Day 6: Santa Monica&Venice Beach

Greetings. It's been a while, hasn't it? I can't even apologize because sometimes you just need a break. So I took one. Today is all about beaches. Specifically, Santa Monica and Venice beaches. We left Santa Barbara on the earlier side so we would have a full day to enjoy the sun&sand in LA county. I think Naomi and I were both looking forward to LA the most, so we were quite excited to begin this leg of the trip. We had originally intended on stopping in Malibu as well, but realized we wouldn't have enough time to visit all three places, so SM&V won the battle as they are within walking distance of each other. We parked at the Santa Monica pier which was costly ($12) and crowded. However there was quite a bit of construction going on around the pier and we didn't feel like getting lost in LA traffic, so we sucked it up and shelled out the money. On the plus side, if I recall correctly, it's all day parking so if you're planning on being in the area a while it could be worth saving yourself trips to refill the meter.

The pier featuring the roller coaster of death

We decided early on that we wanted to rent bikes. Originally the plan was to rent them in SM, ride them to Venice and then back to SM where we parked. Well, that didn't work. We decided to keep walking past the multitude of bike rental shops in SM to find something cheaper than what we were seeing near the pier. Spoiler: nothing cheaper exists. They somehow got more expensive despite being farther from the entertainment. By the time we realized this we were already halfway to Venice (it's a little over a mile walk and it was hot that day) so we just decided to rent them once we were at the boardwalk. After finally reaching our destination we grabbed lunch at On The Waterfront Cafe. Somehow it was just as hot inside the restaurant as it was outside, but we ordered a light lunch (salads, including the most massive grilled chicken Caesar salad I've had in my life) and lots of water. We spotted a bike rental place at the start of the boardwalk and at $7 an hour, we chose out beach cruisers and headed out.

I got some weird tan lines this day

We cruised around the boardwalk (you can't actually ride on most of it but they have lots of bike lanes along the beach) and took in the...environment. Venice is... I'm just gonna say it: really, really weird. There are a few cool people, but mostly a lot of weird people smoking pot. Pot is just not my thing but you may enjoy the scent of Venice more than I did. After an hour riding around and dying in the heat (high 90's that day, ouch) we returned our bikes, grabbed some cold drinks and began the long walk back to the SM pier. We decided to ride some of the attractions at the pier, but at $4-$6 a ride, we settled on just one roller coaster. Now, this coaster was probably the most terrifying amusement park experience of my life. And I love roller coasters...that are well built. This was horrifying. And we rode it twice (mostly because everyone else was like "again again!" and I think the ride operators got a kick out of my horror) after which I practically ran off the ride.

The famous ferris wheel

I found a swing. I love swings.

After our near death experience we headed to the hotel around 4 to get a head start on LA rush hour traffic. Our hotel, the Ocean Park Hotel, is a mix between a hotel and hostel. More on that later. We then headed to Native Foods Cafe for a healthy, organic, vegan dinner. It was amazing. A fast-casual dining experience with flavorful food and friendly staff. There is a DC location (actually, 2!) opening up soon and I can't wait. We attempted to make some plans with a few of our friends who live/work in LA (when they're not on tour) but prolonged studio sessions and a bit of miscommunication led to us having (yet another) night in. Which brings me to: the bad.

Each room in the hotel is private but has shared bathrooms on each floor. No big deal. The big deal, however, was the lack of air conditioning in the middle of an LA heat wave. It was quite an uncomfortable night. They also leave the doors to the hotel open until 10pm (when someone who works there is supposed to close them) though I definitely got up to go to the bathroom around 11/12 and they were wide open (I shut them, someone opened them again later, probably to let cooler air in). We attempted to reach the manager after hours but were only met with a voice mail, and we couldn't keep our windows open (which did help) due to a tear in the screen which let in a swarm of mosquitoes. Normally we wouldn't be bothered by a lack of sleep (we're pretty good at making it up, clearly) but we were heading to Disneyland (!!!) the next day quite early and needed our sleep to survive the 14 hour day we had planned. The next morning we finally were able to speak to the manager in person who, after a bit of negotiating, agreed to refund us 1/3 of our rate that night for the a/c issue. I really pushed for this because it's not advertised on the website (which is currently down) and we were never informed of the lack of air. We also happened to be there in the midst of a heatwave so it was a lot of poor timing, but even more poor advertising. Regardless, the manager was helpful, understanding and professional, which definitely helped during the conversation.

Next: DISNEYLAND

XO,

Casey

Activities mentioned in this post:

Santa Monica Pier; parking: $12 daily, ride admission: $4-$6 each, unlimited ride passes and annual passes available

Venice Beach Boardwalk bike rentals; varies by shop, between $7-$9 an hour

Ocean Park Hotel; $90 nightly, seasonal rates may apply, free parking, free wifi, no breakfast included

Wearing:

Hollister Co. Shorts, H&M cropped tank, Mossimo shoes, H&M sunglasses

New York City: Food

Hello again. My apologies for being absent the last week, I needed to take a mini break for personal reasons. But now I am back and ready to share with you the incredible food I experienced in NYC. The last time we went to NYC, we spared no expense, and had a wonderful dinner at Nobu. While delicious, it was incredibly expensive, and we knew we couldn't spend like that again. So we had a plan to eat (mostly) really cheap food. I consulted the internet (aka, Reddit) for some advice and we were on our way.

Day 1: 
After arriving, we checked our bags at the Hotel Indigo (great boutique hotel, btw) and started exploring the neighborhood. Last time we stayed in Midtown, a few blocks from Central Park, but this time we tried a different neighborhood a bit more removed from Times Square. Our hotel in Chelsea ended up being in a great location, close to multiple trains, and right in the heart of the floral district.

Obsessed with these neon cacti. One of numerous stands/shops on our block.

If you know me, you know that I am obsessed with Thai Food. I love nothing more than a good peanut curry. A user on Reddit recommended Pongsri Thai, which happened to be just a few blocks from our hotel, and I was not disappointed. I checked out the menu in advance and decided on the Pra Ram Long Song - a peanut curry over chicken, rice and broccoli. Josh had the Pad Thai. Both of our dishes were incredibly flavorful and delicious. We spent all weekend talking about how good this food was, and anytime we had to decide where to eat next, my response was always "We could get more Thai food?". They also deliver, which is a huge plus that I almost took advantage of several times.

Our next find was completely accidental. After walking around our neighborhood a bit, we came across Eataly, a massive Italian market right next to the Flat Iron building. This place is nothing short of amazing; fresh fish, meats, pasta, cheese, produce, gelato, wine... anything you could ever dream of, this place has it. Since we had just eaten, and I always have a sweet tooth, I settled on a small gelato cone. Melon was one of their seasonal flavors, so I took a risk diverting from my usual chocolate choices. While the gelato was refreshing, I found that I should probably stick to sweeter flavors versus fruity ones.

Melon Gelato (sorbetti)

For dinner we headed down to Chinatown to try out Prosperity Dumpling, another Reddit recommendation. A lot of different dumpling shops were suggested to us, but once we saw that you could order 10 (yes TEN) dumplings for two dollars, Prosperity was the clear winner. A cash only spot, this hole in the wall restaurant is quick and delicious. It appears to always be busy, but they cook so much so quickly, you hardly have to wait. We ordered the boiled dumplings (10 for $2), the fried dumplings (4 for $1), a sesame pancake, and a drink. All that food cost us about $5.50. And it was all delicious. The fried dumplings were my favorite, but the boiled were delicious as well. We didn't finish everything, but seeing as the food was so cheap we didn't feel too bad about having to throw some out.

Dessert is one of my favorite things to indulge on, so we headed to Holey Cream (located in Hells Kitchen) for their famous ice cream donut sandwiches. These creations are ridiculous in all the best ways. You can create your own custom donut and then further destroy your blood sugar by turning that donut into an ice cream sandwich. We opted for a chocolate heart attack featuring swiss chocolate ice cream in between a donut smothered in Nutella and topped with mini chocolate chips. It was to die for. Super sweet and rich ice cream, with a fluffy, fresh donut. We shared (obviously) and couldn't even finish it between the two of us. The best part about the store is definitely the variety of ice cream flavors and toppings they offer; they have countless flavor combinations sure to fit everyone's tastes.

Day 2:

We spent a good majority of Sunday in Brooklyn, starting with Peter Pan Donuts. Peter Pan is a classic diner and bakery. A donut will cost you $1.10. That's right, gourmet (and delicious) donuts in New York City for a dollar. Everyone on yelp raves about the Red Velvet crumble donut (sold out when we got there, replaced after we had already ordered. Sad panda.) and their donut ice cream sandwiches. We settled on a red velvet cake donut, a creme filled donut and a bacon, egg and cheese bagel sandwich (not on the menu but just ask). The donuts were delicious but the sandwich was out of this world. I only intended on having a bite to try and ended up eating half of it. Truly incredible and fresh. FYI this place is cash only so come prepared! Some flavors also sell out quickly so if you have your heart set on a specific flavor, go early.

Just a small selection of the donuts and pastries they offer.

Next we headed to Torst in Greenpoint, a bar that Josh wanted to try out. They had just opened when we arrived but I already loved the atmosphere. It's a great modern and unique bar, with a large variety of brews on tap. They served everything in these really unique glasses, and Josh even ended up buying one. I believe he ordered the Yin and Yang IPA mix from Evil Twin Brewery and he liked it a lot.

Following Torst we headed down to Rosamunde Sausage Grill in Williamsburg for a quick lunch. Seeing as we were still pretty stuffed from breakfast, we opted to share the vegan apple sage sausage wrapped in bacon (to make it non vegan, duh) and topped with grilled onions. There are a ton of sauces to choose from (we stuck with curry ketchup and dijon mustard) so you can really experiment with flavors. It was fantastic. They have a variety of beers on tap, as well as a build-your-own Bloody Mary brunch bar that seemed both extensive and fun.

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel where Josh took a nap and I ordered delivery. I had been craving tacos so I ordered from New Taco Express via GrubHub. Delivery was fast (it was just down the street from our hotel) and they brought it right up to our room. I ordered the Shrimp Fajita with Guacamole Tortilla, Grilled Chicken Fajita Tortilla, Steak Fajita with Guacamole Tortilla and a side of mexican rice. I spent $12 and it was all delicious. My only gripe was the lack of cheese (there was none) on the food, but I just really love cheese and put it on everything. NTE also offers free delivery over $10 through GrubHub which is a great deal since you get so much food for a really great price. I didn't finish everything but Josh certainly helped with that after he woke up from his nap.

After we freshened up we headed back out to see the Flat Iron building (we somehow missed it last time) and then headed to a light dinner at The Meatball Shop. Seeing as I had just stuffed my face with mexican food, we opted for smaller plates. The food was fantastic and service was super fast and friendly. And with multiple locations across NYC, you can enjoy their food anywhere. I chose a chicken meatball slider with parmesan cream sauce. It was small, but enough for me considering I wasn't starving. I don't recall what Josh had but halfway through he said "I already want more". Clearly, we loved it.

Adorable little slider with their fresh fruit sangria

Day 3:

Our time was a bit more limited because of the Jimmy Fallon taping we attended (certainly not complaining) so we headed to Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee (in Chelsea) for our first NYC bagel experience. I opted for an everything bagel with plain cream cheese, and Josh chose a poppyseed bagel with plain cream cheese. They. were. awesome. Tons of cream cheese (just how I like my bagels) and oh so fresh. There were so many cream cheese flavors to choose from I almost couldn't make up my mind. It was super busy despite it being past the Monday morning rush (we went around 11am) but we still managed to grab a table to enjoy our incredible breakfast.

One of our final stops before Jimmy took us to the Upper West Side where we hit up Macaron Parlour. I adore french macarons and couldn't wait to try their macaron ice cream sandwiches. Their staff was super helpful and friendly, and recommended flavors (they have a lot of unique ones) based on our tastes. Unfortunately they now offer only one flavor for the ice cream sandwiches (vanilla with caramel and chocolate sauces, premade) but they were still delicious. We also ordered 6 macarons for the ride home (carrot cake, the elvis, smores (my fav), bacon with maple cream cheese (yeah, bacon), giggity (chocolate, banana, peanut butter) and cheetos (yes, a cheetos flavored macaron exists)). They were all delicious and unique.

Object shown in photo is larger in real life

At some point (I can't remember what day) we passed Chelsea Papaya and Josh freaked. He is a huge Anthony Bourdain fan and apparently Anthony loves the classic Papaya drink featured here. There are also many variations of this palce (Papaya Dog, Papaya King, etc) but they all serve hot dogs and papaya juice. Josh ordered a classic papaya (it was delicious, fruity and refreshing) and I made a mental note to come by for my favorite guilty pleasure, a corn dog. Unfortunately we never made it back but the papaya drink certainly will suffice until our return. 

All of these places were found via social media and internet recommendations. They were also all very inexpensive, clean and delicious. Be sure to check any (or all) of them out next time you're in the city on a budget!

I have a very busy few days ahead, but California posts will resume after this weekend. 

XO,

Casey

Day 5: Santa Barbara

This will be a less exciting update, simply because it wasn't much of an eventful day compared to the rest. After packing up our car in San Simeon, we started our drive to Santa Barbara. Since our hotel didn't offer free breakfast, we relied on our trusty supply of granola bars and water. Obviously this didn't hold us over for long, so naturally we stopped at a Taco Bell not too long into the drive. It was a good decision. But then again, Taco Bell is always a good decision.

One thing to note about the PCH is that, while most of it is coastal, there are a few stretches that are more inland, therefore, less exciting to drive on. The stretch from San Simeon to Santa Barbara happened to be fairly inland. We decided early on that we wanted to go to the beach but with the majority of the trip being fields and farms, we had to wait till we were almost in Santa Barbara to actually see a beach. Unfortunately, you had to pay to have access all these beaches. Growing up in Florida, I have never once paid to go to a beach. Needless to say, we kept driving. 

Originally we were going to stop in Santa Maria and do a wine tour on a vineyard, but after a bit of research we found that there wasn't really a lot to do in Santa Maria. That, combined with one of us needing to abstain from drinking so we could continue our drive, lead us to cut Santa Maria from the trip all together. And as we passed the exits for SM on our way south, we both agreed that we had made the right decision.

Once in Santa Barbara, we headed to the Santa Barbara Waterfront and finally got our time at the beach. It was another day spent on the sand as the water was still arctic, despite the temperature outside being in the high 90's. We walked up and down the beach for a bit, and then headed to the Breakwater Restaurant for a late lunch. Service was great and the food was pretty good. I had Fish n Chips and Naomi (being from Europe) said the tartar sauce tasted very authentic, so kudos to them. We headed to our hotel shortly after and got ready for another night in bed with a movie. The hotel was nice, with wood floors and a massive TV. At $45 a night each, it was a pretty good deal close to a lot of restaurants. We decided we wanted ice cream (okay, it was mostly my influence) and walked a mere two blocks to a Baskin Robins and took one of the only pictures of the day:

I now want ice cream. Who am I kidding, I always want ice cream.

And that's the end of our thrilling day. Driving, the beach and ice cream. After a bit of messing around with the AC in our room, we finally got comfortable and headed to bed.

Next: Santa Monica

XO,

Casey

Activities mentioned in this post: 

Santa Barbara Waterfront; beach access: free, parking: hourly

Sunset Motel; Nightly rate: roughly $90, free wifi, free parking, breakfast included

New York City: The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

I'll be back later this week with another California post, but today is all about New York City. Specifically, what it's like to attend a taping of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

image courtesy of the Fallon Tonight twitter page

We got back last night (technically, this morning. 2am to be exact) from NYC after a wonderful weekend that consisted of food and only food. Aside from the taping, I don't know that we did anything other than eat. It was glorious. I'll update later with a food post and trust me, you'll want to read it (spoiler: 10 dumplings for $1.00).

So recently Jimmy Fallon took over The Tonight Show and quite honestly, he's done a fantastic job. I never really watched when Jay Leno hosted, but Jimmy is great. And considering my boyfriend is basically Jimmy's #1 fan, I decided to be the best girlfriend ever and get tickets to a taping. Little did I know, it's quite the process. A process that took me no less than 3 months. I wish I were kidding. Tickets are generally released a month prior to the taping. We attended the August 4th taping (yesterday) and I reserved them at the beginning of July. 

TICKETING

The Tonight Show twitter (@FallonTonight) announces when tickets will go live usually a few days in advance. Since I had failed 3 times prior, I set an alarm and forewarned my bosses that all my work would be on hold for at least half an hour. I also recruited my coworker, and Josh recruited his coworker, to ensure that at least one of us got through the queue. Speaking of queue, that's exactly how the system works. Back in Jimmy's 'Late Night' days you used to call and request tickets and then get them. Easy. Not anymore. The Tonight Show is in much higher demand, therefore, you have to literally (not literally, but almost) fight people over the internet for them. It's the ticketing Hunger Games. 

At exactly the time the Twitter/Facebook account said the tickets would go on sale, you hit your refresh button. And I mean, hit the button over and over until you are in that queue. And then DO NOTHING. Don't close your browser, don't hit refresh again, NOTHING. Leave it alone. 

Once it's your turn for tickets (this is why clicking that refresh button at the EXACT minute change is so important. I learned the hard way that my work phone is actually slower than the time their system goes by, so I suggest using your iPhone which is what worked for me) you will be automatically directed into the ticketing page where you will see a calendar. I highly suggest knowing what days you can attend in advance, because you are timed (much like other ticketing services) and there are other people snatching up tickets by the second. I got lucky and got my first choice right off the bat. But again, I stress, BE PREPARED. The last two releases haven't included Friday shows, but instead two tapings on Thursday, so have a backup just in case those aren't available. I know it's tempting to make a weekend out of it, but try for a Monday (what we did) and you can still have a three day weekend. Plus, Monday's suck so spend them with Jimmy. Once you select your date, you have a few minutes to enter in your information and then confirm your reservation. TICKETS ARE FREE. You don't need a credit card. Once everything is confirmed, YOU'RE GOING TO JIMMY! Print your confirmation (you also get an email) and rejoice. The stress was worth it and now you are one of the lucky few that has survived the monthly battle for tickets. When I got my confirmation I was shaking and called Josh in an excited panic because you know, Jimmy.

BEFORE THE SHOW

There are two call times. Your ticket confirmation will tell you what time to be at the stairs inside of the NBC Experience Store, which is usually an hour and a half before the second call time, so plan your day accordingly. We arrived around 1:15 and were told someone usually comes down about 1:45 or so. The store employees won't let you form a line so just pretend the browse the store (near the stairs, of course) and wait for the NBC page. Once they've checked your ticket they let you upstairs where they will check your ticket again and then have you line up. There is a lot of waiting at this point because they have to make sure all reserved ticket holders show up (stand by ticket holders are also waiting with you, but in a separate line) and then a producer type guy gives a funny speech on the process, what not to do, what not to bring, etc. Then they check tickets again and give you an actual ticket to the show with a letter or number on the back. They are "random" to a degree, but we noticed a trend that I'll get to later. We got lucky and ended up with C (for Casey, obviously) but the two girls in front of us got Y. You also get a wristband and some candy. Then the pages explain when to come back (letters come back at 3:45, numbers come back at 4:00) across from the TUMI store. Now, this is important to remember: THERE ARE TWO TUMI STORES. One outside in Rockefeller Plaza, and one inside Rockefeller Center (the actual building). GO TO THE ONE INSIDE or risk getting caught in the swarm of tourists staring at the sky and walking perpetually slow. Also, do not, I repeat, do NOT, show up any earlier than your designated call time. Not even a minute earlier. They will ask you to leave. So go grab something to eat or walk around for about an hour and a half, but don't stray too far or you could risk getting left behind.

Once your call time hits, they line you up in order by the letter (in our case) or number on your tickets. After everyone was lined up it was quite obvious that letters were given to younger groups, and numbers were given to parties with slightly older (and I mean like 40 or 50, not geriatric) guests. I remember reading that other guests noticed this trend on other sites, and it's definitely true. So if you really want to sit close to the stage, leave mom at home. Also, at this point, TURN YOUR PHONE OFF. All the way off. Once you are in the elevators you CAN NOT take it out at all. They will yell at you. If you're caught taking a photo, they will search through all your pictures and delete any you took inside. They will remind you of this several times. You've been warned.

We were the third group (because you know, C is the third letter. Note: One letter/number is assigned to each ticket holder+their guests, so Josh and I were the only C's). Then you wait some more. (It's also important to note that you are only allowed a bottle of water in the studio, no food or other liquid. There is also a security checkpoint so don't bring 18 shopping bags, fragile gifts, weapons, etc. Oh and you better use the bathroom before your call time because you can't leave once you're lined up. I mean, you can leave, you just can't come back, so you might want to rethink that Big Gulp you just bought.) After security they start loading you into the elevators and bringing you up to the 7th floor. Then you wait again. The whole day is a lot of hurry up and wait. But it's worth it. THEN they take your tickets, ask how many are in your party (like at Disney!) and a page directs you to your seats. We got super lucky with first row seats. I was a bit worried because a lot of people have said that front row is great for the opening monologue, but then once the guest segments start, cameras block your whole view. We got even luckier in the sense that our seats (on Steve Higgins' side) weren't ever really blocked, but other front row seats definitely were. FYI the studio is COLD (they keep it at 60) so bring a jacket/sweater. You'll need it. It's also, like others have noted, smaller than it looks on TV.

THE SHOW

While everyone is being seated, highlights (Slow Jammin The News, Tight Pants, etc) from the show are being played on the monitors so you finally have some entertainment. Then the warm up guy, Seth Herzog comes out and talks to everyone for a bit. He's a pretty funny guy. After Seth is done The Roots come out and play some songs/dance with Seth and it's a real good time. And then (after hours of waiting) Jimmy. Jimmy does his monologue, introduces the guests and then commercial break. A few more segments, some interviews, a couple more commercial breaks and a live performance (band or comedian, usually) and it's over. Taping takes about an hour and goes by pretty fast. Our guests were Helen Miren, James Cameron and the band Spoon (whom I had never heard of but my boss has so... cool). After Jimmy thanks everyone and signs off on the show, he runs up the aisle and high fives everyone in the aisle seats (his parents were also there that day, it was his 100th show). Since Josh and I were on the aisle we got to fist bump/high five him and it was awesome. He has soft hands. Then the camera focuses on portions of the crowd close up which, unfortunately, included me. Luckily, it appears that they cut the show before that because I know I looked hella awkward/the show would have ran over because we were the last row he got to since he started on the opposite side. Since Spoon had to start their song over once or twice, after the show ended we had to stay while they played it again since I don't think they liked their performance that much (which I wasn't too happy about, I didn't really like the song and had to use the bathroom at this point). They had some technical difficulties that started taking a while so Seth came back out, made fun of a Brazilian and Russian in the audience, and then finally after about 15-20 minutes, Spoon finally played and we got to leave. 

Watching a live taping of a talk show is definitely very interesting and if you have the chance you should absolutely attend one. It's fascinating to see what goes on during commercial breaks and how organized everything is. And to top it off, Jimmy seems like a genuinely nice guy and comes off very gracious and humble.

XO,

Casey

p.s. Don't forget to keep your wristbands to get 10% off in the NBC store!

Tickets for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon can be found here. Tickets are free. You may only attend a taping once every 6 months. Monologue Rehearsal tickets are also available here and are also free. For full tapings, expect to reserve about 5 hours of your day from the initial ticket check to being released from the show.

Day 4: Carmel by the Sea, Big Sur, San Simeon

After the amazing day we had in Monterey, I thought for sure we would be hard pressed to find views as amazing as Point Lobos. I was wrong. Enter: Carmel by the Sea and Julia Pfeiffer State Park. But first, I had to teach Naomi to drive. 

While our upgraded car was awesome, it was an automatic transmission. This was great news for me; not so great news for Naomi. Her car in Belgium is a manual, and she had never driven in the States before. Cue driving lesson in the parking lot of our hotel. Either I'm an excellent teacher or Naomi is a super fast learner, because everything went smoothly and obviously we're both still alive. I was glad to have Naomi driving because now I could stare out the window at the beautiful scenery along the coast without accidentally driving off a cliff. Really, these views are incredible.

At the suggestion of a friend we made a quick stop at Carmel by the Sea. Carmel is a super cute and charming town right on the coast, and it was only about a 10 minute drive from our hotel. White sand beaches, crystal clear water, adorable shops and the most beautiful homes you've ever seen. Clint Eastwood and his family have a home here and I definitely understand why. Even the street signs were full of charm.

Ponder away, dude. Ponder away.

After a short while in Carmel, we headed back to the PCH and started the trip to Big Sur. Between the trip from Monterey to Big Sur (roughly an hour), and Big Sur to San Simeon (a little over 2 hours), this leg of the trip would end up being one of the longer rides we took. Regardless, we made it to Julia Pfeiffer Park and enjoyed our lunch on the beautiful beach. (Note: there are two entrances to the park. If you are traveling southbound, the first entrance, the park [featuring campsites and trails] is on your left. A few more miles down and the entrance to the beach [where we were] is on your right. The roads are narrow, drive slowly and carefully).

Captured that wave crashing like a pro

After lunch we enjoyed the sun for a bit, as it was the warmest day we had seen so far, and then began exploring. The water was still quite cold so we didn't get very far.

Not very far at all.

There are a ton of rocks to climb and even a few caves to explore. But the waves were so high that day that we didn't want to risk getting injured/drowning/getting swept out to sea. After a few more photos we packed up and headed back to the car to make our way to San Simeon.

New house has a very open concept.

San Simeon is host to one of the most lavish homes in the entire world, The Hearst Castle. Basically this super rich guy used to camp on this big mountain, and one day he got tired of walking up the whole thing. So he said "Hey, I'm rich! I'll just build a house!" So he did. And then he built a really big house. And then he named it after himself and had parties and built a zoo and made it famous. Or something.

The main house. Not shown: 3 guest homes bigger than the state of Rhode Island. Each. Maybe.

So the main house features 167 rooms (including 42 bathrooms, because you know, problems) on 127 acres of land. We saw four rooms. Four. That's what's included in the Grand Rooms tour ($25). In addition to the four rooms, you get to wander the ground freely and see the 3 guest homes, 2 pools (1 indoor, 1 outdoor), gardens and the incredible view as seen below.

What a terrible place to build a home. I mean, really. Just awful.

After realizing we would never be rich enough to even rent a bathroom in this castle, we took the bus back to the visitor center and headed to find food. Fortunately for us, our hotel was very close to the castle. Unfortunately, food options were limited. We did find one place that looked great, but as we pulled in we found that they are closed on Monday's. Must be nice. So we headed back towards our hotel (and spotted Zebras along the way. Seriously, Hearst Castle used to house a zoo, some of the animals still roam free. Including, you guessed it, Zebras. Actually, who would ever guess that? It's weird. But cool. Zebras on the PCH. Who knew?) and decided to eat at the Sunset Grill. Despite being located practically inside a Motel 6, the food was kinda awesome. I had the California burger which was surprisingly one of the best burgers I've had in a long time. Maybe it was the bacon and avocado (a flawless combination) or maybe it was really that good. It was cheap and service was friendly and fast. I'd definitely go back, especially right now because I'm currently on a bus and hungry.

After dinner we headed next door to our hotel, The Courtesy Inn. Definitely one of my least favorite hotels of the trip. It was severely outdated, the lobby smelled like an indoor pool, the TV had about 5 channels that worked half the time, and there was no free breakfast. So far we had gotten lucky with great deals on good hotels, so we were bound to hit a bump in the road at some point. We showered, watched too many episodes of "My Strange Addiction" and "Sex Sent me to the ER" and finally went to bed.

Next: Santa Barbara.

XO,

Casey

Activities mentioned in this post:

Carmel by the Sea: parking: free

Julia Pfeiffer State Park: parking: $5

Hearst Castle: Grand Rooms Tour: $25 (other options available); parking: free, shuttle provided from museum to castle