"On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair" (DL/So.California TR) LOTS of pics!

[mommaU4]

Ok, I have to stray from the trip reporting for a bit to share what is now my favorite hotel in Pismo Beach. I LOVE this place. It's called the Pismo Lighthouse Suites, and I am so glad we were able to spend a night there.
Pismo Lighthouse Suites

Whenever we went to Pismo in the past we've stayed at SeaVenture, SeaCrest or Shore Cliff Lodge and those are all nice properties for sure, but something about this place is just perfect for us. Actually several things about this place are perfect for our family.

We stayed in the 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom family suite. That alone was heaven to have our own room and bathroom separate from the kids. When you first walk into the room you are in a hallway. At the end of the hallway is one bedroom:

Off to your left is the second bedroom that has a curtain closure. (Bedroom one has a door you can close.)

I'll start with bedroom one. It has a KING bed which I LOVE, and a large closet:

As you look at the pics, notice the whole nautical theme is carried out through the whole room. The oars on the wall, the sailor and sunbather lamps. I love little touches like that. Totally reminds me of a Disney room.

There is a table, chairs, drawers and tv. Look closely at what's on top of the tv. It's a towel animal!!! See, told you, just like Disney! Also you can see the lighthouse picture on the wall and another fun lamp.

This little guy was so cute. The kids really got a kick out of him.

Also you'll notice something hanging down in the top picture. That is hanging from the chain to turn on the ceiling fan. It's got a lighthouse on it from one of the Great Lakes in MI.

These are some shots of the sink, which is outside of the bathroom. I prefer that. Makes getting ready easier. The shower head was nice and tall, no ducking for me! And the water flow was good. The bathroom was also very clean.

The toiletries were displayed in this little bucket looking container that was so cute and they were all from Bath and Body Works. The Coconut Lime Verbena scent. And everything was made into the little fan shape. LOL Also the trash can in the previous picture was the same sort of bucket thing.

There was also a microwave, refrigerator and coffee maker with Seattles Best coffee. I am not a coffee drinker so I don't know if that's good or not.

So, now back down the hall towards bedroom two. There is a cute picture frame with lighthouses and hooks that came in handy to hang up damp beach towels later on.

These are some shots of the second bedroom. It has 2 Queen beds, closet, chair, tv and drawers. Again notice the nautical theming in the room:

I loved this lifeguard's chair lamp!

The bathroom is identical to the one in the first bedroom:

Check in at the hotel was a breeze. The young man at the front desk was very professional and welcoming. They have a small gift shop area in there, as well as some free coffee, and some popcorn and ice cream for purchase.

Coming up....more about the hotel (they have life size chess!) and Pismo in general, including a fun dinner.

 

[mommaU4]

Well considering that I start planning our next trip before we ever finish the first day. My DH thinks I am crazy. Now next year he wants the money I planned for next year to use for the Aids Bicycle ride, this will be a battle.

Good luck in your battle! They just don't get it do they?

 

[kaoden39]

Good luck in your battle! They just don't get it do they?

No unfortunately not. I love the pictures of the hotel is Pismo there is a nice State Park there too where you can camp on the beach and everything. That is one very beautiful area.

 

[mommaU4]

After checking in to the hotel and falling in love with our room, I had to check out our view. You can get an ocean front room, which would have been nice, but we did still have a budget to stick to, so a partial view was what we went with.

It wasn't bad though. In fact, if you looked to your left you saw the pool and the ocean. If you looked straight ahead you saw the parking lot of the hotel across the way. And if you looked to your right, you saw the mountains. So Ruben joked that we hit the jackpot and had a view of everything!!

Here are a few shots of our view and balcony:

After settling in and freshening up a bit, we decided to go for a walk to explore the hotel and surrounding area. The hotel has this really cool sports deck with life size chess, several ping pong tables, mini golf, and badminton. We had fun trying out all the different games and that kept us busy for awhile.

Once we'd tired of that, we made our way to check out the pool. It was a typical hotel pool. Not too big or too small. What made this great though was from the pool area you had an awesome view of the ocean! I'll post some pictures of that later.

There is a side walk that leads along the back of the property and along the cliff looking down to the ocean. It was so pretty. I am not a fan of the beach, and I much prefer to be up on a cliff looking down at the water, rather than right on the sand. Weird, I know.

Here is a shot of the view from the walk way:

To get down to the actual beach you have to walk along the side walk and go two properties down to a set of stairs that leads you down to the sand. Some shots from down on the beach, and the stairs (all 100 of them!) to get back up:

After the long hike back up the stairs and the walk back to our room, we were ready for some dinner. I'd done some research online before we left and had found this place called Klondike Cafe that served pizza among other things. It sounded like a really fun place that we would all enjoy, and one thing we can all agree on is pizza! It's located in the Arroyo Grande Village which is only a few minutes drive from our hotel.
Their website is really cute too: Klondike Pizza

This old bridge was right near the Cafe so we took some shots of it before heading in:

The Klondike Pizza Cafe was just as much fun as I'd hoped. It's just a really family friendly laid back place. You order from the counter and are given a number and a basket of peanuts after which you get to throw the peanut shells on the floor. My kids loved that! LOL The tables are long picnic tables with checkered table cloths.

We ordered the Garlic Cheese bread with a side of ranch dressing. Soooo good. And an extra large plain cheese pizza. I know, I know. We are boring! But for those more adventurous you can get your pizza with reindeer sausage. We also ordered a burger for Ruben and I to share, just to see what they were like. Everything we ate that night was really tasty.

There is an arcade so if you ever go make sure to bring money for the kids to play games with. And the whole place is decorated in a style that I can't really describe. Whimsical? Kitchsy? Unusual? I don't know. You just have to see it. There are lots of Alaska references as the owners are from there.

Here are a few pics:

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and the kids went swimming. It was a nice, relaxing end to a full day and when it was time for bed they fell asleep fast! Which gave Ruben and I a chance to sit out on the balcony and enjoy the peace and quiet with nothing but the sounds of the ocean in the distance.

 

[mommaU4]

No unfortunately not. I love the pictures of the hotel is Pismo there is a nice State Park there too where you can camp on the beach and everything. That is one very beautiful area.

Thanks, I love the hotel pics too. It's not a fancy, schmancy 4 star hotel. That's not my style. But it was nice, family friendly and had many small touches that reminded me of Disney.
Pismo is a beautiful area. If I could afford it, I'd move there in an instant!

 

[kaoden39]

That hotel looks like it has so many things to do. I thought the lifesize chess was cool. My DH and our oldest DD would have a ball. Now I really have to plan a trip down highway 1 or up it either way. I love the California coastline. I have yet to see a beach that didn't have a lot of steps or a long path on this coast. I am hoping to amke a trip up to the northern part of the coast in like October after Disneyland I will make sure and post pictures of the beachs. There is one campground we camp at that doesn't have a beach it has tide pools and the kids always have a ball. Last time we went they got to touch an octopus and several other things. There is a pygmy forest. It is just a fun place if you like camping and don't mind cold foggy times. By the way it is called Salt Point State Park.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=453

 

[mommaU4]

That hotel looks like it has so many things to do. I thought the lifesize chess was cool. My DH and our oldest DD would have a ball. Now I really have to plan a trip down highway 1 or up it either way. I love the California coastline. I have yet to see a beach that didn't have a lot of steps or a long path on this coast. I am hoping to amke a trip up to the northern part of the coast in like October after Disneyland I will make sure and post pictures of the beachs. There is one campground we camp at that doesn't have a beach it has tide pools and the kids always have a ball. Last time we went they got to touch an octopus and several other things. There is a pygmy forest. It is just a fun place if you like camping and don't mind cold foggy times. By the way it is called Salt Point State Park.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=453

That sounds great. And I don't mind cold, and foggy at all. In fact, I prefer it. Yet another reason why it's so bizarre I'm living in Vegas.

Oh, and the SeaVenture is a hotel that's right on the beach, without any stairs or a long path if you prefer to be closer to the actual sand. But I prefer to be up high.

 

[Stacerita]

After that we continued on our way. I love that drive. The sights are so pretty along the way, especially when you are by the ocean. Our next stop was in Solvang, which is a little Danish town and one place we always stop on our way to Pismo. Solvang The movie "Sideways" was filmed in that area, in case you are a fan of that movie.

We walked around and just took in the sights.

When we went to Solvang last year I booked us at the hotel where the movie was filmed and we spent our nights at the bar from the movie as well. It was fun hanging out at the places that were in the movie. I really need to go back. Did you guys get a look at the ostrich farms? Or the mini ponies?

 

[lisadoll93]

Darn you Beth, your pics are making me homesick.

FYI- My little league pic is on the wall in Klondike's

 

[mommaU4]

When we went to Solvang last year I booked us at the hotel where the movie was filmed and we spent our nights at the bar from the movie as well. It was fun hanging out at the places that were in the movie. I really need to go back. Did you guys get a look at the ostrich farms? Or the mini ponies?

We were going to stop at the Ostrich Farm as that is a usual stop for us, but when we got there it was all fenced off with a tall wooden fence. You couldn't see anything. And the parking lot was empty except for one car.
I thought maybe they had closed down or something, but when we pulled in the parking lot there was a sign saying that they had started charging for entrance.

It's now $4 for adults and I'm not sure how much for kids....either a dollar or two. And the ostrich food which used to be 25 cents is now $1. Since we'd already stopped at Underwood Farms and fed some animals I really didn't feel like paying all that money for something that used to be free. I wonder why they started charging? That's a lot of money and probably why the parking lot was practically empty.

As for the mini ponies, where are those? I'm not sure we've ever seen them before.

Darn you Beth, your pics are making me homesick.

FYI- My little league pic is on the wall in Klondike's

Aww, I don't blame you for being homesick. Pismo is such a great area. I'm missing it and I was only there for one night!!

That's so cool about your Little League pic! I wish I'd known that. I'd have looked for it. Well, guess I've got a reason to go back now.

 

[mommaU4]

I woke up this morning at 6:45 a.m. feeling tired, but good. Must be all that fresh ocean air. We slept with the patio door open a crack. None of the hotels along the coast in Pismo have air conditioning. At least that's what I've heard, and this one was no exception. We didn't need it, but I wouldn't want to be there on a hot day.

It was actually kind of foggy and chilly this morning which is just how I like it along the coast. I sat outside and let everyone sleep a bit longer while I enjoyed the peace and quiet. After a short while everyone started to stir and soon they were ready to head down for breakfast. The hotel serves a small free breakfast which includes make-your-own waffles, hot and cold cereals, bagels, among other things. I stayed up in the room to get things packed up since I knew we'd be checking out later.

After breakfast the kids went swimming one more time. Here are some shots from that morning. You can see what I mentioned earlier about being able to see the ocean from the pool area. Also how gray it was that morning.

They keep the pool area very neat and clean. Or at least they did while we were there.

After swimming we hung out at the hotel a little while longer (I didn't want to leave!) and then it was time to get going. Our first stop was to a place called Old West Cinnamon Rolls. It's been in the same location in Pismo for something like 25 years and is supposed to have great cinnamon rolls and carrot cake.

The cinnamon rolls were good. The carrot cake was good too, but I like mine better.... LOL

After our yummy treats, we decided to walk on the pier. The Pismo Beach police department was there doing some sort of community service thing, with all their vehicles on display, and they were passing out free pizza, soda, stickers, lollipops, etc.

We walked around, hung out, bought a few trinkets like shell necklaces for the girls, keychains, postcards, etc. and then, sadly, it was time to leave Pismo and start the drive home. Hopefully we will have a chance to go back sometime real soon.

The drive home was nice. We stopped and drove around Santa Barbara, and marveled and drooled over the million dollar homes right on the water. I hope those people appreciate how lucky they are. We drove down State St., the main shopping/eatery area. Too touristy and college-y for my taste.
A shot of Stearn's Wharf:

Then we kept going until we hit Ventura where we stopped for a bite to eat, and to let the kids play for awhile.

What should have been a 2 1/2 hour drive home took almost 7 hours because of all the stops we made. LOL But it was fun, and a such a nice drive that I really enjoyed it.

After we got home, I unpacked, and got the kids into bed.

Up next......Hollywood and the Disney Soda Fountain!

 

[TinksPixieDust]

WOW!!!!! What a great trip you guys got to take! I'm so jealous. I loved seeing all the great pics. Now I wanna go to Pismo Beach and stay in that hotel.

 

[mommaU4]

WOW!!!!! What a great trip you guys got to take! I'm so jealous. I loved seeing all the great pics. Now I wanna go to Pismo Beach and stay in that hotel.

Thanks. It was fun! The only downside is now I am going through major vacation withdrawals! I've already started planning our October trip, but that's so far away.
Oh well, I need to suck it up! I was lucky to go on this wonderful family trip where everyone had a nice time, and no one was sick or hurt. And I'm fortunate enough to be able to plan another vacation in a few months that will hopefully go as smoothly.

Thanks for reading along so far Wendy!

 

[kaoden39]

I love the cool weather and the fog on the coast. That is one nice thing about where I live. I am 45 miles from San Francisco to the west and 45 miles from Sacramento on the east. The ocean is not that far and I am never further than two hours from snow. I figure it is a win win situation for us.

 

[mommaU4]

I love the cool weather and the fog on the coast. That is one nice thing about where I live. I am 45 miles from San Francisco to the west and 45 miles from Sacramento on the east. The ocean is not that far and I am never further than two hours from snow. I figure it is a win win situation for us.

You are lucky! I wish I could move back to CA. It's just too expensive. Well, for us it is anyway. Maybe we'll win the lotto someday! LOL

 

[kaoden39]

You are lucky! I wish I could move back to CA. It's just too expensive. Well, for us it is anyway. Maybe we'll win the lotto someday! LOL

California is an expensive place to live, unfortunately that is where DH's job is. We have considered moving to Mississippi at one point but I really didn't want to.

 

[DangerMouse]

Hi Beth! I've been reading along, but just haven't been posting.

So after seeing that awesome hotel on Pismo Beach and deciding I MUST MUST stay there, I had to mapquest where Pismo Beach was! I remember going there (as well as Slovang) as a child with my mom, and it was that same trip we went to DL for the very first time (I think I was about 8). I didn't realize how far north that is. About how far from Anaheim would you say Pismo Beach is?

Oh, and my goodness you were all about the food this trip, weren't ya? Those pics have been giving me some major cravings. Right now I'm thinking carrot cake with cream cheese frosting would really hit the spot (of course, I'm thinking I want to try yours -- you don't mind shipping me a piece, do ya?).

Ok, one more question, so you just said you went from Pismo Beach back home. Did you drive back to Vegas or back to your inlaws? Obviously, I'm not following very well. But more importantly, what did you eat along the way??

 

[JennaTX]

WOW!!!!! What a great trip you guys got to take! I'm so jealous. I loved seeing all the great pics. Now I wanna go to Pismo Beach and stay in that hotel.

I agree, Pismo Beach looks fabulous!!!! We may need to plan a trip to CA next summer, I have never been.

Love the pics and the TR Beth, it all looks so great, and the kids are as beautiful/handsome as ever.

 

[mommaU4]

Hi Beth! I've been reading along, but just haven't been posting.

So after seeing that awesome hotel on Pismo Beach and deciding I MUST MUST stay there, I had to mapquest where Pismo Beach was! I remember going there (as well as Slovang) as a child with my mom, and it was that same trip we went to DL for the very first time (I think I was about 8). I didn't realize how far north that is. About how far from Anaheim would you say Pismo Beach is?

Oh, and my goodness you were all about the food this trip, weren't ya? Those pics have been giving me some major cravings. Right now I'm thinking carrot cake with cream cheese frosting would really hit the spot (of course, I'm thinking I want to try yours -- you don't mind shipping me a piece, do ya?).

Ok, one more question, so you just said you went from Pismo Beach back home. Did you drive back to Vegas or back to your inlaws? Obviously, I'm not following very well. But more importantly, what did you eat along the way??

Glad to see you are still reading along. The hotel was really nice. We were only there one night, but it was a perfect stay. As far as distance from Anaheim, well, there are a lot of variables. Mainly wonderful CA traffic. Your biggest hurdle would be from Anaheim to about Oxnard as far as traffic. From then on it should be pretty smooth sailing and it's a nice scenic drive.

Over all I'd guess it to be about a 4 hour drive, depending on traffic and any stops you make along the way. It's definitely worth it if you can swing it. Just being there on the coast always refreshes me.

Yes, we were all about the food this time! I'd started a diet about 3 weeks before this trip so I was ready to splurge. Everything we got though we shared so it wasn't too bad. And once I started taking food pics, I couldn't stop! The kids would roll their eyes every time I ordered something and say, "Are you going to take it's picture mom?"

After Pismo we went back to my in-laws. I said home, but I meant their house. On the way home I was pretty stuffed from the cinnamon rolls and cake so our stop for food was a salad at McDonalds in Ventura. Nothing much to write home about.

Oh, and I'll happily make you some carrot cake! You gotta come and get it though. Might as well, give you a break from the heat. We're only 104 here, so I'm sure we're much cooler then ya'll are.

 

[mommaU4]

I agree, Pismo Beach looks fabulous!!!! We may need to plan a trip to CA next summer, I have never been.

Love the pics and the TR Beth, it all looks so great, and the kids are as beautiful/handsome as ever.

Wait, you've never been to CA or just to the Pismo area?
Well, either way you should plan a trip! There is so much to do. Even beyond all the amusement parks (which include Disneyland, California Adventure, Sea World, Knott's Berry Farm, Legoland, Six Flags) there is the drive along the coast heading up to Northern CA and wine country, San Francisco, passing through Carmel and Monterey.
Really, the vacation options are endless.

Thanks for the comments on the pics and the kids.