A Road Trip up California's Central Coast

For the 4th of July, I took a road trip up California's central coast to Cambria, California. Cambria is one of those vacation spots that people either have never had the fortune of knowing it exists or it has become a hidden gem and family favorite destination. Until this trip, I belonged in the former. Cambria is on California's coastline tucked away between San Simeon (think Hearst Castle) and Morro Bay. For being such a small vacation beach community, you will not be wanting for activities! There is everything from Hiking to climbing to paddle boarding to seeing famous landmarks or enjoying the local eats :)

The Drive up the Central Coast!

The drive up is all wine country and farm lands until you get to the wild coast line. Having lived in Southern California my entire life, I often forget how driving north gets away from all the concrete and development (especially in Los Angeles) There's horses and cows (and even Ostriches and Emus!) running free. I find its easier to take it all in and live in the moment.

Start Your Day off Right!

The town center of Cambria is small and you can drive through on one street within 5 minutes. We made our way to Cambria Coffee Roasting and stayed dedicated to it every morning. With my Almond milk latte in hand, I was ready to take on all the active adventures we had planned!

Exploring the Mountains!

On our second day, we drove, quite a ways up to Pinnacles National Park. Pinnacles is one of the newest named National Parks. The pinnacle formations were caused by an now extinct volcano that has shifted over time to look more like an eroded caldera. Pinnacles is a hiking, rock climbing and spelunking! The biggest draw to Pinnacles this trip was the spelunking.Part of the West gate hike involved traversing through Balconies cave. Bring a headlight! because it is dark and you are climbing down rocks through the cave. There is plenty of rock climbing at Pinnacles but this time we chose not to as it was nearing 90 degree weather and the options to go kayaking and wine tasting won over :)

Exploring the Central Coast!

Cambria is just one of the many small towns up the 1. on the coast. Only a 15 minute drive north you will be in San Simeon, most famous for Hearst Castle and the Elephant Seal Beach! Hearst Castle is iconic and a must-do at least once in your life. For any film buffs out there it is the estate of the man most infamously portrayed by Orson Welles in Citizen Kane. Randolph Hearst was a vast collector of art and exotic animals. His house, if you can call it that, is a behemoth of grandeur from the Grecian Temple-like Pool overlooking the whole coastline to the gold-lined indoor pool (clearly i loved the pools the most). But even if you don't take a tour of the castle, the best part is stopping on the road to see the heard of zebras... just casually living on the central California property.In the early summer, the elephant seals all lay on the beach to molt. This is when they fast on the beach to grow new skin and hair. Elephant seals are massive and they are cute in a really ugly way, like a cross between gonzo and a large seal and I love them for that! We even got to see two juvenile males sparring out in the water, such a cool sight but I would not want to face off with one myself!The San Simeon Beach offers so much to do. Sea for yourself  is a kayak and paddle board rental shop situated on the beach. We talked to the owner Cubby and all went out on the ocean. San Simeon is the ideal locale for kayaking and paddle boarding because the coast line forms a little alcove free from the heavy tides of the ocean making the water very calm to be out on. (I even went paddle boarding without a wet suit which was risky but I didn't fall in!) During our time out there, we saw harbor seals following us around and 2 members in our group even saw sea otters! Before we left, we walked out to the end of the pier and saw a pod of gray whales breaching in the distance. My heart definitely feels at peace when I am outdoors and near the ocean.

Where to Eat!

Centrally Grown was an oasis that we discovered between Cambria and San Simeon. It truly is one-stop-shop. We pulled in looking to grab a quick bite after our long active day only to recruit the rest of our group and have a sit down dinner. Centrally grown is a restaurant/bar/cafe/market with wine tasting, a local goods shop, outdoor terrace, recreational sports that hosts live music events and promotes local and organic goods! (Whew!) We went back to Centrally Grown every day after our initial discovery (you can't quit a good thing!) and everything is delicious! They have a vast cocktail, wine/craft beer selection. The restaurant does everything well from their artisanal flat breads to their mains. And the market cannot be discounted either: gourmet sandwiches and salads filled us up between activities. We even played scrabble at the bar while waiting for the rest of our party to join us.

Exploring the Terrain!

From playing in the rock caves of pinnacles to playing in the ocean, my favorite activity was discovering Salmon Creek Falls. My dad, a semi professional rock climber, truly instilled in me a love for adventure and the outdoors and used to take my sisters and I out everywhere with him. Going to Salmon Creek Falls was such a treat because I felt like a kid again with him. The hike to Salmon Creek Falls in not that long depending on your purpose. Getting to the falls can be a direct route but we decided to hike up all the around and get to the cave at the top of the falls first. It was freakin' awesome. We climbed over boulders and through rock formations, scaling over trees. We ended our afternoon with a a quick dip in the falls. It is COLD! but following in the footsteps of my dad, I climbed behind the waterfall and slid down the moss like a water-slide right alongside him! I could do this every day.

End the Trip With Something Sweet!

As most my family knows, I am not a huge fan of ice cream (I know blasphemy!) But every once and a while I come across ice cream so good, I will ignore the intense sick-to-my-stomach feeling I get. Mojo's Village Bean is that good! I was tasked to pick up ice cream for the Fourth of July ice cream sandwich desserts we were making and I stumbled upon this shop (mostly because it was one of the only places still open in the evening on the 4th). The Salted Caramel is what sold me. (The cookies n cream cookie dough is also a top seller!) Mojo's also serves coffee and their blended iced chai lattes are so creamy I suspect they are using ice cream and espresso to make it. It was the sweetest way to end our last night in Cambria.

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We only spent a short and simple weekend up in Cambria, but jam-packed it with all these amazing outdoor activities. I cannot wait to go back. I snapped this picture in Cayucos, a little town south as we were passing through. I have fallen in love with the Central Coast.

What to do in a Summer Weekend: Eugene, Oregon

I jetted off to spend a summer weekend in Eugene, Oregon this past week. The reason: my little sister's graduation. With her as my guide this time, we got to see the town from a local's perspective. Eugene, Oregon is better known as the college town locale of University of Oregon as well as the birthplace to Nike. Its a place that values hiking and the outdoors as well as craft coffee and beer. The term yuppie has been bred out of the community that is Eugene.

WHERE TO STAY!

In true tradition of my mother, we used Airbnb to book our lodgings. With tons of family & friends flying in to watch my little sister graduate from University of Oregon (go Ducks!), we needed a spacious and homey play to stay for all of the activities.We found the quaint house off of Polk St, in a family neighborhood to meet all of our needs.

GET ENERGIZED!

Coffee Plant Roaster imports coffee beans from all around the world and freshly roasts them for a unique and wide range of flavor. They serves everything from Specialty espresso drinks, to cold brew, to loose leaf tea, to Kombucha. Their mission is to serve great coffee as well as have great baked goods and little bites so that anyone can come in for a couple hours and enjoy their time. The atmosphere is spacious and cozy with pillow lined booths along the walls and large tables, perfect for the college town of Eugene.

GET BRUNCH!

After our spa day, we headed to Noisette for a quick coffee/snack break.  Noisette is essentially the byproduct of mixing industrial-rustic with French Bakery. We sat down at a tea-table inside and ordered lattes and the Vegetable Savory Tart. The tart was so delicious that we ordered a whole pie for her graduation party we hosted back at the house. As for the lattes, My mother and I were surprised to find that the milk tasted…well different. My little went onto explain: Eugene is known for their huge farm-to-table, organic, non-gmo culture. A lot of business’ use Raw, straight from the source milk. That means, that milk comes from pasture-fed cows and have little-to-no pasteurizing or processing. I am a full supporter of this lifestyle, however, I do have to admit it took half the latte to get used to the organic milk flavor.

GET EXPLORING!

My absolute favorite thing to do in Eugene was playing in the Willamette River. There is a spot on the Western Bank of the Willammette near Autzen Stadium footbridge where you can sunbathe, picnic, and jump/swim in the river. There are small but strong rapids and riding them down tapped into my thrill seeking. Hiking may be the State-wide past time for Oregonites, but I say playing in the river is the must-do summer activity.The Saturday market is the place to go to on Saturday Morning. From Fresh fruits to curated flower bunches to high quality oils and vinegars, Everyone descends on downtown to stock up on all their local produce. According to my sister, The Downtown scene in Eugene used to be pretty shady attracting the majority of Eugene’s homeless population. With help from some new local business’ and the Saturday Market, its culture is starting to redevelop and is becoming a new hot spot in Eugene.The Fifth street Public Market is a cool place to visit. Several shops surround a small outdoor terrace for a nice peaceful place to visit, shot, and eat. We stopped into the Marché Provisions which doubles as a high-end provisions store as well as a cafe.Skinner Butte Park is in the top 3 hiking/vista points in Eugene. Because of the limited time we had, we did not hike up, but instead drove up to the vista to get a great view of the whole city.

GET EATING!

I now absolutely know how my sister managed to survive 4 years in Oregon being away from California Tacos and Mexican food in general. Tacovore does artisan tacos right. Whether you want simple beef/chicken tacos or if you’re a vegetarian like me a dressed up explosion of flavor beet/tofu tacos, you are sure to find whatever fits your desire. They also have about 8 different salsa’s, which are all amazing and some very spicy.McMenamins North Bank is a Eugene Staple. McMenamins is a business I have written about in a previous blog post here about their business in Portland. They are known for their Cajun Tater tots, which are mind blowingly amazing (even though, they are mostly likely flash-frozen hush puppies), but serve quality healthy dishes such as the kale Cesar salad i ordered. Their restaurant/bar sits right on the Willamette with gorgeous views of the river.

GET DRINKING!

The Barn Light is the hotspot in Downtown. Two friends opened it up to double as a coffee shop/bar similar to the one they both met and worked at in Kansas. It has quickly become the hotspot it is today and one of the spots that has helped bring more and more people downtown.

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