Hey Siri, play California gurls.

I am over the moon to finally share the details from our Anniversary trip up the Pacific Coast Highway. Katy Perry wasn’t joking when she said “nothing comes close to the Golden Coast” because California is absolutely stunning. This blog post highlights our some favorite spots and recommendations from our trip from Los Angeles up to San Francisco. Tip #1 while visiting California, make sure to refer to Pacific Coast Highway 1 to “The 1” and you will fit right in.

FIRST STOP: VENICE BEACH

We had a feeling we would fall in love with Venice Beach and boy it did NOT disappoint. The weather and the views were gorgeous and every meal we ate was heaven. Fun fact, some restaurants actually charge market price for avocado toast, whatever that means.. #socali.

I would definitely recommend visiting the famous Venice Beach sign, but actually taking a picture in front of it when tons of other instagrammers are trying to do the same thing is easier said than done. It’s also a high traffic area, so I would suggest going very early in the morning before all of the cars are out and about. I would also recommend trying out the cutest coffee shop right across the street called Great White Venice.

Another Venice Beach hotspot we loved was Abbott Kinney Boulevard as there’s a great variety of eclectic shops and restaurants that you won’t find many other places. Some of my favorite online boutiques I was most excited to visit in person were Show Me Your Mumu, Cuyana, and Gorjana. We ate brunch at The Butcher’s Daughter pictured above, and it was a VIBE – I am totally moving here.

NEXT STOP: SANTA BARBARA

The drive from Venice Beach to Santa Barbara was actually the easiest leg of our near 400 mile trip up “The 1”, so we were able to spend a little extra time in Venice Beach before we were on our way. We actually stayed a few minutes north of Santa Barbara at the Kimpton Goodland in Goleta. To say I was obsessed with this hotel is a total understatement. Our hotel room was so cozy and even had it’s own record player in which you could borrow extra albums at the front desk. This hotel was serious instagram goals and I really hope to return someday soon.

FAVORITE SPOT: BIG SUR

Oh my goodness Big Sur is a dream. We probably pulled off at least 10 times just to stop and look at the views of the water over the cliffs, it was insanely beautiful. Highly recommend renting a jeep for the drive, although I only lasted 20 minutes behind the wheel so big shout out to my husband for being able to handle it. We stopped for lunch at The Nepenthe before stopping in Monterey for the night. We actually didn’t have much time to explore Monterey but did enjoy the sunset drive through Carmel By The Sea, and of course the In-N-Out conveniently located right next to our hotel.

FINAL STOP: SAN FRAN

The final destination on our trip up the coast was good ole San Francisco. We drove straight to the Golden Gate Bridge for some sight-seeing before parking the Jeep at the hotel for the evening. Of course we arrived in the city just in time for rush hour, so that was eventful… This was our first time ever staying in a St. Regis and all I have to say is WOW. I had been saving my Marriott points for this trip so it was nice to splurge a little bit on a fancy hotel, especially when they upgraded us to a 1 bedroom suite! Our room had a butler who actually brought coffee for free, so it’s safe to say we had plenty of caffeine during our 18 hour-ish stay. Spoiler alert, we actually drove all the way back down to LA in 1 day to fly home on Randy’s Delta companion ticket, so you probably think we are crazy. I will say the drive back actually went by pretty quickly, and we still had plenty of time to stop a couple of times to take in the scenic views.

Lastly, here are few tips that I wish I would have known before planning this trip:

(1) Confirm it’s not peak fire season, which is not something I would have ever thought about prior. We have been wanting to plan this trip up the coast for a long time and our anniversary week was perfect timing for us.

(2) California is actually very cold in the fall at night so it’s necessary to pack more than 1 jacket.

(3) If you can, start the drive in San Francisco and drive South as we thought the views were better in the opposite direction.

(4) Never believe that a Wharf is actually going to be cool…we learned the hard way that they were tourist traps. #bubbagump

That’s it! Feel free to reach out if you ever have questions or need recommendations for your next trip to Cali.

xoxo,

Trish