 The second I knew that COVID had officially killed all our 2020 international travel plans, I knew I had to plan a great adventure that was not only SAFE but was also domestic. With my love for travel, there was no way I was going to be cooped up for months on end this whole year and NOT travel as well. So a two-week road trip along the western coast visiting different National Parks seemed like the most ideal plan since we could be socially distant and outside as much as possible! Our two-week road trip started in Seattle, Washington and ended in Malibu, California and totaled 2,871 miles! We made so many stops along the way at very notable destinations like Olympic National Park, Cannon Beach, Redwoods, San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Big Sur, just to name a few! Today I will be highlighting the second week of our trip! Click here to read about the first week of our trip. Stayed tuned for another blog going in depth about our trip to Yosemite National Park, COMING SOON!  Day Seven: Driving to San Francisco |
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We finally reached Bodega Bay which meant we were only one hour from San Francisco! Bodega Bay is a small town located along State Route 1 on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific Coast. We stopped at Bodega Harbor for some bird watching and views before continuing our drive to San Francisco. The tidal action nearby transforms this harbor into a vast mudflat making it extremely attractive to many waterbirds year-round. We found some sea lions here as well!
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We decided from here that it was finally time to make our way to San Francisco! After an hour of driving, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into the city! Not long after we reached our adorable Airbnb that was located just a short walk from the Marina District and only one block away from The Presidio of San Francisco, a 1,500-acre park on a former military post which is now home to miles of trails, a golf course, and Crissy Field with Golden Gate Bridge views. This amazing Victorian cottage was originally built in 1890 as a restaurant that served the officers of the Presidio and was then converted into a home in the 1930’s. Our unit was located on the first floor and was more of a studio apartment while the owners live upstairs. We had privacy our entire stay with a private entrance and we also enjoyed the beautiful garden out back as well. The owners of this home are both authors and boy did that show! They had an amazing book collection available to their guests and all their furniture was beautifully antique and ornate. This adorable little studio was our home for the next 3 nights and it was the perfect spot for us to enjoy the beautiful city of San Francisco.
We did not make it to our Airbnb until 4:30 PM this day and after 6 hours of driving you could say we were pretty tired, so we made it an easy night and took an evening stroll through the surrounding neighborhoods.
We did not make it to our Airbnb until 4:30 PM this day and after 6 hours of driving you could say we were pretty tired, so we made it an easy night and took an evening stroll through the surrounding neighborhoods.
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Day Eight: San Francisco
Thanks to our rest the evening before, we woke up early and ready to explore San Francisco on day eight! We left our Airbnb around 8:00 AM and waked over to The Presidio to pick up some Starbucks and continued our stroll down to the water.
On our way down to the water, we walked through the Palace of Fine Arts. The Palace of Fine Arts is located within the Marina District and is a monumental structure originally built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition to exhibit works of art. It is one of only a few surviving structures from the Exposition.
On our way down to the water, we walked through the Palace of Fine Arts. The Palace of Fine Arts is located within the Marina District and is a monumental structure originally built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition to exhibit works of art. It is one of only a few surviving structures from the Exposition.
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After walking the Palace of Fine Arts, we continued down to the Marina where we continued our stroll making it to Crissy Field East Beach. Here there were so many people and their dogs. So many dogs, I loved it! Everyone wore masks and kept socially distant which made us much more comfortable despite the number of people at the beach. In the distance, is the famous Golden Gate Bridge. It was quite a gloomy day, so we were glad we had the entire next day to actually walk across the bridge!
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After walking the beach and admiring all the dogs running around, we decided it was time to make our stroll back to the Airbnb to continue our day. We took the long route to walk past some beautiful San Francisco homes as this city is known for their beautiful homes and architecture.
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The remainder of our day was spent exploring Fisherman’s Wharf, then Chinatown as well as the Haight Ashbury area! Fisherman’s Wharf is on the Northern waterfront and is one of the city’s busiest tourist areas, consisting of a bunch of little souvenir shops and restaurants. Again here, everyone is required to wear masks and everyone was wearing masks so that made us feel better about being here. I could imagine on a normal day (not during a pandemic) that this place would have been 3x as crowded. The colony of sea lions was the main reason I wanted to visit this spot as this area is known for that. Another reason was to see another view of Alcatraz Island. Unfortunately, during our stay Alcatraz was completely closed to visitors due to COVID so views of the island and the prison from Fisherman’s Wharf were the best we could get!
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Chinatown was a short walk from Fisherman’s Wharf so we made our way there. Honestly, we did not stay as long as we were planning because of the massive amounts of people walking through the streets. With being in the middle of a pandemic, we did not feel comfortable walking around for too long so we shortly after called an Uber to make our way to the Haight Ashbury area.
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Our Uber picked us up from Chinatown and brought us to the birthplace of the 1960’s counterculture movement, the Haight-Ashbury. This area draws a very lively and diverse crowd looking to soak up the historic hippie vibe and that is exactly why we were there! While here, we shopped at many of the local boutiques, record shops, and bookstores.
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We finished this day off with drinks, dim sum and noodles at Palette Tea House & Dim Sum located within the Ghirardelli Square. The food and drinks were delicious! Ghirardelli Square is a 3-level shopping and restaurant center that used to be the former chocolate factory for Ghirardelli! This is located near Fisherman’s Wharf.
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Day Nine: San Francisco
We started the day at the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center where we were set to begin our walk across the bridge. The welcome center had a lot of informational pieces that we stopped to peek at. Before we made the trek across the bridge, we hiked down to Fort Point for views of the bridge from below. Fort Point is a Civil War-era fortress tucked near the southern anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was originally slated to be removed in the original Bridge plans, but Strauss (the Chief Engineer) recognized its historic value and insisted it be preserved and restored as a national monument.
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Once admiring the gate from Fort Point, we hiked our way back up to begin our walk across the infamous bridge! Did you know that it takes the average person 1.5 to 2 hours to walk across the bridge!? That is right! The walking path across the bridge is 1.7 miles long and about a 225-foot drop to the water! My husband is a bit scared of heights so being up this high up while walking across the bridge freaked him out just a tad. So, this is a warning to anyone fearful of heights!!
The walk across itself did not feel like as long as it was because of the beautiful views that had us in awe the entire time. My favorite part of this walk was how the views of the city of San Francisco and Sausalito continued to change even minute-by-minute as you continued walking across.
The walk across itself did not feel like as long as it was because of the beautiful views that had us in awe the entire time. My favorite part of this walk was how the views of the city of San Francisco and Sausalito continued to change even minute-by-minute as you continued walking across.
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We reached the end of the bridge where we walked a bit to call an Uber to take us down to Sausalito for the remainder of the day. Once we arrived at Sausalito, we walked up and down the streets and visited many of the small boutiques and restaurants along the water. We had a quick lunch in town and ice cream by the water after lunch. We cannot wait to visit this area when we come back. I would even like to stay in Sausalito for a night or two next time! It was such a charming, beautiful area.
After our visit to Sausalito, we called an Uber and had them take us back to our Airbnb for the rest of the evening!
After our visit to Sausalito, we called an Uber and had them take us back to our Airbnb for the rest of the evening!
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Day Ten & Eleven: Yosemite National Park
Days ten and eleven on our trip were spent in the BEAUTFUL Yosemite National Park. We have so many photos and stories from these two days alone that we would not be able to do this beautiful park justice if I tried to fit it within this blog alone. So please be on the lookout for the blog all about our travels to Yosemite National Park!
Day Twelve: Monterey and Carmel
From Yosemite National Park, we drove 3.5 hours to Monterey & Carmel where we spent the following two days & nights. Before going to our Airbnb in Carmel, we wanted to spend 4 to 5 hours here in the city of Monterey to grab a late lunch and walk the coastal areas to enjoy the beauty. We walked through the town and visited several gift shops. Unfortunately, Monterey Bay Aquarium was completed closed due to COVID but that is a MUST VISIT site when in this area!
After walking through the town, we spent about 2 hours walking up and down the coastline, stopping along the way to enjoy the views. I was blown away at how clear and blue the water is here along the coast. You can see the rocks at the bottom STRAIGHT through the water, it is that clear. I wish I could live here!
After walking through the town, we spent about 2 hours walking up and down the coastline, stopping along the way to enjoy the views. I was blown away at how clear and blue the water is here along the coast. You can see the rocks at the bottom STRAIGHT through the water, it is that clear. I wish I could live here!
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Once we had our fill of Monterey for the day (although I do not think that is even possible), we left to go enjoy the sunset and drinks at our Airbnb in Carmel Valley for the rest of the evening. We arrived just in time and the views were stunning!
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Day Thirteen: Pebble Beach, Carmel-by-the Sea, and Big Sur
Day thirteen started very early with a beautiful sunrise off the balcony of our Airbnb. This day ended up being filled with AMAZING coastal views from both the 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach and the world-famous Big Sur along with lunch in a charming Europe-like town, Carmel-by-the-Sea. This day was hands down one of my FAVORITE days amongst all 16 days on this trip (Yosemite may take the lead though).
We started by making our way to the northernmost entrance of the 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, California. The gate fee is $10.50 per vehicle to make the drive and boy was it MORE than worth it!
What is the 17-Mile Drive? The 17-Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula in California. The road hugs the coastline and passes through world famous golf courses, large mansions, and the 5,300-acre Del Monte Forest of Monterey Cypress trees.
We began our 17-mile drive and quickly realized that this road was filled with nothing but enchanting, dramatic coastal cliffs, snow-white beaches, and iconic golf courses. With giant trees and an array of marine animals, this area is quite a mystical destination. We made stops at most of ALL the stops along the way except for ones that may have been closed off. We stayed longer at some of the stops to take in the beauty and enjoy each other’s company, some we hopped out of the car and enjoyed for only a short while to continue our drive.
What is the 17-Mile Drive? The 17-Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula in California. The road hugs the coastline and passes through world famous golf courses, large mansions, and the 5,300-acre Del Monte Forest of Monterey Cypress trees.
We began our 17-mile drive and quickly realized that this road was filled with nothing but enchanting, dramatic coastal cliffs, snow-white beaches, and iconic golf courses. With giant trees and an array of marine animals, this area is quite a mystical destination. We made stops at most of ALL the stops along the way except for ones that may have been closed off. We stayed longer at some of the stops to take in the beauty and enjoy each other’s company, some we hopped out of the car and enjoyed for only a short while to continue our drive.
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Our two favorite stops along the way were definitely “China Rock” and “Bird Rock”. At “China Rock”, we saw an amazing surfer and about 50 otters floating in the waves nearby! See the videos below. At “Bird Rock” we saw this wildlife hub BUZZING with birds, harbor seals and barking sea lions!
Fun Fact about “Bird Rock” – Bird Rock was completely covered in 4 to 5 feet of pelican and cormorant guano until 1930 when it was harvested as a fertilizer. Sea lions took advantage of the cleaned-off perch and have been sunbathing there ever since!
Fun Fact about “Bird Rock” – Bird Rock was completely covered in 4 to 5 feet of pelican and cormorant guano until 1930 when it was harvested as a fertilizer. Sea lions took advantage of the cleaned-off perch and have been sunbathing there ever since!
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From Pebble Beach, we went to Carmel-by-the-Sea to have lunch and walk about this small town. Upon arrival, we quickly noticed that it seemed as if we had transported ourselves to Europe! This small beach city on the Monterey Peninsula is known for its fairytale like cottages and galleries. We walked around a bit and had lunch at Pangaea Grill, an Asian-Fusion restaurant where I had the best crab cakes I have ever had!
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After lunch, we left to go spend the rest of our day exploring Big Sur. Big Sur is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise to massive heights from the Pacific Ocean coastline. It is known worldwide for its dramatic scenery.
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My biggest goal this day was to see Bixby Creek Bridge or “Bixby Canyon Bridge” in Big Sur. This is one of THE most photographed bridges in California due to its aesthetic design.
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Later this evening, we decided to have dinner and drinks on the beach during sunset. We found a nearby beach only 10 minutes from our Carmel Airbnb so that is where we went for the rest of the evening. This beautiful beach is called Asilomar State Marine Reserve and was beautiful, especially at sunset. There were so many families enjoying the area, plenty of surfers, and of course all the dogs that we love so much!
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Day Fourteen: Big Sur & Our Pacific Coast Highway Drive to Malibu
On the morning of day fourteen, we woke up early because we wanted to make one last stop in Big Sur to spend more time there before continuing our drive to Malibu on the infamous Pacific Coast Highway. We made our way back to Big Sur where we made more stops in the area to take in the magnificent views. I could not get enough of this place and we truly cannot wait for the day (and it will be soon) when we can spend much more time in this area!
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After spending some more time in Big Sur, we figured it was time to make our 5-hour drive to Malibu with a stop in Morro Bay for lunch along the way. Our long drive to Malibu was on the infamous, scenic Pacific Coast Highway.
What is the Pacific Coast Highway? State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) is a major north-south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of California. At a total of 656 miles, it is the longest state route in California.
What is the Pacific Coast Highway? State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) is a major north-south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of California. At a total of 656 miles, it is the longest state route in California.
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When planning this road trip of ours, I specifically planned it from north to south so that when we did get to this special highway, we were always in the lane closest to the ocean. The Pacific Coast Highway was the most beautiful drive we have ever done in our lives but also one of the scariest. The drive is very dangerous as your car literally clings to the side of the cliffs/ocean (not always with a barrier in between you and the cliff) and there are some the sharpest turns we have ever driven about every mile or so, all while driving the speed limit of 45 to 55 mph! The views only continued to get better and better as we drove along, so all the stomach drops along the way were MORE than worth it!
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We had originally planned to stop at Hearst Castle in San Simeon along our way to Malibu but unfortunately due to COVID, the Castle was closed to the public. Instead, we decided to stop in Morro Bay for more coastal views and to experience another small beach town.
Morro Bay is in California’s Central Coast on the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway One). The highway runs right through the town! The area was a bit chillier than I thought it was going to be, but after a quick Google search I learned that the Central Coast of California has quite different weather than the warm, sunny beaches in Southern California.
This area is located on a natural harbor making it a fantastic place to see marine wildlife. What Morro Bay is MOST known for is the “Morro Rock”. This rock is a giant volcanic behemoth located directly on the beach.
Morro Bay is also known for its seafood, clam chowder and fish & chips so of course we stopped and had fish and chips on the bay. After lunch, we walked around the small town and did a bit of shopping before getting on the road again.
This area is located on a natural harbor making it a fantastic place to see marine wildlife. What Morro Bay is MOST known for is the “Morro Rock”. This rock is a giant volcanic behemoth located directly on the beach.
Morro Bay is also known for its seafood, clam chowder and fish & chips so of course we stopped and had fish and chips on the bay. After lunch, we walked around the small town and did a bit of shopping before getting on the road again.
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Officially on to the final leg of our road trip! We got back on the Pacific Coast Highway and after driving through Santa Maria, Santa Barbara and after 2.5 hours total, we had arrived to our hotel in Malibu for the next two days/nights!
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We were fortunate enough to spend the last 2 nights & 2 days of our trip at the beautiful Malibu Beach Inn. We really wanted our final few days to be nothing but relaxation on a beach and that is EXACTLY what we got from this property.
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We arrived at the resort right at sunset. The property is situated RIGHT off Pacific Coast Highway. We pulled into the resort where valet took our car and bellman took all our luggage up to our room for us. The resort is being extremely cautious during COVID and masks are required whenever in public spaces.
We got to our room and there was a bottle of wine and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us. We spent the rest of our evening ordering room service, enjoying wine and taking in the sounds of the ocean at night right from our balcony.
We got to our room and there was a bottle of wine and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us. We spent the rest of our evening ordering room service, enjoying wine and taking in the sounds of the ocean at night right from our balcony.
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Days Fifteen & Sixteen: Malibu
We did not leave Malibu Beach Inn at all these last 2 days/nights except to walk the beach and visit the Malibu Pier nearby and that is okay! We did not WANT to leave. We wanted these last two days to be filled with relaxing on the beach and we got that!
Unfortunately, the Spa was closed due to COVID but the restaurant on property was still open! For breakfast, lunch, dinner, and room service and thankfully the restaurant was closed to the public and was only serving hotel guests at the time we were there.
The restaurant on property is called Carbon Beach Club Restaurant. It sits on the beach itself overlooking the waves and wildlife of the Pacific Ocean and the Malibu Pier. This restaurant is also the same place that offers the room service. They only use locally-sourced ingredients from One Gun Ranch and resident farmers’ markets to create seasonal land and sea menus and boy was the food DELICIOUS! Everything we ate was, even the food we ordered to our room!
Unfortunately, the Spa was closed due to COVID but the restaurant on property was still open! For breakfast, lunch, dinner, and room service and thankfully the restaurant was closed to the public and was only serving hotel guests at the time we were there.
The restaurant on property is called Carbon Beach Club Restaurant. It sits on the beach itself overlooking the waves and wildlife of the Pacific Ocean and the Malibu Pier. This restaurant is also the same place that offers the room service. They only use locally-sourced ingredients from One Gun Ranch and resident farmers’ markets to create seasonal land and sea menus and boy was the food DELICIOUS! Everything we ate was, even the food we ordered to our room!
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We stayed in the King Premier Ocean Front room where any amenity you could think of, we had! The best part of the room was the view from our balcony. In the mornings, you could watch how high the tide was, at night, we could watch the sunset while enjoying dinner and we loved sleeping with our balcony door open to hear the ocean waves at night. It was perfect! Especially during COVID when we really did not want to be out and about too much.
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Malibu itself is gorgeous. The sunsets are a beautiful golden hue and the sand on the beach was so soft and a wonderful tan color. Walking up and down this beach for hours was easy to do. We never wanted to leave!
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After enjoying our last 2 days in Malibu, we departed for the LAX airport on day sixteen where we dropped off our rental car and flew home. Thank you to Malibu Beach Inn for such an amazing stay and a great way to end what was an incredible 15 nights!
More photos of the resort below:
More photos of the resort below:
Our trip has officially come to an end and we are still sad about that 2 months later. We cannot wait to visit ALL these destinations again someday! Reminder: stay tuned for the blog all about our stay in Yosemite National Park, coming soon!
Interested in planning a domestic road trip? Or visiting any of these destinations? Contact Christine Wolff to start planning your trip today! Call 314-439-5700 ext. 134 or email her!
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