I'm determined to break my habit of not finishing trip reports, even though I've been home for a week and a half! One friend made a comment that I at least finished the Vegas portion, which for me is an accomplishment!
I'll try to break this up into bite-sized pieces, but this was my agenda for the entire trip, to put things into perspective:
Tue. June 16, departed HNL @ night
Wed. June 17, arrived Vegas around 7 a.m., stayed at the Plaza Club in Downtown
Mon. June 22, the baseball peeps left in the afternoon and I checked into Treasure Island
Wed. June 24, drove to Paso Robles, CA, stayed at La Bellasera
Thu. June 25, drove to Monterey, stayed at the Monterey Bay Inn
Fri. June 26, drove to Avila Beach, stayed at the Avila Village Inn
Sun. June 28, drove to Redondo Beach, stayed at the Hotel Portofino & Yacht Club
Wed. July 1, departed LAX @ about 6 p.m. to return to HNL
So why did I choose the route I did? I figured if I was going to Vegas, I might as well also go to LA to visit some friends, especially one that just had a baby. But it's been a long-standing goal of mine to drive down the California coast. I've been to Monterey before, and from Southern California, I went as far north as Santa Barbara, so I wanted to cover the area between those two points. I especially wanted to see Big Sur because of the arched bridge I've seen in so many pictures that I'm sure you've seen too. Planning stops was interesting. The drive from Vegas to Monterey is 8 hours, and I didn't want to do that in one day, especially by myself. The halfway point was Bakersfield...seriously??? Bakersfield is boring. In my hunt for an interesting place to stay, I found Paso Robles, which I'd never heard of before. In my research, I came to the conclusion that it would be the next up-and-coming big wine country of California. And there was a hotel, La Bellasera, that received stellar reviews, and I decided that is where I should stay after a long day of driving.
Back to my story...
Since I was driving beyond the halfway point between Vegas and Monterey, the drive was estimated to be about 6 hours. I knew I'd stop along the way a few times, so I decided I should allow at least 7
hours, which turned out to be a pretty good guesstimate. I decided I should leave Vegas around 7 a.m., but in actuality I woke up early and started the drive at about 6:15. I stopped off at Jack and the Box to pick up breakfast before hitting the freeway. Ironically, the one place I made a wrong move while driving was in Vegas, the place I know second best next to home! I was fine the rest of the way.
The drive was actually somewhat interesting. I guess part of it is because I'd never been that route before since I'm used to driving toward Anaheim or LA, but this route involved heading north toward Bakersfield. I stopped once I think around Baker, one of the very small towns after crossing the California border, simply because a wave of tiredness set in. I pulled into a parking lot (I think it was a Taco Bell) and slept just for 10 minutes, but it helped immensely. I was all set to go for another couple of hours.
After a while I needed to make another stop, partly for a "nature break" and also to fill up on gas, so I stopped in Mojave, a desert town with some kind of air force base. I had to go 1-2 miles away from the highway, but it was easy to navigate my way. I found a McDonald's with a clean restroom and picked up an iced coffee (for the first time EVER, they handed me the coffee before I even put the change away in my wallet - amazing!), then found a gas station. Gas stations are weird in California - so many different types. This one only took debit cards, for a service fee, and cash. But the cash machine is kinda cool, like a slot machine that you slide your money into. Anyway, after this, I was ready to go for another couple of hours.
I was about 90 miles away from Paso Robles and came across a cute little town called Wasco. Apparently they are known for roses or something, there were huge fields of roses that were very pretty. I decided to stop for another nature break and also to get a snack since I was getting a little hungry, but I didn't want to eat a full on meal yet. I found a Carl's Jr. that did the trick (the little crunchy burrito things are good!). Then I was ready to conclude my drive for the day.
I approached Paso Robles and followed the Map Quest directions. However, they steered me toward a street, that was supposed to lead me to my hotel, that was undergoing major construction. Fortunately, the construction guy directing traffic was very helpful and steered me in another direction to the hotel, which would have been more efficient than the Map Quest directions. I soon realized it was my fault that Map Quest told me to go that way, since for part of the drive, I was trying to avoid the 101 (freeway) for part of my trip.
La Bellasera turned out to be an AWESOME hotel! Definitely the best of the entire trip in many ways: nice room, nice facilities, good restaurant, great service, and good location. I w
as so glad that I booked this hotel, but a little sad that I was only going to be there one night. I probably could've stayed another couple of nights and found lots to do there including exploring Downtown Paso Robles and checking out some wineries. Oh well, something to look forward to on a future trip!
After checking in, I was ready to eat a full meal. I decided to head to Downtown Paso Robles. I didn't have anything in mind, but I did browse quickly through a tourist magazine for ideas, then I set out on my drive through Downtown. The Downtown area was very cute and quaint, lined with little shops and restaurants, and lots of parking along the streets. I spotted Vic's Cafe, a place I remember seeing in the tourist magazi
ne, so I decided to give that a shot. It was a very casual place where locals seem to go. I ordered a Vic's burger that came with a bunch of toppings including guacamole and ortega chilis, with a side of potato salad. It was all very good, and very homemade. I walked around Downtown for a little bit, but I also wanted to check out a large strip mall I came across on the way to the hotel that had a Kohl's in it.
After that, I headed back to the hotel. As I was parking, I noticed there was a back way into the parking lot, and my curiosity got the best of me, so I jumped back in the car and headed out the back way. Lo and behold, another strip mall, right across the street! And there was a Target! This was perfect since Elastagirl asked me to pick up something from Target that she wanted after she returned home.
I just wanted to relax that night, especially after the long drive. The sun didn't set until around 8:30, so the
days were longer there too. I ordered room service from the hotel restaurant, Enoteca, which turned out to be excellent! The person at the front desk recommended the filet mignon, as did the nice man I spoke to on the phone who took my order (he also said the lamb was very good). I enjoyed my meal along with some wine I brought with me from Vegas that I bought at Trader Joe's.
All in all, a good day that ended nicely at a beautiful hotel!
I'll try to break this up into bite-sized pieces, but this was my agenda for the entire trip, to put things into perspective:
Tue. June 16, departed HNL @ night
Wed. June 17, arrived Vegas around 7 a.m., stayed at the Plaza Club in Downtown
Mon. June 22, the baseball peeps left in the afternoon and I checked into Treasure Island
Wed. June 24, drove to Paso Robles, CA, stayed at La Bellasera
Thu. June 25, drove to Monterey, stayed at the Monterey Bay Inn
Fri. June 26, drove to Avila Beach, stayed at the Avila Village Inn
Sun. June 28, drove to Redondo Beach, stayed at the Hotel Portofino & Yacht Club
Wed. July 1, departed LAX @ about 6 p.m. to return to HNL
So why did I choose the route I did? I figured if I was going to Vegas, I might as well also go to LA to visit some friends, especially one that just had a baby. But it's been a long-standing goal of mine to drive down the California coast. I've been to Monterey before, and from Southern California, I went as far north as Santa Barbara, so I wanted to cover the area between those two points. I especially wanted to see Big Sur because of the arched bridge I've seen in so many pictures that I'm sure you've seen too. Planning stops was interesting. The drive from Vegas to Monterey is 8 hours, and I didn't want to do that in one day, especially by myself. The halfway point was Bakersfield...seriously??? Bakersfield is boring. In my hunt for an interesting place to stay, I found Paso Robles, which I'd never heard of before. In my research, I came to the conclusion that it would be the next up-and-coming big wine country of California. And there was a hotel, La Bellasera, that received stellar reviews, and I decided that is where I should stay after a long day of driving.
Back to my story...
Since I was driving beyond the halfway point between Vegas and Monterey, the drive was estimated to be about 6 hours. I knew I'd stop along the way a few times, so I decided I should allow at least 7
hours, which turned out to be a pretty good guesstimate. I decided I should leave Vegas around 7 a.m., but in actuality I woke up early and started the drive at about 6:15. I stopped off at Jack and the Box to pick up breakfast before hitting the freeway. Ironically, the one place I made a wrong move while driving was in Vegas, the place I know second best next to home! I was fine the rest of the way.The drive was actually somewhat interesting. I guess part of it is because I'd never been that route before since I'm used to driving toward Anaheim or LA, but this route involved heading north toward Bakersfield. I stopped once I think around Baker, one of the very small towns after crossing the California border, simply because a wave of tiredness set in. I pulled into a parking lot (I think it was a Taco Bell) and slept just for 10 minutes, but it helped immensely. I was all set to go for another couple of hours.
After a while I needed to make another stop, partly for a "nature break" and also to fill up on gas, so I stopped in Mojave, a desert town with some kind of air force base. I had to go 1-2 miles away from the highway, but it was easy to navigate my way. I found a McDonald's with a clean restroom and picked up an iced coffee (for the first time EVER, they handed me the coffee before I even put the change away in my wallet - amazing!), then found a gas station. Gas stations are weird in California - so many different types. This one only took debit cards, for a service fee, and cash. But the cash machine is kinda cool, like a slot machine that you slide your money into. Anyway, after this, I was ready to go for another couple of hours.
I was about 90 miles away from Paso Robles and came across a cute little town called Wasco. Apparently they are known for roses or something, there were huge fields of roses that were very pretty. I decided to stop for another nature break and also to get a snack since I was getting a little hungry, but I didn't want to eat a full on meal yet. I found a Carl's Jr. that did the trick (the little crunchy burrito things are good!). Then I was ready to conclude my drive for the day.
I approached Paso Robles and followed the Map Quest directions. However, they steered me toward a street, that was supposed to lead me to my hotel, that was undergoing major construction. Fortunately, the construction guy directing traffic was very helpful and steered me in another direction to the hotel, which would have been more efficient than the Map Quest directions. I soon realized it was my fault that Map Quest told me to go that way, since for part of the drive, I was trying to avoid the 101 (freeway) for part of my trip.
La Bellasera turned out to be an AWESOME hotel! Definitely the best of the entire trip in many ways: nice room, nice facilities, good restaurant, great service, and good location. I w
as so glad that I booked this hotel, but a little sad that I was only going to be there one night. I probably could've stayed another couple of nights and found lots to do there including exploring Downtown Paso Robles and checking out some wineries. Oh well, something to look forward to on a future trip!
After checking in, I was ready to eat a full meal. I decided to head to Downtown Paso Robles. I didn't have anything in mind, but I did browse quickly through a tourist magazine for ideas, then I set out on my drive through Downtown. The Downtown area was very cute and quaint, lined with little shops and restaurants, and lots of parking along the streets. I spotted Vic's Cafe, a place I remember seeing in the tourist magazi
ne, so I decided to give that a shot. It was a very casual place where locals seem to go. I ordered a Vic's burger that came with a bunch of toppings including guacamole and ortega chilis, with a side of potato salad. It was all very good, and very homemade. I walked around Downtown for a little bit, but I also wanted to check out a large strip mall I came across on the way to the hotel that had a Kohl's in it.After that, I headed back to the hotel. As I was parking, I noticed there was a back way into the parking lot, and my curiosity got the best of me, so I jumped back in the car and headed out the back way. Lo and behold, another strip mall, right across the street! And there was a Target! This was perfect since Elastagirl asked me to pick up something from Target that she wanted after she returned home.
I just wanted to relax that night, especially after the long drive. The sun didn't set until around 8:30, so the
days were longer there too. I ordered room service from the hotel restaurant, Enoteca, which turned out to be excellent! The person at the front desk recommended the filet mignon, as did the nice man I spoke to on the phone who took my order (he also said the lamb was very good). I enjoyed my meal along with some wine I brought with me from Vegas that I bought at Trader Joe's.All in all, a good day that ended nicely at a beautiful hotel!
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