Patricia and I were married in June of 1997 and our friends Don and Mary Ann Sadon share our anniversary month, so we decided to take an anniversary trip back to the site of our honeymoon, Carmel-By-The-Sea 100 miles or so south of San Francisco. We planned to take our time getting there so we could stop at some of the great California Central Coast Wineries and visit the many shops and antique centers along the way.

OUR ITINERARY: We drove to Santa Barbara to spend our first night, San Luis Obispo for the second, and then spent 4 nights. in Carmel before heading home with a one night stay in Cambria on the way – seven nights in total - definitely a fun week.

CALIFORNIA: When you look at a map of California you’ll see that from San Francisco Bay southward, the coastline heads southeast. Some time ask your friends the trivia question, “Which city is further east, Spokane, Reno or Los Angeles?” Easterners are often surprised to find the answer is L.A. To get to the seashore from our home in Sierra Madre we travel due south to Long Beach. To get to Santa Barbara, we go northwest but, mostly west.

SANTA BARBARA: There are several ways to get to the Santa Barbara area from the Los Angeles basin; we chose to drive west on Interstate 210 from Pasadena to the San Fernando Valley, then west on California 118, The Ronald Reagan Freeway, to Simi Valley home of the Reagan Library. There the Road turns south and becomes California Highway 23 for a few miles before it meets up with Highway 101 at the City of Thousand Oaks. From there to Salinas more than 300 miles northwest, we traveled mostly on Highway 101.

If you take this route you should definitely spend a few hours at the Reagan Library, if you haven’t been there before. The tour of “Air Force One” is a big hit with adults and kids alike as is the reproduction of the Oval Office just as it was when Ronald Reagan served as President.

We’ve spent many happy weekends in the Santa Barbara area and always like to stop in Summerland, just to the south, for lunch at “The Big Yellow House” easily seen from the highway. We also enjoy a visit to the many antique stores in the little community, but we discovered the Big Yellow House is closed and boarded up. Another landmark bites the dust.

We’ve spent many happy weekends in the Santa Barbara area and always like to stop in Summerland, just to the south, for lunch at “The Big Yellow House” easily seen from the highway. We also enjoy a visit to the many antique stores in the little community, but we discovered the Big Yellow House is closed and boarded up. Another landmark bites the dust.

Instead, we took the San Ysidro Road exit to Montecito the posh southern suburb of Santa Barbara, home to so many celebrities. If you take this road to the end you will come to San Ysidro Ranch, a very romantic resort that we used to visit every year on Valentine’s Day. Those were the days!

This time we stopped at the little shopping center that serves as Montecito’s “downtown” and stumbled on a cute little Italian Place “Via Vai.” The owners and wait staff are all authentic Italians (or at least very good actors) and the food is excellent. Don and I had “Panini Americano”, sort of an Italian Hamburger with the best Caramelized Onions you’ll ever taste. Patricia had excellent Pasta. We think you’ll enjoy it.

We had reservations to stay at the “Fess Parker Resort” on Cabrillo Blvd in Santa Barbara. Because it’s just across the Boulevard from the Beach, it's a very popular convention hotel. As our first vacation night was the Tuesday after Memorial Day, the hotel was nearly deserted. The hotel property is surrounded by security gates to keep beach-goers from parking on the property, making it a little difficult to get around, but the rooms are beautiful. Also expensive, at $255 per night the most we paid for a night’s lodging during the week.

We arrived in early afternoon and decided to drive to downtown to look around. State Street is the Main North-South Street in Santa Barbara and most of the museums and art galleries are located within a block or two of State. Patricia and Mary Ann found a very large Italian ceramic store to browse while Don and I located a little coffee bar where we could sit on the sidewalk and watch the world go by.

While the Hotel wasn’t busy, the downtown shops seemed to be doing a brisk business and a “Farmer’s Market,” set up at the southern end of State Street, was mobbed with people.

We had dinner in “Rodney’s Steak House” at the hotel. With few hotel guests, it was practically empty. Don and I had really excellent Rib Eye Steaks. Patricia had a Caesar Salad and a Beef Stroganoff appetizer she liked a lot. The service, as you might expect with an empty room, was attentive.

As we walked back to our room after dinner Patricia struck up a conversation with a woman walking a fairly large dog. Hotels like this one seldom take pets and we asked her about it. It turns out that hers was one of more than 100 homes destroyed in the Santa Barbara fires earlier in the month. The Fess Parker and a number of other major hotels invited those who had lost their homes to stay in the hotel at a much reduced rate until they found suitable housing. She said they were going to be allowed to stay up to 6 weeks if necessary. The Fess Parker Resort is a Doubletree Hotel, managed by Hilton.

I know it’s fashionable to talk about corporate greed in America, but, we feel there are a large number of corporate good deeds that never seem to make it into the press. Thank you Fess Parker management for your philanthropic spirit.

The following morning we stopped at the original “Sambo's” on Cabrillo Blvd near State Street for breakfast. Founded in the 50’s Sambo’s grew to be a sizeable chain of Pancake Houses in the West. “Political Correctness” was born in the 1970s and that was the end of the Sambo’s chain. The restaurant staff wear t-shirts that proclaim “Sambo’s First and Last Pancake House.” There’s a page-long explanation in the menu claiming that the founders were a man named Sam and a man named Bo and that’s the origin of the name. But, anyone born before 1950 knows that “Little Black Sambo” was a “Nursery Rhyme” about a little black boy who loved pancakes – now unmentionable because of P.C.

Whatever the origin of the name, Sambo’s still produce a fine stack of pancakes.

ON THE ROAD TO SAN LUIS OBISBO

There are many fine wine areas in the Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez Valley area and we could have spent the whole week visiting them without seeing them all, so we elected to visit the little town of Los Olivos. Once known for its namesake olives, Los Olivos has become a Mecca for wine lovers. The town is only about 4 blocks long, and lacks many amenities, such as a gas station, but, the little downtown is loaded with “Tasting Rooms” of various vineyards in the area.

LOS OLIVOS is located 35 miles north of Santa Barbara, about 6 miles off “the 101”on Highway 154. Our friend and travel partner Don was our driver for the week. He suggested we leave the 101 at Santa Barbara and take Hwy 154 a very nice four lane road that skirts Lake Cachuma and takes you due north to Los Olivos.

We didn’t have a lot of time to spend there, so we selected the tasting room of the Tre Anelli Winery of Santa Maria. We were welcomed by a young man who was most helpful in selecting a wine to our taste. The Tasting fee was only $11.00 and included 5 different wines. The fee applied to any wine purchase we made, so when we discovered we all really liked the Tre Anelli Sangiovese we bought a case to share. You’ll find their wines at www.treanelliwine.com.

If grown in Italy, Sangiovese would be “Chianti,” but only wine made in Italy can be called by that name. The Italian Wine Industry sued to protect the name and stop American winemakers from using the term to describe their wine much as the French used the American Courts to protect the name “Champagne.” Not withstanding what they call it – you’ll like it

After we loaded the case in Don’s Lexus RX 450 we realized that if we bought very many cases there’d be no room for our luggage, so we agreed from that moment on we would buy wine by the bottle only.

After leaving the Tre Anelli Tasting Room we strolled around the little town and found several very interesting art galleries in among the tasting rooms. Also, of course, there are several specialty food shops where you can buy local Olives. Stop by Los Olivos next time you’re in the neighborhood, you won’t be disappointed.

SOLVANG: When you leave Los Olivos you’ll go south on Hwy 154 for a few miles until you get to Highway 246 West which will take you the 6 miles past the Chumash Resort Indian Casino, the little town of Santa Ynez and into the “Danish” village of Solvang. Long a tourist attraction in the area, Solvang has tried to maintain its Danish atmosphere and you will certainly find some excellent Danish Pastries. There are many fine little places to eat. We stopped for lunch at a place called the “Bit ‘o Denmark’ (“Bit O’ anything” smacks of Irish, to me). Don had the excellent Danish meatballs.

Solvang has other attractions including our choice as the best Antique Mall in California – it’s called simply the “Solvang Antique Center.” We always browse there when we’re in Solvang and often find something we just “can’t live without.” If you like “High End” Antiques, you’ll love it. In fact, if you want to get me something for my birthday, there is an antique player piano – oh, never mind.

Solvang has added numerous “Tasting Rooms” in among the Pastry and Gift Shops. They also have the most sidewalk benches of any little city we’ve visited. Lot’s of places for Don and me to sit while “The Girls” did their shopping.

Exhausted at last, we continued on Hwy 246 the few miles west to the town of Buellton, home of the famous “Pea Soup Andersen’s Restaurant.” It’s still there and still popular, but, gone are the Billboards which seemed posted every mile or so from Los Angeles to Buellton. “You’re only 125 miles from Pea Soup Andersen’s” the signs proclaimed and when I was a kid we would count the cars from one Pea Soup sign to the next. There are still a few Pea Soup billboards left, but the vast majority are gone Perhaps victims of the high cost of Outdoor Advertising or the Sierra Club’s campaign against billboards.

Here we connected with Highway 101 north bound for our next stop “The Apple Farm Inn” in San Luis Obispo, 65 Miles away. Just west of Santa Barbara, Hwy 101 turns north and away from the coast. It passes through Buellton, of course, then Santa Maria, returns to the coast at Pismo Beach where it again turns and heads inland to the City of San Luis Obispo. S.L.O. is home to California Polytechnic University, (known to its students as “Cal Poly”) and is a center of Central Coast agriculture.

A few years ago I consulted with Marian Hospital in Santa Maria and drove this section of road many times. In those days the land was mostly grazing land for Horses and Cattle, plus fields of Strawberries. Today the area around Santa Maria and from there to San Luis Obispo is covered with Vineyards. Grapes growing as far as the eye can see.

I knew this area had become “Wine Country,” because we saw the movie “Sideways,” filmed on location here, and because the number of expensive bottles in the grocer’s wine aisle bearing labels from the Central Coast almost crowd out those from Napa and Sonoma.

APPLE FARM INN, SAN LUIS OBISPO. The Apple Farm in San Luis Obispo is one of our favorite places to stay. Located 100 yards off the Freeway at the Monterey exit, it is not only convenient, but, very homey. The rooms are huge and decorated in Patricia’s favorite “Country” style with many antiques and lots of wood.

Local people fight tourists for space in the Apple Farm Restaurant which specializes in home cooking. The dinner menu includes such delicacies as Chicken Fried Steak, Chicken and Dumplings and the Chef’s Special Meatloaf. After you’ve had your dinner and spent the night you’ll be treated to a really terrific Breakfast in the Apple Farm Restaurant with a discount coupon for being a hotel guest. You won’t get small portions and “presentation” isn’t their goal, just good food. We love it.

The Apple Farm does have a few drawbacks. Because San Luis Obispo is a college town, nearly all the wait staff in the restaurant and desk staff in the hotel are students. Some are excellent at customer service and others, NOT. We were also surprised to find there’s no “Room Service” in an effort to lure you into the dining room. Finally it was a very hot night and the room air conditioner was one of the old fashioned wall mounted units that made a lot of racket, keeping us awake. We finally shut it off and opened the windows (an old fashioned idea if ever there was one) and were comfortable the rest of the night. The large room, a suite really, was only $185 per night. We will return to the Apple Farm on our next trip north.

I should mention there is another famous “motel” in San Luis Obispo, the “Madonna Inn.” Built by a somewhat eccentric developer in the 1950s, there are no two guest rooms alike. If you haven’t been there before it’s worth a visit to the restaurant where the food is decent and you can give yourself a tour. Guys will find a waterfall in the men’s room. No kidding.

PASO ROBLES: North of S.L.O. about 25 miles, Paso Robles likes to think of itself as the Zinfandel Capital of the World. We were told that Zinfandel is the only California grape that can’t be traced to a European origin, so, it’s truly California’s native wine. And, a fine wine it is.

Paso Robles isn’t a very large town, but there must be a hundred wineries in the area. Some of the better known labels from Paso Robles are “Wild Horse,” “Robert Hall” and “J Lohr.”

You can spend a week or more here if you like, but we only had a few hours and decided to confine our tour to the wineries on Hwy 46 West. To get there you take the “Vineyard” off ramp as you are entering town from the south. Go right on Vineyard a short distance to Highway 46 West and turn right. You’ll be in the Paso Robles suburb of Templeton.

We stopped at the first winery we came to, “Turley” a maker of fine Zinfandel and other wines as well. We tasted 6 different wines for a $7 fee which was waved when I bought a bottle of the “Pesenti” Zinfandel. Don and I thought it the best of group of at least a half dozen other “Zins.” Their Web address is www.turleywinecellars.com.

A short distance up the highway you come to signs for “Rotta Winery,” the oldest winery on the central coast founded in 1856. It’s down a winding road a few hundred yards off the highway, but, is worth the search. Friendly and welcoming, the Rotta staff serves you all the wines you want to taste for only $5. Their wines are not expensive, but, offer excellent value. They’re happy to share the family history and brag about the awards they’ve won. Their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon won the award at the California State Fair for “Best Cab under $20” and their 2004 “Grubbing Estate Zinfandel” is a gold medal wine. These were definitely the best wines for the price we found on the whole trip. Look for them at www.rottawinery.com.

A little farther north on Hwy 46 W you’ll come to the “Peachy Canyon Winery.” Close to the highway, in a remodeled school house, the Peachy Canyon Tasting Room is the nicest tasting room we visited in Paso Robles. They have a selection of gifts and the wines are very good. The tasting fee is $10 and includes 6 different wines as well as a souvenir wine glass. I particularly liked their “Mustang Springs” Zinfandel and the 2005 “Devine” Cabernet. One of their feature wines is called “BFD Zinfandel.” I didn’t have the guts to ask what the BFD stood for. I didn’t buy any wine here, I was getting a bit worried about our luggage space, but I bought a couple of items in the gift shop. You’ll find them at their web address www. Peachycanyon.com.

We stayed on Highway 46 west and soon found ourselves back on Hwy 101 headed north. Our visit to Paso Robles was short, but it’s a place you might want to consider spending a few days. Particularly if you like Zinfandel.

A FINAL WORD ABOUT PASO ROBLES: Most native Californians are proud of their Mexican heritage and do their best to pronounce their place names as their ancestors would have. A Californian is likely to laugh at you if you pronounce the “J” in La Jolla as you would the “J” in Joliet, but these same folks pronounce the “g” in Los Angeles as if it were the “g” in “George” and then pronounce the “Los” exactly the same as they pronounce the “Las” in Las Vegas. In the original Spanish it would be “Los ANN-hell-ace” not “Las ANN–gell-less.” So much for California pronunciation. Your High School Spanish may or may not assist you with place names in the Golden State.

Paso Robles is a case in point. It was named for a type of California Oak which grows in the area. The correct pronunciation in Spanish is “Pass-o ROBE-lace” But the locals and nearly everyone else calls it “Pass-ah Robills” (all one syllable rhyming with “Mobils).” Next time a Californian laughs at your Spanish pronunciation ask them to pronounce Paso Robles.

NORTHWARD TO CARMEL: You continue northward from Paso Robles about 100 miles before you get to Salinas and the turnoff for Monterey and Carmel. For the first 50 miles you continue to pass acres of grapevines, then you begin to see the kind of farmland you might expect in California’s Central Valley -cattle range, with a smattering of Alfalfa to feed the animals. Before long you come to the Lettuce Fields. If Kansas is the American “Bread Basket,” The Salinas Valley is the “Salad Bowl.” The lettuce farmers are kind to tourists, erecting welcoming art work on plywood depicting farmers, farm workers and typical farm animals. You’ll also see helpful signs about what’s being grown - one will say “Romaine” on the right side of the road and another will say “Green Leaf” on the left.

It’s a much more interesting drive than Interstate 5 a hundred miles to the east.

We stopped for lunch in King City, a little town 40 miles south of Salinas. We found “Lawrence’s Restaurant” adjacent to the Freeway. There were several Fast Food places, too, but Lawrence’s had fast friendly service and great hamburgers. It can’t be bad; the King City Rotary Club meets there. Try it if you get hungry en route.

When you get to Salinas you leave Highway 101 and follow the signs toward “Monterey Carmel.” This will take you on a beautiful drive via Monterey Road to connect with California Highway 1 south to “Carmel-by-the-Sea,” a total of about 25 miles from the “101.”

To confuse newcomers there are several other “Carmels” including a wine producing area named “Carmel Valley.” So you want to be sure that you follow the signs to:

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA

First, a little background. I occasionally have lunch with a couple of old friends, Gordon Bowley, a retired “Magnet Magnate,” (if you have a magnet on your fridge, chances are Gordon’s firm made it) and Jim Greenfield, one of the top Fundraisers in the country and author of numerous books on fundraising. What these guys are doing hanging around with me is another long story I’ll spare you. We call ourselves “Old Guys Who Lunch.” What we have most in common is travel. We haven’t’ actually traveled with each other, for some reason, but we share our travel experiences and give each other advice. More than once I’ve quoted Gordon or Jim in these travelogues as the source of good travel suggestions.

We met about a month before this trip and I told Gordon I was looking for a place to stay in Carmel. He told me to book the “Carmel Village Inn.” “If for no other reason, it has convenience and parking” he said. So, I booked it, and he was right, it was a great decision.

If you “Google” the Village Inn you might have second thoughts because the photo on their website makes it look like a 1950s style motel, a two story building surrounding a parking lot. That’s exactly what it is. But when you get there, it’s another story. It’s located at Ocean Ave. and Junipero within a short walk of everything in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

The rooms are larger than they appear at first glance and you have a little refrigerator to put the juice and cold drinks you buy at the local grocery store only a block away. They serve a very acceptable “Continental Breakfast” in the morning which saves you bundle of money and they have free WiFi for your laptop. When you stroll around the town, you’ll see the importance of having a guaranteed place to park especially on weekends.

After spending four nights we are sold on the Village Inn. The rate was only about $130 per night on weekdays, a little more on weekends. We were there at the end of May, so it may be higher in mid-summer. It doesn’t matter, we’ll be back.

On our first full day, a Friday, we decided to drive the “17 Mile Drive.” One of the most scenic drives in California, 17 Mile Drive is private. We paid about $10 for a vehicle with 4 passengers to tour the peninsula it circles. Half of your drive you’ll be driving by some of the most expensive real estate in the world.

You know how President Obama wants to tax the top 1% of Americans. Well, he can tax the top 1% of the top 1% by taxing the folks on 17 Mile Drive.

The other half of the drive is along the Ocean with some very famous Golf Courses along the way – Cypress Point, Spyglass Hill, Spanish Bay and of course, Pebble Beach. It’s a golfer’s paradise, or, perhaps I should say it is a rich golfer’s paradise. Our friend Don who played most of these courses during his golfing days says that today if you have to ask how much it costs to play one of these courses, you probably can’t afford it.

Another attraction, included among the many “Photo stops” is the “Lone Cypress” perhaps the most photographed tree in America. It’s a Cypress growing out of a rock hanging out over the ocean.

We stopped at the Pebble Beach Resort for lunch in the Stillwater Bar and Grill. The views of the ocean and golf course were wonderful and the food was very good but pricey. We also stopped at Spanish Bay and walked through the Club House to see their spectacular view of the ocean.

We looked in the pro shops of the two clubs and found the prices to be above our threshold - some terrific golf shirts for Gals and Guys were $100 and up.

There are several gates to let you on to the 17 Mile Drive; one is located on Highway 1 just north of Carmel. Further north comes the exclusive community of Pacific Grove which also has a gate of its own. Think of Pacific Grove as the top 1% of the top 1% of the top 1%.

The southerly gate is located at Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Friday afternoon we shopped. The Carmel Plaza, the main shopping center is directly across the street from the Village Inn and we toured it first. It has many familiar names, including Patricia’s favorite, Talbots. Don and I like Talbots, too, because they always have comfortable easy chairs in which husbands can lounge while the wives are applying themselves to serious shopping. Why other stores catering to women don’t do this, I’ll never know.

Down the street the Coach Leather goods store was having a sale. Patricia saved so much on a purse she was able to buy two. Unfortunately, Carmel doesn’t have anywhere near as many public benches as Solvang, but, we found a tiny park in the middle of town to rest our feet while Mary Ann and Patricia finished their shopping.

The next day, Saturday, we decided to go to the Monterey Aquarium just a few miles away. Unfortunately, when we arrived there was a huge line waiting to get in, so we went up the street to a major antique mall, called, appropriately, the “Cannery Row Antique Mall.”

John Steinbeck celebrated Monterey in several of his books including “Tortilla Flats,” “Sweet Thursday,” and my favorite, “Cannery Row.” The locale for “East of Eden” was in the nearby Salinas Valley. Steinbeck is beloved in Monterey, most everything in town is named for him, one of his books or one of his characters. And, if there is any Steinbeck title you’re missing in your library, you’ll find it one of many local book stores.

In my youth I devoured Steinbeck, whose books “Grapes of Wrath” and “Of Mice and Men” were about the “Okies and Arkies” who fled the Dust Bowl of the 1930s for the Southern San Joaquin Valley where I was born. My ancestors were “Arkies” of the 1850s who settled the land in Tulare County, after they discovered the streets of California weren’t actually paved with gold, and scratched out a living as farmers and farm laborers in those pre-irrigation decades of California history. So, count me in as a Steinbeck worshiper, too.

After our visit to Cannery Row, we decided to go to the wine region of “Carmel Valley” about 20 miles east of Carmel-by-the-Sea. We made it only as far as the “Chateau Julien” Winery about 6 miles short of Carmel Valley. Chateau Julien is a beautiful place, right on Carmel Valley Road. The grounds are perfectly landscaped, the building a replica of a French Chateau and the wines are first rate. We tasted a number of Reds, but, fell in love with their Gewurztraminer a very fine white wine related to German Riesling. It is unique and ought to be perfect with your seafood dinner. Don and I both bought a bottle. You’ll find them at www.chateaujulien.com.

After our visit to Chateau Julien, it was getting to be late afternoon, so we returned to the Village and found some art galleries we had not seen the previous day.

The rest, as they say, is history.

On Sunday, we were determined to go to the Wineries we had missed in Carmel Valley the day before. So we left early on Carmel Valley Road and drove the 12 or so miles to the town. We found it and found the tasting rooms, but, they were all closed because they don’t open until Noon on Sunday. It’s nice to know that there is some industry left in California that still celebrates the Sabbath.

It was only 10 AM and we didn’t want to wait around, so we came back to Carmel and visited the “Barnyard Shopping Center.” A group of barn-like buildings have been converted into a fairly high end shopping center. We toured the numerous shops and found nothing much of interest, except that we worked up an appetite. We moved on to another shopping center nearby, the “Cross Roads Center.” Here we found a decent lunch and the Tasting Room for Morgan Wines.

Morgan is a label that represents the grapes of a dozen or so vineyards located in the “Santa Lucia Highlands” of Monterey. The tasting room is modern and comfortable and the wines terrific. They had a selection of the obligatory Reds including an excellent 2007 Syrah which we bought, but, our favorite was the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, the finest we had tasted since our trip to New Zealand in 2002. You’ll like it, I promise. You can find them at www.morganwinery.com.

We went back to the hotel and planned a walking tour of 6th Street, a block north of Ocean Ave., where there are many art galleries. We found many pieces we would buy if we had any space on our walls.

EATING IN CARMEL: We never had a bad meal in Carmel and there are several places we would recommend if you go there, including:

CASANOVA: Recommended by the Sadons who had been here before, Casanova is located at 5th and Mission. There is a lovely outdoor courtyard with a fireplace (when needed) serving the finest continental cuisine. We had a 3 Course Pre Fixe Menu, Linguini with Shrimp and Lobster for me, Cannelloni for Patricia and Mary Ann and Short Rib for Don. We all had different appetizers and desserts, which we shared. Wouldn’t you have done the same? It was all wonderful. Dinner for Patricia and me including a cocktail and a glass of wine was only $110. Excellent, we recommend it.

NICO RISTORANTE MEDITERRANEANEO is on San Carlos St. just south of Ocean Ave. We walked by it while shopping, liked the menu and returned for dinner. It’s relatively new, and your waiters are members of the family. It’s excellent Italian Fare. Don and I had Sand Dabs which were excellent. We also recommend the Caesar Salad.

THE FORGE IN THE FOREST is located on Junipero two blocks north of the hotel on 5th St. However, caution; it’s up a very steep hill. Since we don’t do hills well anymore, we elected to drive the two blocks. This is the local hangout and reputed to be the place the locals go to enjoy good food. Patricia and I had excellent Barbequed Ribs while Don had the Scallops, about the best he ever had.

PATISSERIE BOISSIERE is in the Carmel Plaza shopping center on Mission just south of Ocean Ave. We stopped to look at the pastries and decided to stay for lunch. I had Chicken Pot Pie, Don had Shepherd’s Pie and Mary Ann and Patricia shared a sandwich. We liked it so much, we returned for dinner one night. Lunch was better. But, desserts were “to die for.”

A LAST WORD ABOUT CARMEL: “EASTWOOD.”

It’s impossible to talk about Carmel without mentioning Clint Eastwood. He is to Carmel what Steinbeck is to Monterey. He was on the City Council and served as Mayor. He has invested heavily in the town, mostly to preserve the village atmosphere. He bought a local restaurant, for example, to save the historic building from being demolished.

Locals call him by his first name and talk about him as if he’s their friend and neighbor. Maybe he is.

No, we didn’t meet him, or see him, or even see his home. But, his presence is definitely felt when you visit Carmel-by-the-Sea.

BIG SUR: Our exit plan included driving from Carmel to Cambria on California Highway 1 through “Big Sur.” The highway is mostly two lanes and very winding. Several times we were stopped by construction and it took three hours to drive 100 miles, but it is one of the most beautiful routes in the world. There is a town called Big Sur, but it’s tiny with only a gas station and a restaurant, other than that the coast is mostly wild. The only dangerous parts of driving the Big Sur are dodging the cars full of kids and surfboards in a hurry to get to the best surf. There are numerous places where you can stop and take photographs. Do it if you ever have the chance, but, only if you’re not in a hurry.

CAMBRIA: Just below Big Sur the mountains of the Coast Range begin to retreat from the coast leaving foothills stretching to the sea. It’s among these Foothills that William Randolph Hearst built his mansion, San Simeon. When the Hearst family gave San Simeon to the state of California to preserve it and share it with the public, the village of Cambria just a little south became a “Destination.” Over the years, many people have retired to the area and it’s a very popular place to have a second home. Unlike beaches further south, Cambria offers affordable housing within sight of the ocean.

Our friends Rod and Theresa Beard spend a couple of weeks here every summer, and I asked Theresa, with whom I’ve worked for more than 20 years, if she had any suggestions as to where we should stay. She suggested the Pelican Cove Inn. Directly across the road from the beach, the Pelican Cove inn is modern, roomy and friendly. They don’t have a restaurant, but, they have a little meeting room where they serve wine and hors d'oeuvres from 4 to 6 every evening, desert and coffee from 8 to 10 and a full buffet breakfast in the morning. All of that for about $170 per night. If you want a beach front vacation, you may want to check it out.

In early evening we walked over to the board walk fronting the beach and were surrounded by hungry ground squirrels looking for handouts. We took lots of photos of the little guys; they were very friendly especially if you have a cookie on your person.

Our friends John and Mary Ellen Mohler owned a second home here 15 years ago and we came to visit them occasionally, so we know a little about the area. It’s grown a lot since we were last here.

For dinner in our one night in Cambria we selected the “Black Cat Bistro,” a place we remembered from our previous visits. Our favorite place in those days was “Brambles” which we were told had recently sold and was under new management. The Black Cat Bistro now dedicates itself to “California Cuisine” – a limited menu, small portions and exotic names for dishes that make it difficult to find out what you’re ordering. We read a couple of reviews of the Black Cat and found that other people loved it. We didn’t. We probably should have stuck to Brambles.

The next morning we checked out of the Pelican Cove Inn going south on Highway 1. This takes you through the beach communities of Cayucos and Morro Bay where I spent many happy summer days as a boy. This is also a great place to stop and visit – many antique stores, nice restaurants and beautiful vistas of Morro Rock surrounded by water, rising 500 hundred feet above the bay. But, we were in a hurry to get home so we continued on to San Luis Obispo where Highway 1 hooks up with Highway 101 again and then followed our familiar path home. It took about 4 hours from Cambria to our house more than 200 miles away.

It was a wonderful week, full of adventures and discovery of places we’d like to return. There are some things we didn’t do that you might enjoy, if you’re interested.

CALIFORNIA MISSIONS If history is your passion, you’ll enjoy visiting the Missions of California. Founded about the time of the American Revolution by the Franciscan Priest Father Junipero Serra, the 21 Missions begin in San Diego and 700 Miles to Sonoma. Many are beautifully restored and most hold Masses on a regular basis if you would like to attend. The route we traveled was very close to the route followed by the Franciscans more than two centuries ago. We would have been able to stop at Missions in San Fernando, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Solvang, San Miguel, San Luis Obispo and Carmel without going more than a mile or so out of our way. Patricia and I have been to most of these Missions and live only a few miles from the Mission San Gabriel. It’s a wonderful experience, especially if you are traveling with children and we recommend it.

NEVER TO NEVERLAND: Michael Jackson was still alive when we passed near Neverland Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley. We had no desire to stop then or now – but you might.

In closing, we just want to thank Don and Mary Ann Sadon for making this a much more memorable experience than it would have been otherwise and our many other friends for their advice and for reading all these travelogues.

Stay tuned.