounds. Elephant seals derive their name from their immense size and from the male’s prominent nose, which serves to intimidate other males both through its size and its ability to create a loud challenge call when competing for females. The northern elephant seal spends eight to ten months a year in the open ocean, diving as deep as 5800 feet for up to two hours. They migrate thousands of miles, twice a year, to its rookery on the central California coast for birthing, breeding, molting, and rest. The rookery spreads over 6 miles of shoreline.
This is where we stand, watching in awe in the waning light of sunset. We observe the teaming mass of seals. They grunt and fight and burp and fart and smell horrific. I can feel their mass heavy below me, putting a weight on my soul, and causing my heart to beat slow and deep. We observe the animals moving across the sand on their bellies in a wormlike wave fashion, digging their flippers in the sand. They confront each other by banging their chests together, making loud gurgling, aggressive noises. Most seem to be asleep, lined up side by side, looking like burritos on a plate. They swim in the shallows to play and cool off from confrontation.
During peak times, there can be up to 25,000 animals on the San Simeon shores. Those times are January, April, and October. We seem to have lucked into the optimal season. With a silent, heartfelt “thank you” and “goodbye” to the seals, I climb back in the car with the others and we silently continue north.
Our night’s stay at Big Sur is a log cabin with a huge stone fireplace, perched on the side of a hill. Because the evening has a slight chill, as soon as we unload the car, Mike starts a fire with wood stacked on the hearth. Sitting scattered on the couch and chairs and a randomly placed twin bed, we regroup. As the oldest, I report our safety to Mom and Dad. Sean checks in with work. Erin checks Instagram. Mike plans for tomorrow.
We wake up with Big Sur Bakery on the brain. This establishment is owned by married New Jersey natives turned Los Angeles restaurant chefs who found the simple life in Big Sur. The bakery has been featured in Time, the New York Times, and Travel and Leisure. We sit outside, loaded with muffins, croissants, and coffee.
Refueled and caffeinated, we drive to McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. A short hike on the appropriately names Overlook Trail along the edge of a cliff peers over the waterfall on the beach. The 80-foot waterfall drops over granite cliffs. During high tide, it is a tidefall, which is a waterfall that empties directly into the ocean. The only other tidefall in California is Alamere Falls and the only other one in the Unites States is Strawberry Bay Falls in Washington. At low tide, the waterfall splashes onto a perfectly preserved sandy cove. There are no footprints, as this beach is closed to the public. The water in the inlet is aqua and it radiates to a light navy in the depths of the ocean. This photograph of the waterfall is the single most popular image of Big Sur.
The members of the Pfeiffer family were the first settlers in Big Sur. Many things are named after them and this causes some confusion. Pfeiffer Beach (different then Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park) is famous for its purple sand. Water flows from the cliffs above the beach. The rocks contain manganese garnet creating the incredible plum-like colors. The color deepen after a storm. Beads of iridescent sand lay atop the lilac hues, creating a shimmering effect. The further north you venture, the more striking the purple color becomes. Pfeiffer Beach is the only purple sand beach in the US.
In addition to the stunning color of the sand are the natural arches that rise above the shoreline of Pfeiffer Beach. There are three arches. Two stand side by side, close to the beach. The third, called Keyhole Arch, stands further north, alone and solitary in a wall of rock several yards out in the ocean. This vaulted natural formation allows waves and sunlight to flow through at all times of the day. Photographers come to catch the sunset shining through the keyhole specifically around the winter solstice when the angle is optimal.
Slightly north of Keyhole Arch is an alcove of the beach pocketing into the cliff. It is hidden from view unless you walk far enough, almost to the end of the sand, and look right. In this recess, people have created thousands of rock stacks. Today, I am prevented from exploring further, as there is a couple sitting in the middle of the stacks, making out while smoking pot. I leave them to their private reverie and turn back to my family.
This spiritual practice of balancing rocks can signify gratitude or can be offered up for another in need. The act of stacking stones carries with it a practice of patience and a physical effort to create balance. Connecting nature with this externalized expression helps expand the spirit. Relaxed and with spirits full, we head to our next destination.
Andrew Molera State Park contains the Creamery Meadow Trail, which is an easy 2 mile out-and-back hiking trail. You cross the Big Sur River and hike through a gorgeous meadow with different wildflowers. The trail lands you at the beach, which is covered in medium-sized, smooth, round stones. There is a tall rock island sticking out of the water a few hundred feet into the ocean. We finally find a beach where there are no other people. Searching out complete serenity, we spread out. Sean walks to the water’s edge. I climb onto a large rock that is at least as tall as me. Erin and Mike start walking down the beach away from Sean and me.
Sitting on my rock, I close my eyes and breathe deeply. The ocean smell, combined with the salty taste on my lips, creates a moment that slows my heart to its resting rate. I extend my breath in and out, enjoying the solitude. As I open my eyes to gaze out at the ocean, I realize that my eyes have a slight lag in tracking. Like a fog rolling through a valley, I slowly realize what this means. My blood sugar is dropping. This lack of eye coordination is the first sign of a low blood sugar. Exercise causes blood sugar to drop lower. And absently, I left my diabetes emergency kit in the car, a one-mile walk away.
Mike and Erin are closest to me, so I jump down off my rock and hurry towards them. While I have a slight panic in my heart, I calmly explain the situation to Erin. I tell her that I have to walk back to the car, but that they should stay here, that I don’t want to interrupt the beautiful calmness. Erin says, “That’s ridiculous, we’re going with you.” I start walking towards the trail. She yells and motions to Sean. She explains the situation to him and he wants to return to the car as well.
As they catch up to me on the return trail, I try to plan ahead for the worst case scenario. I tell Erin that if my blood sugar drops below where I am able to walk and I pass out, someone will have call an ambulance. I would need a shot of glucagon from emergency personnel, which would raise my blood sugar so I could hike out myself. I explain that if I am unconscious, I won’t be able to chew or drink or swallow regular food. I say, “I’m sure this won’t happen, but just in case…”
Erin says the funniest thing she has ever said. She asks me if it would work if she chewed the SweetTarts that I have in the car and “baby-birded” it to me, making hand motions of squirting food from her mouth. Bursting with laughter, I say, “NO!” Our united group laughs, breaking the tension, and we continue steadily, and luckily without incident, to the car.
At the car, I fill my mouth with SweetTarts, try to dissolve them quickly, and feel the sweet saliva run down my throat. Once I have taken the steps to raise my blood sugar, I use my glucometer to measure my progress. The first reading is 70. (Below 80 causes symptoms of low blood sugar.) After 10 minutes, it is 160. Willy Wonka to the rescue.
The ensuing adrenaline crash leaves us hungry, so we stop for lunch at Rocky Point restaurant halfway to Carmel. They have a gorgeous deck built into the side of the cliff with a view of the beach and ocean below. Cheeseburgers never tasted so fulfilling.
Carmel has a lovely downtown area, full of shops and restaurants and golf. Pebble Beach is on the coast, the furthest point west of downtown, and the golfers in our group want to see it. We walk the beach below the course, some of us watching the dolphins playing in the ocean, and some of us watching the golfers playing on the links.
Pebble Beach is unanimously rated the number one public course in the country. It hosted its sixth U.S. Open in 2019, more than any other course over the last 50 years. It’s the shortest course on the PGA tour. The average Pebble Beach green is just 3,500 square feet, the smallest on the tour. The average green depth is just 26 paces. And those greens are surrounded by 118 bunkers. Almost every green is pitched from back-to-front.
Some quotes from champion players include: “It’s one of the most intimidating golf courses I’ve ever played. You get caught up in the views so easily, and all of a sudden, you’ve got all of these difficult shots into greens that look like the size of dimes.” “Everything breaks to the ocean, but it’s all around you. I can never figure out where that putt is going to break.” Even the non-golfers had to bow to the magnificence that is Pebble Beach.
Trying to squeeze our remaining destination list into our last full day, we start towards the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We walk along the harbor, viewing the ships, and have lunch overlooking the water. The aquarium is housed in a reclaimed sardine cannery directly on the bay. It doesn’t disappoint with its famous frolicking sea otters exhibit, waddling penguins, and soothing swaying sea anemone display. At 28 feet, the Kelp Forest is one of the tallest aquarium exhibits in the world. You feel like you are swimming with the leopard sharks, wolf-eels and many other fishes as they weave through swaying fronds of kelp.
Exhausted from a full week of traveling, eating, hiking, and bonding, we retire to our accommodations for the evening – a yurt reserved through Air BNB. The structure is about 30 feet in diameter, with exposed wooden support beams. It’s large enough to include a king bed, and 2 pullout sofas. There is even a tiny kitchenette. The bathroom is on the edge of the host’s personal home, across the lawn. A hot tub is sunk into the deck that surrounds the yurt. While everyone else is too tired to use the hot tub, I soak for a short time, absorbing the view of the night skies.
In the morning, we rise before dawn and pack up the car. My siblings are dropping me off at an optometry conference in Monterey, and then driving back to LA.
We took a photo before we left Sean’s house, and then another at the yurt that morning. The comparative spacing in each photo is interesting. In the Los Angeles picture, we seem disinterested and distanced, while casually and cooly leaning against Sean’s car in front of his house. In the Monterey picture, we position ourselves closer, and are alert, engaged, and bonded. The increased physical and emotional closeness is evident. And what other reason is there for a road trip?
