Hellobee

Last October, we decided to do a 5 day 4 night road trip up the California Coast, starting from Orange County, and ending in Monterey Bay. My husband had always wanted to do something like this. In fact, he’d like to someday drive from Southern California all the way up to Vancouver, Canada! There is so much to see in our own backyard, that we are really looking forward to many more road trip opportunities in the coming years.

Day 1 – Santa Barbara & Solvang
On our first day, we drove 2 hours from Orange County to Santa Barbara, and ate lunch at the Santa Barbara pier. The Santa Barbara Aquarium was also on the pier, so we stopped by on a whim, and the kids ended up loving it because it was so interactive.

View of the Santa Barbara pier and coastline

Eating fresh seafood on Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara

The Santa Barbara aquarium was very hands on, so the kids loved it!

Things to do in Santa Barbara

• Stearns Wharf
• Santa Barbara Aquarium
• Mission Santa Barbara
• State Street – for shopping and eating
• Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
• Santa Barbara Zoo

We didn’t intend to stay long since we’d been to Santa Barbara several times before, so after lunch, we continued on our way to the little Danish town of Solvang, about 30 minutes north of Santa Barbara. This is where we settled for the night. While in Solvang, we checked out the Ostrich Farm, ate dinner in downtown Solvang, then went night swimming at our hotel.

These ostriches were aggressive! We tried feeding them and they took the whole bowl!

Exploring Downtown Solvang

Things to do in Solvang

• Hans Christian Anderson Park
• Ostrich Farm – to see and feed ostriches
• Quicksilver Ranch – to see miniature horses
• Wine Tasting
• Mission Santa Ines

Day 2 – Morro Bay & Big Sur
After we departed Solvang, we continued north and grabbed lunch in Morro Bay. Then continued the 2 hour drive to Big Sur. The drive along highway 101 up to Big Sur was surreal… just miles upon miles of ocean and deep blue as far as the eye can see.

Exploring Big Sur

Playing by the Big Sur River

In front of our cabin at Fernwood Lodge

We lucked out finding a place to stay in Big Sur that allowed a one night minimum. Since this was a last minute trip (as in, we planned it only a few weeks before and not months in advance), we didn’t have many choices left in Big Sur, and most places required a two night minimum. Definitely plan ahead if possible!

Day 3 – Monterey Bay
We checked out of our lodge, and drove one hour north to our final destination of Monterey Bay. I love Monterey Bay because it is the home of one of my favorite authors – John Steinbeck. Not to mention how tranquil, beautiful, and scenic it is here. We’re glad we decided to settle and spend two days here instead of continuing our road trip up to the San Jose and San Francisco areas (where we’ve already been many times before). We spent our first day walking around Cannery Row and visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium is HUGE – easily the largest aquarium we’ve ever been to.

Deep blues at every turn

Penguins at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Fascinated by all the giant fish

Posing in a clamshell

Swimming at our hotel

Watching the sunset was the perfect way to close out our first day in Monterey

Day 4 – Monterey Bay continued
We rented a Surrey to ride around Fisherman’s Wharf, then did the infamous 17-mile drive.

I could’ve sat and stared at the waves crashing against those rocks for hours.  So peaceful here.

At a stop called China Rock along the 17-mile drive

There are several markers along 17-mile drive where they encourage you to stop, take photos, and explore.  Here are the kids having fun climbing rocks and enjoying the fresh air.

The infamous “Lone Cypress” of Monterey Bay. It is an estimated 250 years old, and is held in place by a cable wire.

Things to do in Monterey Bay

• 17-mile drive
• Cannery Row
• Fisherman’s Wharf
• Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Dennis the Menace Park

Day 5 – Drive the 6 hours back home to SoCal
Because it would take 8-9 hours back if we drove along the coast, we decided to head home via the 5 freeway instead of the 101 (Pacific Coast Highway). Our drive back wasn’t nearly as pretty as our drive up, but it was the most efficient way home.

This was such a fun, low-key, and easy vacation. Definitely one of our favorites. Breaking up the trip into multiple days, and taking the time to enjoy each of our destinations made each new day a fun and exciting adventure. We’re so glad we did something like this, and definitely plan on many more road trips in the future!

Have you done an extended road trip with your family? Where did you go and would recommend?