California Road Trip: Big Sur
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
–Mark Twain
Refund those expensive plane tickets, leave the passport at home, and ditch the foreign formalities. The destination this year is home. For the entire rest of the world, California is thee place to be, and we, lucky as we are, are fortunate enough to live here. There’s plenty to explore right in our own backyards; whether you reside in San Diego, Orange County, or Los Angeles you’re never very far from adventure. So let’s round up the crew, gas up the tank, and prepare for some Sunshine State road trippin’.
Road trip to Big Sur
Just past San Luis Obispo, about four hours from LA, veer off the 101 and go back in time at the Hearst Castle. It served as inspiration behind the “Xanadu” mansion of Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, and an invitation was once highly coveted by Hollywood’s A-Lister’s, who, when summoned, would often fly up from Tinseltown in private jets and land at the estate’s airfield. Take the guided Grand Rooms Tour and imagine partying with the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Bob Hope, and Winston Churchill.
Continue along Highway 1 and prepare for the most scenic drive of your life. Winding roads hugging steep seaside cliffs on one side with lush greenery on the other. Restaurants are sparse along the coast so Lucia Lodge will be a welcoming site for your growing hunger. Order Grilled Marinated Artichokes, (which come from nearby Castroville, the artichoke-capital-of-the-world,) while you sit on the deck taking in the fresh ocean air.
Once you’ve finally made it through the photoshoot that is Highway 1, check in to your Yurt at the Treebones Resort. All the perks of camping in a tent with the luxuries of a cabin — we’re talking French doors, pine wood floors, and electricity... oh, and a sky dome so you can view the stars from the comfort of your queen-sized bed!
If the resort’s outdoor sushi bar isn’t cutting it for you, head to Nepenthe for an Ambrosia Burger, open for lunch 365 days a year. The family-run business has been around since 1949 and is full of folktales and loved ones that live to tell them. Once you’re full and ready for more adventure take a hiking tour with Central Coast Outdoors. Distances range from four to five miles and include waterfalls, beaches, and Redwoods that are literally the size of houses.