Road Tripping: Coasting the California Coast

Being a Southern California native, I’ve cruised up the California coast many times in my life.  But I’ve never driven north of Santa Barbara on my own. Never.  Until this last week when I was enticed to venture farther north in my trusty little Prius to attend a wine-tasting ocean view tweetup at the lovely Sea Crest Hotel in Pismo Beach.

“Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.” Robert Henri

In the past I was either with my husband or close friends (I fondly recall a road trip where I proudly showed off my home state to my French friend Catherine). I’ve been hitting the highways and traveling more and more lately on my own.  And the discoveries are more than just geographic.

Santa Barbara Mission

I was visiting my dear childhood friend in Santa Barbara…oh, don’t you have one of those? A friend with a beautiful Spanish bungalow home nestled in the oaks of the fairest city of all of California? (And arguably the finest of all of the states) You need to get one 😉 Along with the friend with the sailboat and the ski chalet, and an awesome horse to ride, and…I do hope you catch the jesting (kinda!).  I prize my friends for their steadfast friendship.  And for putting up with me and/or coming with me on roadtrips! I’m actually the friend with access to a sail boat, but that’s another post altogether!

View from my room

OK, so we were discussing travel alone.  And how I broke my northern barrier, in a bit of melancholy actually, but with an eye to meeting new people and discovering a new gem along the California coast.  I arrived at the Sea Crest with just enough time to settle in a freshen up.  But you know me… (OK if you don’t, then read more of my blog posts!) I had to rendez-vous with the Pacific Ocean, my old friend dating back farther than any of my treasured friends with charming guest rooms 😀

I'm not the only one excited to get to the sand!

This particular hotel sits on five groomed, yet somehow rustically preserved, natural acres on the bluffs overlooking Pismo Beach.  I trotted down the salt infused wooden stairwell and doffed my flip flops the minute I was on the sand and oohhhh….the exquisite feeling of flour fine sand, warmed by the Indian Summer sun all day, meeting my feet.

Who can walk along the shore, feel the sand in their toes, the salt air kissing their face, and the ocean whispering sweet nothings, and not feel abundant? Gina Stark (me)

My feet and I walked the wonderfully wide expanse of sand down to the water where I watched the gulls happily feasting on the abundant and renowned Pismo clams.  The gulls were fat and happy. The clams here, too, are fat and…well….not so happy.  Most coastal California natives are familiar with Pismo clams. They are the big and tasty ones.  Pismo Beach hosts a festival every year to celebrate this abundant and super-sized clam.

Happy as a clam...oh, maybe not these clams!

I breathed in the air, said “hello” to my vast and reassuring blue-bodied friend and headed back up to the rooftop tweetup.  I happily sampled two tasty white wines from the local Pear Valley vineyards. Sorry, readers, I’m not a wine aficionado. You’re not going to get any more sophisticated vinous adjective than “tasty” out of me, but it was 🙂 They had a delectable (I’m a foodie…I know these words) spread of hors d’oeuvres and I met a few other guests, some local business owners and several of the hotel staff who could not have offered me a warmer welcome.  Jillian is their resident Twitter girl (she may cringe when she reads that title! haha) and I offered to share some suuper tips the next day with the condition that we have a barefoot powwow on the beach, rather than an office meeting.

Rooftop Tweetup and wine tasting at the Sea Crest Hotel

Chowing down on chowder

After watching a quintessential palm-tree-dotted California beach sunset from the rooftop, I headed over to Splash Cafe.  Highly touted by the hotel staff and at least one Twitter follower as the place to go for award winning clam chowder.  I took the beach route and walked over to the pier to make my own determination of award-winningness. Yup. It’s creamy, clammy, rich, food sin. See exhibit A below:

I couldn't wait to bite into that toasted sour dough center before snapping my pic!

Wake up and smell the ocean

Are you still with me? I haven’t even told you the best part yet…the part where I arrived back at my stunning ocean view

I've heard of the white cliffs of Dover...what a pleasant surprise! Pismo Beach

room and opened the slider door…and was assaulted.  By the fresh balmy coastal air.  By the resonating and powerful drum of the waves hitting the beach.  And I remember thinking, “Oh wow, that’s too loud to sleep through.” Oh yeah? Well, I sat down at around 9:45PM with the idea of cranking out some work and emails and downloading photos and other various and sundry activities this blogger does until the wee hours and….*thunk*.  That’s the sound of a soft collapse onto crisp down pillows.  When a force more powerful than you has deemed it necessary for you to sleep deeply, soundly, smilingly, for 10 hours.  I never closed the slider.  I never closed the blinds.  And I enjoyed the most pure serenity and rest I’ve had in ages.  The Pacific Ocean reminded me of it’s reciprocated loyalty. And that when I travel up my California coast, I’m never really alone.

Read also: The Serendipity of Traveling Solo – Or, Why There is No “of course!” in the Italian Language

and: Santa Barbaraaahhhh Beach Walking, Site Gawking