California's Central Coast... A Weekend Getaway!

A couple weeks ago for my birthday we headed up the to the central coast. Cambria was our home base, with forgiving traffic its a beautiful 220 mile drive north up the 101 freeway. We had such a great time and I highly recommend spending a few days there when every you need a stress free getaway with a beautiful back drop. Here are just some of the highlights in the area! 

Stay:

There are a few great hotels in the area, but we picked up a great deal on travelzoo for 2 nights with dinner included.

Cambria Pines Lodge: This is where we stayed, ate, and hung out.
The restaurant is pretty amazing and there is live music in the hotel bar every night.
www.cambriapineslodge.com

The hotel grounds are covered with beautiful gardens. 

Hearst Castle:

Possible my favorite part of our trip. Hearst Castle is a short drive north of Cambria. Tours cost $25 a person and are well worth it after the tour you are free to walk the grounds to explore.

www.hearstcastle.org

All of that is real gold! 

Don't be surprised when you see Zebras on the way to the castle! 

 The Elephant Seals:

Just 4 miles north of Hearst Castle are the Elephant seals, a colony of 7500 seal live in the area and hang out on beaches.

www.slostateparks.com

Wine Tasting:

This area is one of California fastest growing vineyard areas and if you ask me they give NorCal a run for their money. You can literally spend an entire weekend wine tasting in and around Paso Robles and still not see everything.

 For  a List of wineries and maps go to www.pasowine.com

Out in the vineyards

Wild Coyote: This it the only winery I am a member of and it is the 1st place everyone will recommend including me!

 www.wildcoyote.biz

Moonstone Beach:

Moonstone beach is a breath taking site. Take a sunset stroll along the board walk and be sure to look out for sea lions and seals swimming in the water or lounging on the rocks.

www.tripadvisor.com/MoonstoneBeach

Town Of Cambria:

Cambria is such an amazing and cute little town everything feels like a movie set! A lot of people we talked with have moved here from LA to open great little shops or restaurants.

This was my favorite antique shop of the trip!
www.yelp.com/grannyhadone

Morro Bay:

Half an hour or so south of Cambria we stopped here on our way home. It's a cute little beach town full of shops and restaurants. A great place to walk around and stop for lunch on your way back to LA.

www.morro-bay.ca.us

 

For more information and things to do in the central coast area check out these cool websites:

www.centralcoast.com

www.lonelyplanet.com/californiacentralcoast

www.sunset.com//california-central-coast

Or leave a comments with your personal favorites!