Pacific Hwy Coast & Lake Arrowhead - Part 2

After we left SF we headed south on the Pacific Coast Highway 1.  It was on our bucket list to drive the coast and it was absolutely amazing!  The scenery was stunning and the weather was beautiful.

We pulled over because we saw a whale. Do you see it?  Unfortunately I had my camera on manual focus and it's out of focus... lame!

We stopped at a few places along the highway.  One of the my favorite was the elephant seal viewing areas.  They were so entertaining to watch and really cute!  We sat on a park bench and watched the sun set over the ocean... it was a perfect Valentines Day sunset.


We stayed in the cutest little town on the way down the coast called Cambria.  Robby pulled into this motel called the "blue bird".  It wasn't really what I was imagining for our romantic "valentines day" place to stay BUT at $59 the price was right.  I made up for it by ordering the most expensive things on the menu that evening.  I'll take expensive food over an expensive bed any day.

We ate at a place my friend Stacie recommended called Robin's cafe.  We ate outside on a patio with pretty lights and flowers.  It was very romantic and probably one of my top 5 restaurant experiences.  The food (and wine) was fantastic!!  I seriously can't wait to go back there one day!

(my husband is sooooo handsome!)

Coffee on the beach in the morning... lovely!

When we left Cambria we headed for Santa Barbara (my favorite!!).  It was such a beautiful town.  We headed for the fisherman's Wharf and sat out on the pier and ate MORE fresh crab and even got to see dolphins swim by!  It was the most perfect sunny day... Robby literally had to chase me to get me to leave this place.

Another reason for our trip to CA was for our friends Chad & Lana's wedding!  They got married at Lake Arrowhead Mountain outside of LA.  It was so pretty and once again the weather was awesome.   I even sat outside with a mojito and soaked up the sun (amongst some leftover snow).  The wedding was so fun and casual.  A big group of us went out for pizza the night before.

(Yes, we ate McDonalds on vacation which is usually a no no for me... but it did have a nice patio!)

So here is the crazy part of our trip... after the wedding we drove back to SF!!  Yes, I know we're crazy but it was very worth it.  Robby was highly anticipating eating at in-n-out burger while we were there so on our way back to SF we stopped.  I have NEVER seen a fast food place so packed in all my life.  It was insane.  The food was worth the wait though... it was really good!

Before we left town we hit up some tourist attractions like Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was neat to see... but I couldn't get over the traffic and the tourists.  It was so awful I had a panic attack.  I don't think the tourist in Duluth are so bad anymore. :)

We had a super late flight so before heading to the airport we drove around until we found the perfect Sushi place.  The Sushi Bistro did not disappoint... it was soooooooo good!

I love California and can't wait to go back!!