Hearst Castle/Monterey/Big Sur (pictures?)

In the meantime, try Nepenthe off Highway 1 in Big Sur for lunch if it's a clear day. Mmm.

http://www.eccentricamerica.com/images/madonna_inn.jpg

I think I might be in SF the second week of December, @d@m. Ned, will you be going any earlier than Xmas week?

How much is gasoline going for on 1 these days?

there is great wine-tasting to be had on same stretch (although moderation is advised to avoid dean's fate)... (bonny doon has a tasting room here... see the dessert wine thread... say hi to the sheep on the way in!)

about 3-5 miles north of HC is a bluff where you can get fairly close to an elephant seal colony (eleseal: massive blubbery aquatic animals)... sometimes the males will fight each other for the attention of the females (warning, it can get gory!).

as for HC, make reservations ahead of time... tour #1 is suggested by the park folx for general info (although I might recommend #2 first, it is equally as impressive, more extensive and not as popular... your chance of getting a better guide increases).

Adam, you lucky, fortunate lad! Have heard that area is supposed to be lovely.*

Will Willie let me jump in his pool?

A few images came to my own demented mind. If you manage that, images MUST be had.

Enjoy, anyhoo....

bonny doon tasting rooms

elephant seal colony at piedras blancas

Say something nice about El Cerrito

Info also here:

http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ca/drawbridge.html

Well, substitute 'garlic' for 'psuedo-Denmark' and maybe.

(Oh yeah, Mr. Nordic, I shall be up in Carmel towards the end of June for at least a weekend -- you both should swing on by!)

Again with the artichokes.

how much time to spend, minimum, at Pt Lobos? mcway falls? relative essential-ness of partington cove? pfeiffer beach? is Sebastian's General Store worth a detour, for edibles or otherwise, if you're not going to the castle?

also, any thoughts on santa ynez/maria valley eating? would main street grill in cambria be a bad place to seek out tri-tip?

two to three hours / two to three hours / it's a nice hike / haven't been / it won't take you too far out of your way / and i don't have any great eating recs.

that's what i figured for pt lobos, but way more than i figured for mcway falls. how much time does it take to hike there?

is there anywhere decent to eat in pacific grove?

Fandango isn't bad for wine, but service can be a bit slow.
Passionfish is good, too, if a bit overwrought.

hikinginbigsur informs that the mcway falls trail is .64 miles, so my multi-hour estimate is clearly way off.

yeah, those were the two that seemed ok, plus maybe this new place melange. fishwife doesn't sound so great?

maybe your 2-3 hours included the canyon trail/some of the ewoldsen trail?

what is the best olallieberry pie on the 1?

i have always been out of season. take a picture? i don't even know what an olallieberry looks like.

yeah, i was wondering - i'm maybe going out of season, but my understanding is pies are always avail

is the Henry Miller library worth seeing?

Pfeiffer Beach is pretty cool - there are these giant rock structures in the water

"sea stacks"

I thought I had a picture of it in my flickr. I don't, but here's the waterfall on the beach:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/53/131209409_bfc52109f6.jpg?v=0

oh wait, maybe that is Pfeiffer beach

fuk, I'm not sure, but the rocky things are cool

that's mcway falls

and they're called "sea stacks," at least in cascadia

From the Santa Barbara thread:

PCH is currently closed for 50 miles south of Big Sur as several (9! iirc) large sections of the highway washed out over this winter between Big Sur and San Simeon. Hopefully it will be open by next winter but I'd put a contingency plan in place in the event of closures.

― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, April 25, 2023 10:18 AM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink

Down to two closures right now and one is tentatively supposed to open in mid-July, so hopeful PCH will be fully open by December.

If so, is there anywhere to stay on PCH between Hearst Castle and Big Sur? We aren't doing camping this trip. I do see Treebones Resort (yurts, lol), which might work.

you want to be fashionable and stay on/just off of HWY 1 and not go for the traditional best western (or whatever) off 101?

Idk what is fashionable or not! I thought the thing to do was to go up 1 the entire way, but accommodations look pretty sparse between San Simeon and Big Sur.

i only did this (except it was down rather than up) with my parents when i was a kid, and it was one of those vacation trips when we didn't have the time & money to do anything more exciting, so we pretty much went with economy motels ... granted that area has gotten way more expensive and bougie in the last 40 years lol ... there probably was a best western on the way back in the 80s that got turned into yurts or something.

About 10 years ago we stayed in a place called Lucia Lodge between Big Sur & Hearst Castle overlooking the cliffs, pretty expensive for what you get but I don't think I've stayed anywhere else with views quite like it. No idea if it's still open.

Thanks for the recommendation - I will check it out.

what is the best olallieberry pie on the 1?

― gabbneb, Tuesday, January 22, 2008 10:58 AM (fifteen years ago)

Duarte's in Pescadero (~100 miles north of Big Sur though).

we stayed right on the coast in cambria a long time ago, I guess that isn't between the castle and big sur though. I can't recall where it was, but I do remember that I had one of the worst allergy attacks of my life there for some reason, I must have been allergic to some wildflowers.

the most expensive gas in the world is between hearst castle and big sur, I do remember that.

I booked flights for my December into LAX and out of SFO with the plan to drive north up the PCH.

I was reading a guidebook recently, which made the point that if you drive south on the PCH, the water (and scenery) is on your right side, meaning you can easily pull over if you see something you want to check out, while if you drive north on the PCH, you have to cut across traffic to park and take photos.

I've checked my flights and I could flip them without much trouble or expense. Has anyone done this trip and is this really a significant issue?

Jeez, I've been up and down that road a bunch and I don't know if it makes much difference

PBKR: I would hold off on rebooking flights until PCH is open. Not sure how to convey the seriousness of the shoulder of a mountain repeatedly sliding down and wiping out the highway into the ocean is but this is rather significant. The closure is approaching 7 months and CalTrans is not giving a reopening date. The last time I remember a similar closure was around Mud Creek in uh... 2017 which took over a year for PCH to reopen.

Hearst's Moving Castle

i don't know off the top of my head what the potential detours might be but, even in California, December is no joke for driving conditions.

Yeah what Steve S. and omar just said. If it's still closed by the time you're here -- and honestly if we have an El Nino year as it looks like, things will get even dicier on that front regardless -- and it sounds like you have some general time you can still avoid the 5 and do the 101 instead -- just go up PCH until Morro Bay (or indeed Hearst Castle with a slight backtrack) then cut over to the 101 and head to Monterey to check out a bit of Big Sur from the north before heading to SF.

Thanks everyone. I've been following the Caltrans updates, which had been generally positive, but the update from last week seems like they're encountering continuing problems. I'm not nearly as optimistic as I was.

If we have to, we'll double back to Cambria after Hearst Castle and take the 101 around to Big Sur, where we are staying for a couple of days. We'll be staying in Santa Barbara before that, so I will probably not want to do SB>Hearst Castle>Big Sur in one shot, so I'm thinking a night in Paso Robles or somewhere else in between Santa Barbara and Big Sur might be necessary.

I am sure there are wonderful scenic aspects of Highway 1 south of the Big Sur area, but I don't recall actually driving further south than that lol. I've always lived north (or east) and so one drives south during the day, and back north in the evening/night.

I am obviously provincial in that respect, but the abbreviation "PCH" is also new to me. It's Highway 1 or ... "the 1" (I understand that southerners like to append the word "the" to major roadways).

lol Paso Robles ... why not King City?! Sorry, two boring places that are similarly boring imo

Yeah, Paso Robles didn't look too inspiring. I do like wine. Feel free to suggest something else within an hour or so of both Hearst Castle and "the" 101.

Morro Bay is awesome and probably a little cheaper than most Central Coast beach towns... sea otters everywhere

https://www.madonnainn.com/

(have never stayed there myself)

but yeah as Andy says, I'd stay somewhere on the coast

I am sure there are wonderful scenic aspects of Highway 1 south of the Big Sur area

it's not as scenic for sure, but the elephant seals are pretty cool! I didn't really love my one visit to Hearst Castle, but I was pretty sick and forced to go by my in-laws lol

honestly it depends on your budget ... I've never had the funds to splurge like that, so if it were me, I'd be going for the Best Western in King City tbh

I grew up going camping and going to family functions at Big Sur and my family are Monterey natives going back many generations, so I have a certain blindness tbh

Madonna Inn was def not a serious suggestion, though if you're into that kind of americana kitsch maybe it'd be worth it? I have no idea what their rates are tbh.

Personally I have never enjoyed staying in a hotel in my entire life (well, maybe as a kid if there was a pool), so splurging on a luxury room or w/e has v little appeal

I stayed at the Seaside Inn in Morro Bay in December 2021, it was kind of fun & kitschy and a quick walk down to the water

I love hotels tbh ... I have several friends who will go stay at Madonna Inn for their birthdays ... if I had the money and time, I'd do it.

Lol @ the photos of the rooms at the Madonna Inn. Why yes, I would like wagon wheels on my bed.

downtown Paso Robles is nothing great, but the wine country between Cambria and Paso is beautiful

xp
wait til you see Hearst Castle!

Hearst Castle is kind of cool because it's also an actual, working cattle ranch run by a guy name Hearst.. you also might see some zebras grazing by the side of the road

wait til you see cowschwitz!

Rancho Nipomo Deli in Nipomo has always been my favorite of the central coast BBQ places. Firestone Grill is worthy of the hype, but if you happen to be in San Luis Obispo on a Thursday afternoon, don't miss the Higuera St. farmers market - someone will be bbqing there and it'll be fantastic. Paso Robles' farmers market is really good too - I think weekend mornings and Tuesday night?

My mom LOVED staying at the Madonna Inn. Some of earliest memories I have are from stays there in the really early 1970s when my parents would still road trip together.

If you want to check it out: the Madonna Inn's coffee shop is worth stopping in at for a coffee and pie break - the apple pie being the best option. Do not order anything else.

I can’t believe anyone is maligning The Madonna Inn!!!???? It’s totally completely magical. I have stayed there exactly 1x but I dreamed about that 1x for years prior.

This area is one of my favorite vacation spots of all time. We went to Hearst Castle and the whole deal. Totally amazing!!! (I’m from Ohio lol)

it's almost certainly not there any more, but there used to be (early 70s) a sort of mall -- I guess an early strip mall -- across the highway from the madonna inn. it had a movie theater and I don't know what else, the main thing I remember about the theater is seeing posters for the final planet of the apes movie and wishing I could see it, and there was enough parking lot to build a tent in and sometimes a circus coming through town would set up there; there'd also be a petting zoo there during easter seasons. onion, belt, style at the time, etc. my dad played piano in a jazz combo at the Inn a couple times a week for a year or three. those are my Madonna Inn stories.

Loving all this.

I've been to CA 7 or so times, but every time I go it has a really profound effect on me.

I purchased City of Quartz to read on this trip.

morro bay is nice! i was there like ugh 20? years ago i think? at the time it felt kinda kitschy & chill, had kept its old timey vibe without making a point of it

although i spent my whole time there getting drunk & calling it “moron bay”
sorry to those nice ppl

Morro Bay & Cayucos are both charming (the latter even moreso). Lots of wine options of 46. Also James Dean died in the area if you are into that.

The Madonna Inn's mens room off the lobby is essentially a makeshift 70s sunset magazine waterfall design... which is kinda novel I guess. Plenty of people will come in and take pictures even if you're using it.

Firestone Grill is worthy of the hype

The owners are ultra hardline rightwing MAGA/QAnon/Trump supports... just go to the gas station with the weird tritip window down the road... lol, I think all pertinent details are in the Santa Barbara thread.

my favorite place in Buellton is that "secret"(?) back window in the gas station, which is probably closed down for now.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:21 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

...which has a 1-star on Yelp and no mention of the secret window which is an absolute plus in today's world:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/76-buellton

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:24 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

...but has a solitary 5-star review on Facebook:

76 - Buellton, California | Facebook

Rating: 5 - ‎1 vote - ‎Price range: $$
76 - 631 Avenue of the Flags, Buellton, CA 93427 - Rated 5 based on 1 Review "THE BEST TRI-TIP SANDWICH ON THE MARKET #BEEF #LUNCH"

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:25 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

hmmmm, this feels like a trick. and if the upside is a tri-tip sandwich, I will play it safe.

― it's a spicy dinner we're having (Sufjan Grafton), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:28 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

maybe it has another name? it's pretty great.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:29 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

is it tri-tip only?

― it's a spicy dinner we're having (Sufjan Grafton), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:30 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

excuse me, is it #BEEF #LUNCH only?

― it's a spicy dinner we're having (Sufjan Grafton), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:30 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

haha, sounds like a gloryhole or something but a buddy from SLO told me about it a few years back and I stop by every time I'm passing through.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:30 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

I think it's sandwiches only but I'm trying to find a picture online or any reference of the counter/window/menu and have been unsuccessful so far. So much for "the information age/all digital everything"....

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:35 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

you are purposefully luring me to a location near north and south 101 exits with this hipster bait.

― it's a spicy dinner we're having (Sufjan Grafton), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:37 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

i'm digging deep:

OldJalamaMama May 15, 201710:16 PM

A good bbq tri tip sandwich for me, stuck here in the SYV, its the always dependable R Country Store in downtown Los Olivos- I think they bbq on both Saturday and Sunday. Crisp buttered roll with lots of sliced tri tip and a side of salsa- YUM. Not cheap and comes with a coke and chips.

The BEST comes from the oddest source in Buellton- on the top of the Avenue of Flags is a 76 Station and on Fridays they bbq tri tips out the back door and slice the tip on a slicer inside- stuff it inside a bun and serve it with a side of salsa- SOOOO GOOD.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 11:01 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

ok, looks like I found something more official/detailed:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eagle-Energy-76-Buellton/107357666034922

tri-tip tacos/sandwiches
meatball subs
bbq pork sandwiches
chili dog
french dip
teriyaki beef
yogurt parfaits
etc.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 11:04 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

if you click through to that FB link, you'll need to click again toward the top of the page to find the duplicate page that has all the pics/posts. I can't seem to brute force it.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, August 11, 2020 11:06 AM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

you can get a sandwich there and eat it in the parking lot of the windmill hotel from Sideways. you can eat it and think about how Paul Giamatti never fuckin sold out, man.

Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes is worth checking out, especially if it's a weekday when there's less people around. It's an area of the state that's totally unique to itself. Folks keep finding pieces of DeMille's Ten Commandments set emerging out of the sand there.

If you do get anywhere near Guadalupe, please (i beg you) stop at La Pasadita Oaxaqueña/. Guadalupe is a tough, eccentric agriculture town of the kind that's unique to California. It's good to see some new places open up there, but I'm so afraid the place is going to gentrify overnight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYybvQtnJxs

went to the dunes like 1-2 years ago with the fam. super windy day, was hard to walk it was so windy and the sand flying in your face was painful, cool trip would do again tbh for the novelty alone

Awesome stuff. Is that Tri-Tip window Friday only (per that quote) or available other days?

I have a free day this Friday. Think I'll road trip to the tri-tip window

Mall across from madonna in is extremely still there

There's still a drive-in movie theatre in SLO too.

Farmer’s Market on thursdays

this thread is hitting me so hard in the "the places where you were a child kinda still look the same" zone, holy shit. we've played SLO recently, I went for some good runs, but didn't rent a car to explore further; I must, next time

as promised...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yqHS8lnctY

I don't like my bathrooms that wet.

PBKR:

Due to dynamic conditions at the repair site as well as anticipated impacts associated with inclement weather in the upcoming months, there is no estimated time for full reopening of Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide at this time.

Thanks, I've been checking every week for months. I gave up a month or so ago when they had that secondary slide and booked a place in Cambria for staying the night after seeing Hearst Castle. We'll then drive around via 101 and then down 1 for the Big Sir portion.

Overall, I'm wishing I added a second day in Cambria just for Hearst Castle because right now it's going to be: Leave Santa Barbara in the morning, hike Gaviota Wind Caves, stop in Pismo Beach for the monarch butterfly preserve, Hearst Castle for 2 tours, which means getting up very early or foregoing one of the tours at Hearst Castle.

two tours at the castle are all you really need IME. I've gone twice and done two different ones, 15 years apart.

Thanks, that's helpful. We love California so I hope we'll be back in that area again some time.