Central Coast

The Lone Cypress

We took the long Memorial Day weekend to tour California's Central Coast.  After work on Friday we headed north to Monterey.  Our route took us past James Dean Memorial Junction, (the site of James Dean's fatal car accident).  Before we began touring the Monterey Peninsula Saturday morning, I (Tim) went down the street from our hotel to take pictures of the house where my Aunt and Uncle lived during the 19-early-70's.  My Father also lived in that house, after he decided to turn what was supposed to be a visit into a permanent stay.

Once I returned we loaded up the car and headed into Monterey.   After a quick drive through Cannery Row, we headed to the infamous 17-mile drive at Pebble Beach, where we weaved along the coast, around spectacular golf courses and mansions.  The highlight of the drive for me was obviously stopping at the Pebble Beach Golf Links.  After eating a picnic lunch on the beach of Spanish Bay we got back in the car and headed south to Cambria on the Pacific Coast Highway.  The drive was as amazing as expected, until we came upon a small stretch of the highway (20 miles north of Cambria) which was closed due to a massive rockslide that washed the road into the Pacific. The good news was that only a small portion of the highway was closed, the bad news was that the only detour is 100 miles long.  During this 2-hour detour we quickly learned the Central Coast is as stunningly remote as it is beautiful.  After a full day of taking in some of the most beautiful views and sights that we had ever seen, we finally arrived in Cambria as the sun was setting over the Pacific.

We spent Sunday bundled up walking around the coast and the funky little beach town of Cambria.  Although it was clear and sunny, the high temperature on the coast was only in the 40's but felt much colder as there was a steady 20-30 mph breeze.  Jodi and I both agreed this was the coldest weather we had ever been a part of during Memorial Day Weekend.  We spent the rest of the day touring the former residence of Mr. W.R. Hearst at the Hearst Castle.  Luckily it was a clear day, the views of the coast from the Castle were amazing, and the property itself was not to shabby either.

On our way home on Monday we made a stop at the quaint Danish village of Solvang, which was complete with Danish windmills, shops and bakeries.  After strolling around the town we ended our time there by sharing some of Arnie's Famous Aebleskiver.  Apparently aebleskiver is to Solvang what beignets are to New Orleans (except for no one has ever heard of either Solvang or an aebleskiver).   The line for the Arnie's Famous aebleskiver was down the sidewalk, which is how we found out about these delicious gems.  We figured if everyone was waiting in a long line them, then they had to be a Solvang must do.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the pictures.