Planning your trip: part 2

If you are flying to get here, you'll probably want to rent a car. If you choose to come into Santa Barbara or the big city airports, you can plan a trip along the coast. Possible stops include:

From the north, travelling south on the coast:

Monterey/my maternal grandparent's traditional vacation spot Pacific Grove/Carmel: Monterey has the aquarium and cannery row, Pacific Grove is a lovely little residential/beach access, and, for golfers, no more need to be said about Carmel, home of Pebble.

Big Sur: famous, and can be inaccessible unless you have time to explore

Hearst Castle: Th is is definitely worth seeing, and there are multiple tours. I believe they still won't let you do more than 2 in one day, so if you are interested in this kind of thing, spend the night at San Simeon.

Cambria/Cayucos/Harmony/Morro Bay: artsy/funky little coastal towns

travelling south on 101

Paso Robles/Templeton (the church I serve is here)/San Luis Obispo: central coast wine country. At this time of year, Paso and Templeton tend to be hot, so be forewarned.

From the south, travelling north along the coast

Santa Monica/Malibu: if you've watched TV in the last 50 years, you know...

Santa Barbara: 'nuff said...

Solvang/Los Olivos/Buellton: Little Denmark, Sideways (the movie) wine country, and road landmark Pea Soup Andersons.

More trip planning info tomorrow...