We've been busy

It may sound silly to say that we need to take a break from our travels in search of a little R&R; but, nonetheless, a little relaxation is exactly what we need. Since we left San Francisco this past Tuesday, we have been busy little travelers - trying to squeeze in every fun California thing to do. We headed south to the seaside playgrounds of Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel. We took the 17 mile drive around the peninsula, stopped in for leisurely noontime cocktails at the gorgeous Lodge at Pebble Beach, and wandered the nooks and crannies of posh Carmel (which incidentally reminded us of the atmosphere in Greenwich, Connecticut).

The following day we drove down Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) headed for the Santa Barbara area. The "Today Show" described the PCH earlier this week - "every turn seems more breathtaking than the next and you continually feel as if you need to take a picture". And, if the drive itself wasn't spectacular enough, we traveled along with some type of antique road show. Hundreds of all types of vintage cars accompanied us along our journey down the coast. They were fantastic!

Eventually, we arrived in San Simeon to pay a visit to the second largest tourist attraction in the state; the Hearst Castle. Flowery words just cannot describe this estate. With 150ish rooms in the main house alone and the beautiful Spanish architecture, Italian art, etc. etc., it is a must see. Visually stunning - of course; yet what really made an impression on me were two things......

1. How much more can be accomplished with a good team (even a team of two) than as one person working alone.

2. Amazing wealth and good fortune mean all but nothing if you can't share it with others.

If you haven't visited, it’s something to put on your list. The story is inspiring.

As we continued our travel down PCH, we visited Morro Bay just to the south of San Simeon. It's claim to fame is a huge boulder on the side of the bay that’s a mini Rock of Gibraltar or a larger Haystack Rock. It’s quite impressive. But, more notably, the last place where I dipped my feet into the Pacific Ocean. The beach is very big and a fun place to run around and stretch your legs!

We stayed in Buellton for a couple of days to do the “Sideways” tour. The Santa Ynez Valley is an up-and-coming wine region that gained increased notoriety through the movie. We took the same tour as Miles and Jack; through the barrel room at Firestone Vineyard. The valley is quite breathtaking with acres of manicured vineyards. We really enjoyed our time at several of these winerys; very informative, some interesting varietals, and not too many people! Buellton’s other "claim to fame" is their famous split pea soup! Who knew? I love split pea, and it’s actually worth a try.

We had a short afternoon in Santa Barbara – the supposed American Riviera – that we wished was longer. We drove down State Street towards the pier that once was used for fishing and is now a tourist trap just like most of the other piers in coastal California towns. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon and a long promenade along the ocean was calling us. A walk would have been nice, but we kicked it up a notch and rented a two man bicycle. It was a classic California moment – biking with other tanned Californians along the promenade with palm trees on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.

As much as we have enjoyed every fun-filled day in the golden state of California, at some point we should head east or we might just find ourselves in Mexico. It that spirit, today we say adios to California and hello Arizona!