Coastal California

There are many things in life which until and unless experienced can never be understood. Coastal California is one such thing. With its sunny weather, sparkling beaches and the undying activity all around makes it stand out. Yes, there is a lot of traffic and other such obstacles; still I love it and the other things it offers. California Coast Vacations give me and others a chance to take off for the weekend and unwind. Driving along the winding roads on the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) to stop only for a delicious meal of buttermilk pancakes or a sip of freshly brewed coffee and a croissant, I just cannot help but fall in love with California over and over again.

I remember my very first Coastal California. It was during my college break, me and my husband, not having enough cash on us to fly anywhere for the spring break, just threw in a towel, swimsuit, the closest pair of jeans and sweatshirt we could lay our hands on and a sleeping bag into the car, topped it with gasoline and were off.

With Don Henley popped into the CD player, we drove along the PHC and stopped in Pacific Palisades at the Ralph's Market for snacks before resuming our journey. We had set off with no such "plan", except to only enjoy the time we had, but the 4 days which followed were a blast. Our Coastal California started in Santa Monica. Along the way to Santa Barbara, our only stop was Malibu to observe the windsurfers there.

In Santa Barbara, we fed coins into the parking meter enough to buy us almost 2 hours, then hiked up to the pier, where surrounded by the salty fishy smell, we had a tasty lunch of chips and fish tacos from a restaurant. As soon as we were done, we ran back to the car just in time to save ourselves a ticket and continued North. Along the way we stopped at Cambria, where we bought a souvenir of a beautiful little dolphin from "The Soldier Factory".

Before we could realize, it was getting dark and as the sun descended, the idea to spend the night in our cramped car did not appeal to us. So we asked the locals if we could get a bed and breakfast and were taken to a place called the Dreydon House B&B, which not only surprised us for its affordable price, but also with the kind of hospitality we received as we were shown our little but lovely room.

Our original plan was to keep driving, but when we woke up, we felt so rejuvenated that we dropped any further plans and spent the rest of our trip in Cambria itself. We explored the area, played in the tide pools in the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve and even saw the red-tailed hawks soaring free high in the sky and migrating whales spouting.

And how could your vacation have concluded without a visit to Hearst Castle, known as the "ultimate" destination where people take in the beauty of the Neptune Pool, the beautiful gardens and the gilded rooms and lightly whisper to each other that still their little apartments are a class apart.

Finally on the fourth day we packed our things and started for Los Angeles for the final frontier before graduation. Through the years I have had many such California coast vacations, but our first one would be the one we will never ever forget as it is now inked in our hearts and memories forever.