Your Next Road Trip: California’s Central Coast

San Luis Obispo

Grab a coffee at the fair-trade BlackHorse Café and take a stroll around the sweet mission town of San Luis Obispo. Lauded as the town’s best coffee time and again, you can’t go wrong with a fresh-from-the-oven muffin or scone and you shouldn’t leave the premises without a cup of their famous brew. (Photo courtesy of Flickr/datenhamster.org)

Once you’ve taken a look around town, head into the Pithy Little Wine Company’s tasting room. As you gather round to taste five different California wines and, if you’re hungry, order a plate of locally sourced cheeses and dried fruits, buy a bag of locally made Joycup chocolate peanut butter cups sold in the shop. They are made by one woman, only locally distributed, and have flavors like raspberry with merlot sea salt, blueberry lemon with organic Fleur de Sel, and the classic peanut butter cup with espresso sea salt.

Back in the car, make your way to the Stoltey’s Bee Farm. The Stoltey family operates the bee farm just beyond their home and sells their organic, homemade honey with various infused flavors (like apple and sage) in the driveway and at local farmers' markets.

Cayucos

Pressing on with a full belly and sweet snacks in hand, head into Cayucos and drop your bags off at the Cass House Inn. Stately, generous accommodations in a distinctly eclectic Californian style and views of the ocean are on offer here, as is the loved and seasonal Cass House Restaurant. House-cured meats, a local black cod, and honey mussels are only the beginning when there is a dessert like their "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" available. It consists of a Bourbon persimmon beignet, fruitcake with Scotch ice cream, and a vanilla bean stout pots de crème. Their wine list is slightly California heavy, but they offer a great number of wines by the glass as well as an adventurers list of beers by the bottle. (Photo courtesy of Flickr/jshyun)

After breakfast, stop by the Brown Butter Cookie Company for some delicious treats for the road.

Paso Robles

As you pull into the lush wine country region of Paso Robles, you’ll want to give in to the urge to get out of your car at every turn to take photos of the green, expansive horizon. Stop at one of Paso Robles’ numerous farmers' markets for some fresh berries.

You would be remiss to leave Central Coast Creamery off your list. Using local California milk, the Creamery makes hand-crafted artisan cheeses from their goat cheddar to their “Seascape” blend with goat and cow’s milk. (Photo courtesy of Flickr/Shelby PDX)

Find your dinner at Artisan. Featuring locally grown, seasonal cuisine like barbecued pork belly, chanterelle toast, Alaskan halibut, and Hearst Ranch flatiron steak. Find a room at the plush Hotel Cheval for the night before heading home or continuing on to Santa Cruz, San Francisco, or Napa Valley.

A road trip like this, with sweeping views of the ocean on one side, rugged mountain ranges on the other, and great Redwood trees throughout can make you feel rejuvenated inside and out. Stay tuned for more California road trips, as well as east coast jaunts to come.

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