Honeymoon Road Trip

[NeilMalek]

Hi everybody,

First post (whee!), and even after some reading, I couldn't figure out the etiquette on this one, so I'll just let you scold me if scolding is necessary.

I was browsing this subforum, and came across this thread that's a lot like what I need: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=89071

My fiancee and I are moving to SF in February, and getting married at Fogarty Winery next July. Then, we're going to road trip from SF to LA, and I'd love some further advice like what's in the thread above. What restaurants/inns/B&Bs would you suggest for somebody who'll be leaving the Palo Alto area and driving down the coast to LA (flying out of LAX)?

Some guidelines:

- I'll eat anything.

- My fiancee cannot handle spicy food at all.

- We're beginners on the whole wine thing; we both really like Rieslings and similar 'sweet' wines. One or two stops that involve learning wine would be OK; a 'wine tour' would be overkill.

- We're fairly young, and have a 'moderate' budget (not cheap, but not lavish).

- We've got four days to make the drive.

- Adventure is good.

Thanks!

[NeilMalek]

Really? 85 views and nobody has a single extra word to add?

Huh.

[Carlsbad]

Are you committed to driving to LA? Maybe it's because I live in Southern California, but the drive is a whole lot more interesting to me going up to the Bay Area, than to LA. Between Palo Alto and and LA, the places of interest would seem to be Santa Cruz (too close to Palo Alto), Carmel/Monterey, the stretch of Highway 1 south of Carmel, the area around Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo (wineries but little else and hot in the summer), Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, and LA. Of those, I would pick Carmel, Highway 1, Pismo Beach, and Santa Barbara.

It seems to me it's a whole lot more interesting going north from Palo Alto. We just returned from the Mendocino coast, and it was a perfect honeymoon place. How about Napa Valley? Sonoma? Just a thought.

Edited August 5, 2006 by Carlsbad (log)

[JFLinLA]

I'm from LA too but we love Big Sur. The Ventana and Post Ranch are expensive but, if you can swing it, really special. There are other places too in Big Sur, just haven't been in a while.

[NeilMalek]

Are you committed to driving to LA?  Maybe it's because I live in Southern California, but the drive is a whole lot more interesting to me going up to the Bay Area, than to LA.    Between Palo Alto and and LA, the places of interest would seem to be Santa Cruz (too close to Palo Alto), Carmel/Monterey, the stretch of Highway 1 south of Carmel, the area around Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo (wineries but little else and hot in the summer), Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, and LA.  Of those, I would pick Carmel, Highway 1, Pismo Beach, and Santa Barbara.

It seems to me it's a whole lot more interesting going north from Palo Alto.  We just returned from the Mendocino coast, and it was a perfect honeymoon place.  How about Napa Valley?  Sonoma?  Just a thought.

←

Well, we debated going north or south, but the gist of it is we're going to rent a car and drive one way, until we hit an airport. After giving it some thought, those miles and miles of wilderness to the north were nice, but my fiancee wanted to hit up Magic Mountain, and I've always heard nice things about Big Sur, Monterey, and Carmel.

We don't need a LOT of adventure, as we're pretty good at entertaining ourselves, and it just made sense to go hit some roller coasters at the end of the honeymoon.

The Ventana and Post Ranch are expensive but, if you can swing it, really special.

Ooh, cool. Do these have websites?

Thanks for the help, guys!

[NeilMalek]

http://www.ventanainn.com/

http://www.postranchinn.com/

Are these them?

ETA: NICE. Definitely thinking about a 'splurge' in the middle of the trip. Do you have experience with both these restaurants? Would you say they're basically equals?

Edited August 7, 2006 by NeilMalek (log)

[samgiovese]

Neil:

Check out Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley. Their Marinus Restaurant is an award-winner. The restaurant at the Post Ranch Inn, Sierra Mar, has recently changed management, and I am not aware of the quality of food. All 3 properties are lovely. We've stayed at Bernardus many times, and I can vouch for the quality of the property and the food.

[Muffin210]

When you reach LA, how long will you be there for, and where in LA will you be staying? (The Magic Mountain area is not what most of us would call LA.)

[NeilMalek]

Neil:

Check out Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley.  Their Marinus Restaurant is an award-winner.  The restaurant at the Post Ranch Inn, Sierra Mar, has recently changed management, and I am not aware of the quality of food.  All 3 properties are lovely.  We've stayed at Bernardus many times, and I can vouch for the quality of the property and the food.

←

Awesome information!

When you reach LA, how long will you be there for, and where in LA will you be staying?  (The Magic Mountain area is not what most of us would call LA.)

←

That's entirely up to the 'stuff we find to do'. We're getting married on a Monday, and flying out of LAX on Saturday morning; I'd say 1-2 days in the 'Greater Los Angeles Area' is the most we'll get. Magic Mountain is more a 'side trip' than a 'place we're going to stay'.