Expert: Steve Summers - 9/15/2006

Question
Hi, We want to take our 35 ft rv out with our 5 and 11 year old up the coast of cal.  We are in San
diego now.  Would like to take a 10 day trip and see some cool sites.  Any advise?

Answer
Hi Kim,

There's lots to see and do along the Central Coast of California, so I'll throw a few ideas at you. I'm assuming you've already done the whole Disney thing, and have stayed at some of my favorite RV sites in north county like San Elijo and South Carlsbad, so we'll continue our journey north.

I think four hours is a good first leg of your journey. That will get you to Carpinteria, which is one of my favorite places to camp out on the beach. Go to reserveamerica.com and be sure to book Long Row if you want to stay in the RV section of the park (with hookups). If you don't mind boondocking, there are quite a few sites that can handle your RV in the Anacapa and Santa Cruz sections, but no hookups. The kids will love the proximity to the beach. Bring the bikes along, because it's still fun to ride even in January. Besides the beach, you can eat at the Spot (on Linden Ave by the tracks, burgers and Mexican food), the Palms (cook your own steaks), or any number of places on Linden Ave. It makes for a nice ride or walk from the campground. And you must be sure to stop at Robitaille's, the old fashioned candy store.

From Carpinteria, continue on 101 north to Santa Barbara. If Carpinteria is booked, you can stay at El Capitan or Refugio, but they don't have hookups. An alternative route is to go up into the mountains and spend a day or two at the Thousand Trails campground at Rancho Oso. It's located in the far end of the Santa Ynez valley, and the location is quite beautiful. Tell them Steve Springer sent you, and you can get a free weekend out of it. They also have a heated pool and spa, as well as a lot of activities for everyone, including horseback riding right on the property. From Rancho Oso, it's a short drive to Solvang, the cute little Danish town chock full of shops and restaurants. Try some of the Danish treats, and you'll want to go back for more. If you don't want to stay at Rancho Oso, then there are sites at Cachuma Lake which are pretty, but you can't go swimming there (probably don't want to in January, anyway).

From Solving, get back on 101 north and continue on to Pismo Beach. I really enjoy staying at Pismo Coast Village, which is a short walk from downtown Pismo and the pier. We love eating at Pismo Beach Fish and Chips, but there are a lot of good places to eat in town, including Moe's BBQ. The chowder is good in this town, so have a bowl. The pool at Pismo Coast Village (www.pismocoastvillage.com) is heated, so we've gone swimming even in winter. Plenty of cool shops to check out in town, too. Don't forget the Cinnamon Roll shop on Dolliver Ave. And if you really like seafood, the Cracked Crab is really good.

From Pismo, continue north to San Luis Obispo. At this point, you have a choice: 101 is a lot quicker and easier if you want to get to Monterey, but highway 1 is SO much more beautiful. If you take Highway 1, you will pass through the beautiful little towns of Cambria and Cayucos. These are GREAT towns to visit with you and your hubby, leaving the kids with grandma for the weekend. In San Simeon, Hearts Castle would be great to visit for you and the 11YO, but I don't think your 5YO will enjoy it too much. I'm waiting until my 5YO gets a little older before we take a tour. But just up the road is Piedras Blancas, where the elephant seals live. There's a beach covered with thousands of elephant seals, and you can safely view them from a walkway. Just ask one of the docents at the Hearst Castle visitors center, and they will be happy to tell you where it is (or check out www.elephantseal.org). There is also a lighthouse at Piedras Blancas, which gives tours (I saw in on Huell Howser's show). Sadly, there is no tour in January. However, you can take tours of the Point Sur Lighthouse on Saturdays and Sundays.

Which brings us to Big Sur. There are a lot of places to stay here: There are two state campgrounds, and several private campgrounds. Big Sur Campground & Cabins is my favorite, but there's a lot of different opinions on favorite places to stay here. You can get a good overview at www.bigsurcalifornia.org/camping.html.

Now Monterey is a GREAT town your kids will love, but it's not very RV-friendly. I'm hoping that you have a dinghy and can either drive it from Big Sur, or you might want to stay in a hotel. There aren't any RV parks close to downtown Monterey. And the streets in the older part of town are smaller and usually very crowded. The place you really want to go is Cannery Row, where they have many shops and restaurants, but the biggest draw is Monterey Bay Aquarium. Here's a good trick for saving some time: If you can't buy tickets from your hotel/campground, then just go to the member's area on the side and get a family pass. It's a couple more bucks than buying single day tickets, but it usually saves us at least an hour NOT standing in a long line. Besides, a portion is tax-deductible. And you can go back within a year for free. Even though we live in the OC, we get a membership, then go back the following year before it expires. Then we get another family membership, thus buying one every two years and getting some nice perks besides. It saves us money in the long run. When you go, be sure to check the schedule to see the otter feeding, the Kelp Forest feeding, and the Outer Bay feeding times. Say hi to Bubba the Tuna, he's our favorite: He's the biggest fish in the tank, and the only one with a beard. There are lots of great places to eat on Cannery Row, but we like to eat once at Bubba Gump's just because it's fun and loud there (we don't like the chowder there, but LOVE the stuffed shrimp). Be sure to get "Hush pups). Great staff, good kids menu, too. If you want something a little quieter, we found a great little fish market/restaurant called the Sea Harvest, on Foam St, just a block or so off Cannery Row. If you can get the 5YO interested in shrimp or "white soup" (clam chowder is excellent here), you're in. You can shop and look around for a long time on Cannery Row, but save room for dessert, because they have a Ghirardelli chocolate shop there. We ALWAYS get a hot fudge sundae. It's so good, my family never wants anything else. Finally, while you are in Monterey, you must visit Dennis the Menace Playground in El Estero Park. It's just off Abrego and Munras, and will give the kids a chance to run around and let off some steam. My 22YO says she wishes she was little again! It's a really FUN park. BTW, there's RV parking on the north end of Cannery Row, which is the only place we found where you can easily park. Don't try and get cute parking here, the parking Nazis thrive here.

I've lost count of days, but Monterey is probably good for 2 days. But we can't forget San Franciso: There's a lot of things to see and do here: Fisherman's Wharf, The tour of the Bay and Alcatraz, Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square (remember those hot fudge sundaes?), Coit Tower, the Palace of Fine Arts/Exploratorium, and Golden Gate Park (including the museums). Another cool trick: If you join your local Science museum as a member (we joined the Discovery Science Center), you can get into other museums for free, like the Exploratorium. Once again, San Francisco is all about food. You MUST have some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl at the Boudin Bakery (lots of locations). Be sure to bring a few loaves home, too. One fun thing we like to do is walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. I've done it a bunch of times, so I drop off the family in the parking lot on the SF side, then drive to the other side and park, wait, and take photos. Walking the bridge gives you a much better perspective on how amazing it really is. I would say the best place to stay is San Francisco RV park, which is in Pacifica, just south of the city. The cool thing is that you can take the BART (train) into downtown, and then take the MUNI, bus, or cable car to the waterfront.

Whoa, that's a lot of miles, and I'm getting a bit sleepy, so I think that should give you 10 days of fun, and a trip that everyone will enjoy.

Have fun,

Hello! An answer to your question:

Hi, We want to take our 35 ft rv out with our 5 and 11 year old up the coast of cal.  We are in San
diego now.  Would like to take a 10 day trip and see some cool sites.  Any advise?

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