Robby and I have taken a Coastal vacation every year for the last 5 years. We absolutely LOVE it! The last 3 years we've stayed in Cambria http://www.seecambria.com/"where the pines meet the sea!" This is a little town that's filled with so much fun! There's little shops, great coffee, a cute grocery store http://www.cookiecrock.com/.
Another area we love to visit is Solvang. http://www.solvangusa.com/ This is a sweet Dutch Village where you'll find lots of fun little shops and some great food!
Something we noticed during our visit is how badly these towns have been effected by the economy and also the gas prices! A lot of the stores are closing and homes and businesses are being put up for sale! These towns thrive off of tourism! Without tourists, I'm afraid these wonderful little cities might cease to exist!
We rented a vacation home in Cambria (we've visited the same home for the last 3 years) and it's comparable to what you'd pay for a hotel room in Pismo Beach! The home we rent is a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 2 living rooms, a dining room and a walk in kitchen in office. It's very spacious and there's also wireless Internet in case you need to look up directions anywhere!
If you're looking for a fun family vacation, there's SO much to see along the Central Coast! Having gone up there so much, we're still finding fun things to do as a couple and as a family! We've picked fruit off the vine, we've gone to Maritime Museum in Ventura, Aquariums, drive-in movie theatre in San Luis Obispo, picnic lunch by Nojoqui Falls, Danish chocolate malts in Solvang at www.ingeborgs.com. We've yet to go to Santa Barbara but I'm sure there are fun things to do there too!
If you haven't gone up the Coast before, I'd encourage you to look in to it! :)
Technically, our vacation started last Thursday! Robby took the entire day off work and we went to Disneyland. The kids were SO good! We spent most of the day riding NEW rides which really kept Abby's attention! We did Jungle Cruise and Autopia Cars which Abby just LOVED! We had an awesome lunch too at Country Bear! Their bacon cheeseburgers are DELICIOUS!
We drove home just in time for the kids to have a short nap in the car, grabbed our Thrive notebooks and went to church!
Friday morning, we woke up early and headed up to LA to visit with my parents :) They offered to watch our doggy Paris while we were away! Abby cried when we left, missing her grandparents and her dog! The kids love seeing their grandparents and Auntie Holly :) My Mom also lent us an awesome square pack n play which Abby slept really well in!
After leaving my parents house, the kids fell asleep and we drove all the way to Buellton! We stopped at Taco Bell for lunch and gassed up the car, then, back on the road. We stopped and shopped for a bit in San Luis Obispo then drove through to Cambria! One of our favorite things to do in Cambria is visit their grocery store! It's called Cookie Crock. What's neat is, Camrbia doesn't have any major chain stores. You won't find a Starbucks, a Blockbuster, an Albertsons, a CVS Pharmacy. We picked up some snacks and drinks then headed home after ordering dinner from Moustache Pete's alfredo to-go! Robby and I watched "Cloverfield" which was a little scary but very entertaining!
Saturday, we woke up and took the kids to the beach! This was Christian's first time! Abby loved running through the waves, getting her clothes all wet! We came home, did naps then went to a JJ's Pizza in town :)
Sunday morning, the family went SHOPPING! We hit the Pismo Outlet mall where Abby bought a new Minnie Mouse doll. We went to Gottchalks in San Luis Obispo and purchased some new shirts! We also got 2 new beach towels ;) While out shopping, Abby's window got stuck. It rolled down but refused to roll back up! The two beach towels provided a safe "window" for Abby till we were able to get it repaired (Monday morning)! We drove to dinner with the window rolled down which Abby thought was hilarious, having never really experienced wind blowing in her face on the freeway! We ate at our favorite steak restaurant in Pismo Beach called McClintocks. They have the best bacon wrapped filet mignon and comes with a TON of sides. You get salad, potato wedges, garlic bread, beans and ice cream :) After eating such a filling meal, we drove back home and everyone went to bed early! We did watch a little bit of "Monster In Law" which was playing on TV.
Robby woke up Monday and took the truck to the Ford dealership in San Luis Obispo. They were able to fix Abby's window and he was back at the house before lunch time! We had talked about possibly driving up to Monterey that day to go to the Aquarium which we'd heard was so great! We had lunch in Cambria, the kids fell asleep in the car and 2 1/2 hours later, we arrived in Monterey! It was a MUCH longer drive than Robby and I had expected! Still, Abby had fun and the kids were PERFECT on the car ride! After spending a few hours at the aquarium, we turned around and headed back home since it was 4:30 and would be DARK by the time we arrived back! I'd wanted to go on the 17 mile scenic drive that so many people have said is so fun and also romantic. Maybe another trip!
Some cute memories: Abby saw the sea otters and kept says "SEE WATER"! Christian was drinking his bottle when we stumbled across an exhibit for baby whales. They drink 2,000 bottles a day vs. Christian's 6 bottles a day. Facinating ;) It was pretty cold in Monterey SO I took a cute pic of Robby, Abby and Christian in their hooded sweatshirts!
Tuesday, it was time to head back home. Even though Cambria is a 5 hour drive, we like to stop so much that it really takes about 8 hours, start to finish! We started our morning with breakfast at a nice French Cafe. We dined on hot chocolate and croissants, reminiscing of our trip to Paris last year :) Ahh :) After we ate, it was time to get everything loaded in the truck and ready to go! We left at 10-, drove to Solvang which is about 70 miles South of Cambria. This quaint little Dutch Village holds a lot of childhood memories for me. We used to go there a lot with my parents and grandparents and, I have an adorable little Dutch dress from my childhood that I keep meaning to get a photo of Abby in before she grows out of it! We enjoyed going in a few of the shops there but our kids are still too little to really ENJOY shopping or behave well while shopping! We had a nice pizza lunch, Abby enjoyed a chocolate ice cream and then we started driving again! We tried to stop at the Toy Shop in Carpenteria off of Santa Claus Lane but, it's GONE! The store went out of business :(
We went shopping in Camarillo :) It's always fun to get some new things while away from home. Robby came back with a pair of Lucky Brand Jeans and a new pair of shoes from Kenneth Cole! I enjoyed going in Ann Taylor and Gap!
Our trip ended at Grammy and Grandpa's! We enjoyed a nice Chinese Food dinner and conversation :) Our dog had enjoyed her stay and Abby was especially glad to see her!
We got home Tuesday night around 9- and I'm still unpacking from our trip! It's amazing how much laundry you go through when you're gone for 5 days! :)
I'm very thankful we were able to take this family vacation and just spend quality time together. This was our first time away from home since Christian was born :)
