Northern California Coast Trip - Day 1 (Cambria & Hearst Castle)

For Spring Break this year Mark and I decided to take our family to our old stomping grounds in California!  We loved growing up in California - so many beautiful and fun things to do and see!  This is what we saw as we made our way towards the California coast...

Once we got to the coast, we got to drive up the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), one of the most scenic and beautiful drives in the world!

We stopped first in the little seaside town of Cambria.  This is where Mark's family had a cabin by the beach that they would escape to on weekends or holidays.  It was only about 2 hours from where Mark and I both grew up.  It's also where Mark and I spent part of our honeymoon.  We found this AWESOME restaurant when we were there on our honeymoon.  It has expanded since then, because it has become so popular!  When we first went there they cooked on outdoor grills and you ate outside.  The food is so tasty!

From the restaurant, we spent the afternoon touring Hearst Castle, up the road about 10 minutes north of Cambria.  This was the west coast home of 20th century American newspaper publisher, William Randolph Hearst, who was the greatest newspaper baron in the history of the United States.  I first toured the castle with my family when I was in high school and it AMAZED me.  The grounds and castle itself are absolutely beautiful!

We stopped at the beach after the castle to watch the sunset.  I always love watching the sun dip into the ocean...

After leaving the beach, we continued north along the PCH to get to where we would be staying - my grandparents home in Watsonville.  They passed on years ago, but our family still maintains their home so that extended family can have a place to stay when they come out for a vacation.  It's so conveniently located to so many fun places.  It was perfect!