We spent a long weekend exploring the sites and tasting the food in California’s central Pacific Coast. This was our itinerary for 4 days traveling the CA Highway 1 from San Francisco to Big Sur.
Day 1 – Flying into San Francisco and Driving to Monterey
Ahhhhhh…. the airport. One of my favorite places. 5 A.M. on a chilly Minnesota morning we braved the dark streets to find the Quick Ride Ramp at MSP. The shuttle arrived pretty quickly to bring us to Terminal 1 where we met a somewhat intimidating TSA PreCheck line. After about 15 minutes we were through security and ready to board our flight to San Francisco.
The plane ride was delightful, and we landed on time in San Francisco. Spoiled! SFO was a little confusing to navigate at first. “How do we get to the rental cars?!?!” After a quick look at the little map where you come in through security we located the AirTrain to the rental car ramp and we were off. This was a birthday weekend trip so we splurged and got the “premium special” grade car.
Pro-Tip: Upgrading a rental car is worth it when you do mini-road trips like this and spend a few hours in the car each day.
We wanted to maximize our drive on the Pacific Coast Highway so we mapped SFO to Pacifica and then to Pescadero. It’s not a fast highway so you can really take in the scenery. There are many opportunities for photo ops and exploration along the way. Driving straight through to Pescadero is about an hour, but you can take as long as you want pulling over to take pictures and explore tide pools, beaches, and rock formations (Andre’s favorite). We didn’t make too many stops as we wanted to get to Pescadero for lunch.
We had heard of an amazing grocery and deli called Arcangeli that serves sour dough bread with artichokes baked inside. This was a huge loaf of bread and really delicious!
We couldn’t have just bread for lunch. We needed some soup! The kind workers at Arcangeli’s told us that there was a spot just down the street that had soup. We found Duarte’s at the end of the block and they hooked us up with some clam chowder and their specialty, cream of artichoke.
After lunch at Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve, we continued down the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Cruz. We wanted to check it out so we took a walk down the pier. There is a boardwalk with carnival games and rides, but that wasn’t open on a Friday. We walked down the pier with restaurants and shops. The main attraction of this pier, however was the hundreds of Sea Lions relaxing on the beams underneath. Their barking was so loud! They just love the sound of their own voices. This was also a chance to get out of the car for a bit and stretch our legs.
From Santa Cruz we started the final leg of our drive to Monterey. We hit a bit of traffic but made this fun by cranking up the 90’s West Coast Hip-Hop in the car. We arrived at our Hotel in Monterey, The Spindrift Inn and had a seamless checkin. This is a very charming hotel right on Cannery Row and feels very much like a bed and breakfast.
We finished out our long first day with happy hour at The Fish Hopper restaurant. We just stopped for the one cocktail, but we heard a lot of positive reviews from locals. After, we went to The Salty Seal Brewpub for a quick and inexpensive bite to eat. It was right across the street from our hotel, so it just hit the spot.
We grabbed a bottle of wine from a local liquor store before heading back to the room. A successful first day of vacation!
Day 2 – Exploring the 17 Mile Drive, Carmel by the Sea, and Pebble Beach
Saturday in Monterey is filled with families visiting the aquarium and touristy shops. Our day was going to be on the road again, exploring the coast line and towns nearby. The Spindrift Inn offers complimentary continental breakfast brought to your room. Andre enjoyed this while I had some of the leftover sourdough bread from the previous day’s soup extravaganza. Then, we were off exploring. We followed the coast line through Pacific Grove and entered the gate to 17 Mile Drive. The cost to enter the area is $11.25 per vehicle, you can leave and re-enter all day, you just need to show your receipt. There is a special way to get this fee reimbursed I will describe below.
The amazingly beautiful drive has numerous stopping points for views and photos. There was a bike tour happening while we were driving so we could hear a little of the tour guides stories, which was kind of fun. The stretch of road winds through the coastline and redwood forests. There are also many golf courses woven throughout. Probably, the most picturesque and iconic stop is The Lone Cypress. It’s amazing to think people actually live here. Wait until you see some of these houses.
By this time, I was starting to get hangry. My little sourdough breakfast was wearing off. We left the 17 mile drive and entered into the town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. This small town is full of quaint shops and restaurants and is quite walkable. However, be warned that it has a very steep hill going down to the beach area so that can be quite a hike. We went in without a plan so we parked and started walking to find a restaurant for lunch.
We shared the autumn salad and each got a pizza. It was so delicious. We had a spot by the window and it was great people / dog watching.
We wandered for a few blocks and just as I was about to lose hope we found one of my favorite places of the entire trip. La Bicyclette. The food was so good and the service was amazing.
After lunch we explored the town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The buildings have a ton of character. The shopping is plentiful and very high-end, but we didn’t buy anything there. There are a lot of wine tasting shops for specific vineyards in the area. This is a nice way to sample many wines without having to drive to each one. There is also a really popular cheese shop that offers wine and cheese pairings. If we had another day there I would definitely try that. But, we had more to see…
The next leg of our journey was to venture south to Big Sur. This was a very busy stretch of highway with a lot of viewing areas; many winding curves and lodging options. As we were driving the fog rolled in and became a mysterious adventure into the landscape of mountains and coastline. We stopped at Bixby Bridge to snap some photos. That’s the furthest we drove as the highway was closed up ahead and we wanted to head back for our return trip through 17 Mile Drive.
One of the drive’s main attractions is Pebble Beach Golf Club. Andre is a golf fan so we stopped for some souvenirs. They also let you go down to the 18th green to take pictures and admire the grounds. But, for me, the best part was how to get your admission fee reimbursed.
And yes, it involves happy hour! If you spend $35 at one of the Pebble Beach restaurants or bars you will get the amount you paid for the 17 Mile Drive admission taken off your tab. We sat at the bar overlooking the 18th green, The Bench, and had a cocktail and a snack. I think we had the portobello fries. The people watching was amazing. I’ve never been surrounded by so many drunk golf dudes before….lol… Also, if you are there at sunset, you can catch the bag piper playing to close out play for the day.
We couldn’t stay for sunset as we wanted to head back to Monterey for dinner. We wound our way back through the redwoods of 17 Mile Drive and found our hotel again. We stopped in to freshen up and decided to walk down to find a restaurant we had seen on YouTube, Sandbar & Grill. Writing this and looking at the pictures is making me want to go back right now. It’s a local spot with a ton of character. The food is absolutely amazing. So amazing that we ended up going back the next night for dinner.
This place has amazing seafood; probably the best you will have in Monterey. That’s why the locals go here every night. Our bartender, Mike, and his assistant Luis were so great and made us feel at home. They were even super accommodating to my vegetarian diet and had a special menu for me. Andre loved their seafood pasta with extra chili flakes. It’s called Penne Puttanesca on the menu but you can substitute with linguini pasta if you like. Chef’s kiss…we miss you Mike.
Day 3 – Monterey Bay Aquarium and Whale Watching
Sunday! The day of all things aquatic! We love nature and love to be on the water. So, this day was dedicated to the aquarium and getting out on the water to see the sea life in action. Firstly, you should buy your tickets to the aquarium online, in advance. I don’t think they even have ticket sales on site. You can totally find a whale watching cruise at the last minute, however, which is what we did. Here’s how it all played out:
Breakfast: Andre did have a little of the complementary breakfast from our hotel, but we wanted something more substantial. We went to Wave Street Cafe. This is a really popular breakfast spot along the walking path in Monterey. Luckily, we got in with no wait. I ordered the scrambled eggs with potatoes and veggie sausage. Andre ordered the same thing, but with over easy eggs and bacon. We finished just in time to get to the aquarium for opening time; 10:00 A.M.
We arrived at the aquarium to a line of people waiting to enter. It went really quickly, and once we were in we had to decide which area to check out first. We decided to go see the Deep Sea area first. Everything you wanted to know about jellyfish. They have an amazing deep sea tank with yellow fin tuna, a school of mackerel, hammer head shark, sea turtles, and a lot more. Seeing the feeding was also really fun and very educational.
Next, we watched the otter feeding from a primo spot. They are such amazing creatures. Maybe my spirit animal. There is a special spot to sit on the first floor level. We heard we had the best spot in the house, but really we just wanted a spot to sit and watch the otters. Afterwards, we ventured through the rest of the exhibits. The outdoor areas, the kelp forest, the penguins. It took us about 3 hours in total. You can spend the entire day if you wanted to, but we wanted to get on a boat and onto the ocean.
After the aquarium we needed some light lunch. The obvious choice was A Taste of Monterey for some snacks and wine. The view here is amazing. You can sip some wine and enjoy a nice charcuterie board while watching all of the sea life and boats sailing through the bay.
After the wine tasting we walked down to Fisherman’s Wharf to catch the afternoon whale watching tour. There are many cruises to choose from. We went with Princess Monterey Whale Watching.
The cruise was a lot of fun. There were very few people on board with us. We even had the entire upper deck to ourselves. It was cold on the water so bring a coat. We saw pods of dolphins, whales, and sea lions. It was very cool to see how they hunt together. It was dark by the time we came back to land. We thought about trying a new spot for dinner, but….we couldn’t resist the call of the Sandbar. Andre had his birthday dinner with all of the seafood delicacies that had been on his wish list: oysters, crab salad, and that spicy seafood pasta he had the night before. It was so good!
Day 4 – Checking out the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz
The last day of our trip started off with checking out of the lovely Spindrift Inn. We had some time before our flight so we could do some sight seeing on the drive back to San Francisco International. We grabbed breakfast at Old Monterey Cafe. This place was good, but the service was a little off. Try it out for yourself….if you dare. I surprised Andre with a stop in Santa Cruz’s Mystery Spot. It was pouring rain, but we went for it anyway. I really had no idea what this was going to entail, but it was pretty entertaining. It’s basically a run down cabin that is said to be sitting on a place where gravity is behaving differently. You go in with a group of people and a guide. Our guide, Andy, was funny and made it worth the cost of the tour.
When we finished our tour, it was time to drive back to the airport. We ended up taking a quicker route through the mountains. I’m glad we did this drive instead of going back up the coast. We returned the rental car and relaxed in the airport for awhile. It was a good time to reflect on the trip and also start planning the next one! This is a beautiful area and I hope we can come back some day. There is so much more to see and do in California.
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