The ski season has ended but we’re not ready to go home yet. The sky is blue, the sun is high in the sky, there’s not a cloud to be seen as we set off from Lake Tahoe on the next stage of our American Adventure. Following the lake shore round to the south of Lake Tahoe, we pass through walls of snow, a legacy of the harsh winter storms that hit this region earlier in the year. The snow is not yet melting, but it soon will do with these warmer temperatures. We drive westwards out of the mountains and are soon heading towards Sacramento where we stop for coffee and breakfast at a roadside diner.

From there we pick up the I-5 heading south. This is the main route for all traffic heading north to south (or vice versa) through California. It runs for miles and miles and miles from the Mexican Border all the way up to the Canadian Border, if you want to do the full length of it. That’s a bit of a long way, and not on our itinerary this time. We are going to be driving all day though and that is why the interstate is a good option as it’s a nice easy drive and we eat up the miles in our hire SUV. 

The last hour or so of our journey is through the gently undulating hills of wine country. We’re heading for San Luis Obispo, but first we pass through the gentle valleys leading to Paso Robles, famous for its vineyards and olive groves. We didn’t stop here on this trip, but friends of ours come here regularly and rave about it. It seems to be a great spot for some sun-kissed wine drinking in the California sunshine.

As we drive on, now heading south on Highway 101 we catch glimpses of the spring wildflower blooms that light up the hillsides. 2023 is apparently a very good year for these desert flowers and people drive for miles to see them. The super blooms appear in the spring, normally around March/April after a wet winter. The wildflowers erupt in vibrant carpets of lush colour: orange, yellow, lilac, red. There are poppies, daisies, flowering grasses, lupins and aster. There are lots of ‘destination’ places you can visit to see these super blooms, but we managed to see quite a lot just from the car as we headed through the central Californian foothills. 

Eventually we arrived at our base for the next few days, San Luis Obispo. This is a preppy college town but also a weekend retreat for LA’s young and beautiful people. Known colloquially as ‘SLO’, that is not just an acronym of the town’s name but also a description of the pace of life here. Have a look at the Slocal visitor website if you need inspiration for a visit.

Our top 5 things to do in SLO are:

Stay at The Madonna Inn, or at least have dinner there. The Madonna Inn is a quirky, ranch style hotel on the outskirts of SLO. It is (apparently) world famous and has 110 individually themed bedroom suites. These range from the weirdly wonderful caveman suite to a much more sedate, almost normal horse racing theme. When you book you can choose which suite you want to stay in. If you’re not staying here, then it is definitely worth eating here. The main dining room is pink. Yes, pink all over. The walls are pink, the carpet is pink, the seating is pink, the décor is pink. It is kitsch and has to be seen to be believed. Have a steak followed by a slice of an enormous gateau from the on-site bakery to take full advantage of what the Madonna Inn is famous for.  

Go for a Hike. There are lots of places to hike in and around SLO with trails leading from the edge of town out into the hills. This area is famous for its volcanic peaks, or morros, stretching from SLO to the coast at Morro Bay. We did a circuit from the Madonna Inn, then up the hill behind the inn to gain a vista of the town of SLO. We saw Californian Condors soaring on the thermals as we plodded up the narrow trail.  

Visit a Vineyard. This is wine country so there’s plenty of options to visit vineyards and taste a few of the vinos. We tasted the wines at Biddle Ranch which offers a small tasting room for their Edna Valley small batch wines. There are plenty of other wineries to choose from. You might want to get an uber rather than driving though! 

Eat and Drink. There’s no shortage of places to eat and drink in SLO. In fact, that seems to be main purpose of coming here for a weekend. If you are lucky, you’ll find yourself here when there’s a farmers’ market on and you can stroll through the streets sampling local delicacies. 

Art After Dark. Make sure your stay encompasses the first Friday of the month if you fancy a self-guided art walk. Details of what is on each particular month are posted on the website https://slocountyarts.org/art-after-dark and might include pottery, jewellery, art galleries or street performers, many with wine or food tastings thrown in. 

From SLO, it’s time to head north. We’re taking the coast road which has to be one of the iconic drives that everyone should do at least once in their life. It’s slow, with lots of spots to stop off to see elephant seals or walk the coastline with the salty wind in your hair. There are state parks with hiking trails, steep bluffs and hidden communities lodged among the cliffs. Known as the Pacific Coast Highway, the route 101 runs directly alongside the ocean all the way up the coast. We pass through well-known places such as Big Sur, Carmel and Pebble Beach before arriving in Monterey where we head for Cannery Row and our hotel for the night. You have numerous hotels around here, most of them pretty pricey. Our choice for this evening was the Holiday Inn Express which was reasonably priced and came with excellent service.

We were also very happy with the proprietor’s recommendation for dinner and had a delicious steak at The Whaling Station, just 2 blocks away.

There’s a lot to see and do in Monterey and Cannery Row. The famous aquarium is probably worth a visit, but we did not want to pay the $50 entry fee. Instead, we walked along the coastal trail spotting sea otters and sealions. Old Fisherman’s Wharf is worth a visit, if only to soak up the history of the area and as you walk back towards Cannery Row you’ll see some vast murals depicting the history of the area. 

From Monterey, we carried on our Californian odyssey, still heading north on the coast road as far as Santa Cruz, and then heading north east through the hills towards San Francisco and the airport for our flight home. 

Date of visit: April 2023

For flight and hire car details see ‘A California Ski Odyssey’ blog

Hotels for this part of the trip: Madonna Inn, £1,211.57, double room for 3 nights; Holiday Inn Express Cannery Row, £270, double room for 2 nights.

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