Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Continuing Through California

** Capitola**
Ten days wasn't nearly long enough to see the sights in California.
It is a BIG state.  A big and beautiful state.  We moved from place to place for the first seven nights and did our best to see the highlights of the area.
 After our time visiting the national parks (previous post), we headed for the Santa Cruz area and spent the night in the nearby town of Capitola.




These colorful cottages were across from the patio restaurant where we had dinner that night.


A quick walk along the beach the next morning before it was time to move on.  The homes and gardens were so pretty and the view they had of the ocean was gorgeous. 

I thought this house was particularly attractive.
I often feel a bit timid when it comes to photographing other people's homes, but Brett stood atop of a rock front & center and snapped away.  I'm glad now that he is bolder than I in that department.

The next day it was off to Carmel-By-The-Sea.
We spent time looking in the shops and had lunch in a French cafe.


Carmel is a charming little town with fun shops and interesting architecture.
Dogs are treated well here thanks to the efforts of Doris Day, a longtime resident.


Flowers are plentiful.
I couldn't pass up this window box without a picture.. or two.. maybe even three.



Clint Eastwood is a resident of Carmel and plays an important part in it's history with his Mission Ranch.  You can learn more about that here.  We were told that the restaurant was very good, but it was only open for dinner and by then we were on to our next destination.


The next destinations were found by way of a drive along the amazingly scenic Pacific Coast Highway.
We marveled about the fact that the last time we had been on this road was 1974 for him and 1977 for me.  Long before we knew one another.
Once again I was glad Brett was the driver.
I know for certain this part of the trip wouldn't have happened if it were up to me to get us there.  
When one is hanging off the side of a cliff hanging over the Pacific Ocean, it is cause for concern when the traffic comes to an abrupt halt.  The many curves in the road made it impossible to see what the delay was.  Eventually he turned the car off and we enjoyed the scenery.  I was secretly hoping we would be moving again before dark, but if we had to be stopped, what an absolutely gorgeous place to be.


In time we were moving again and soon found out the reason for the delay.
Yikes!  Not sure how that happened, but there didn't appear to be any serious injuries.


One more look from the Pacific Coast Highway drive.


We moved on to the next charming town, Cambria.
A visit to the Hearst Castle yielded many more photos.
That could make another post in itself.  Heck the ceilings alone could be post worthy, but I am reigning myself in here and showing one picture of my favorite ceiling which was found on one of the castle balconies.
We spent one night in Cambria and had dinner here.  
It has an interesting history and we were introduced to Olallieberries which we liked well enough to bring home a jar of Olallieberry jam.  Sadly we had to get on the road too early the next morning to check out the town.  I will say it did look like a fun place to explore.

Now it was time to head to the town of Summerland and the real reason for our trip to California.
There we stayed for three nights in a cute little cottage that overlooked the ocean.
Well, I should say there was a major freeway, a railroad track and the main road through town in front of us, but from where we sat, the ocean view was lovely.


Summerland is right near Santa Barbara.
We visited the wharf and had lunch one day.





 This was our first visit to Santa Barbara.
Standing on the wharf, I was struck by the way the view rose from ocean to a line of palm trees to the city rising up with the mountains in the background.  So pretty!





Another view of the city.
Lots of palm trees and Spanish style architecture.
This way you see the mountain backdrop.




And this way an ocean backdrop.
Swoon!!

 At this point the sightseeing was over and the big day arrived.
Because I have already gone on for far too long, I shall save that for my next post.
If you have stuck with me this long you may deserve a medal.
We don't get to California very often so we aimed to make the most of it while we could.  I think we were successful with our mission, however I would have loved more time in some of those small towns :D.





11 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! What awesome scenery you saw. I think you'll have to go back in the not-too-distant future and plan on taking more time. Thanks for sharing your trip ( and totally making me jealous).

    ReplyDelete
  2. If it weren't for the traffic...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow you really had some vacation. Wonderful pictures you shared with us!!
    It might have been fun driving my corvette on that road. : )

    ReplyDelete
  4. California is a gorgeous state!

    ReplyDelete
  5. How pretty, Kim! A wedding on a beach? So lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  6. How pretty, Kim! A wedding on a beach? So lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, we are anxious for this next post now! I like the way you traveled...spending time in different cities that I've heard of. Beautiful! Okay...get that next post ready! heehee! Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm so enjoying your scenic coastal tour of California...and re-living our visits to the same area. We have driven the Pacific Coastal Highway twice over the years...and would love to do it again! Looking forward to your 'wedding post'.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a great post. I've never been to California. You've shared some lovely pictures. I want to go. And visit that resturant. Gosh what a curvy road! We're going to buy a motor home this year and travel our state. Hopefully next year we'll be going on long trips!
    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your trip looks amazing, Kim! We've been to San Diego and San Francisco but have never traveled along like you did. I'd love to do the PCH some time. Isn't Carmel amazing? We have friends who live there so when we visited they took us all around. The sunsets are unbelievable.

    I'm going to backtrack because I think I've missed some of your posts.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love this post! I'm a California girl, and Loved the photos of Santa Barbara, One of my favorite drives and places to visit is Carmel and Solvang -oh I miss home. Your trip looks beautiful.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are welcome and appreciated.
I will do my best to answer any questions here in the comments section.