Our California Coastline Trip

"A Comfort Zone is A Beautiful Place, but Nothing Ever Grows There." -Unknown Author

What's not to love about California? It has countless miles of sun-drenched coastline, the inviting ocean, and year-round temperatures of around 70 degrees. I consider myself lucky to be able to pack up the kids and take a three-day trip along the coast—and that's exactly what we did recently. Staying at Costanoa Lodge, hiking in Butano State Park, visiting a berry farm, spending time with good friends and enjoying exceptional gourmet meals in Pescadero.We couldn't have had a more 'California' weekend.

The first stop of our trip led us to the Santa Cruz Wharf for lunch and digging into some  hearty clam chowder bread bowls. After lunch, we strolled to Streamer Lane, watching the surfers take on the perfect waves (huge swells in the winter and excellent surf all year). Steamer Lane is Santa Cruz's most famous surf spot, located just off West Cliff Drive. The cliffs here provide a ideal vantage point to watch surfers, and the brick-clad Santa Cruz Surfing Museum sits nearby, offering its visitors a lot of neat, local history - like stories of Jack O'Neill who designed the modern wetsuit.

Next we drove north along the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway 1 stopping at Swanton Berry Farm. My kids and I picked fresh organic strawberries, stopped by the store, sampled some of their to-die-for fresh berry jams and indulged in their amazing strawberry lemonade. We added in a couple of wonderfully rich berry chocolates for good measure and had the perfect pit stop. We soon passed by Año Nuevo State Park, though we didn't stop because summer isn't the best season to visit the park. Winter brings the best opportunity to watch the park's elephant seals, and it's definitely an experience anyone visiting the area should have on their bucket list.

















We finally ended the day by eagerly joining our friends at Costanoa, an eco-adventure resort designed to inspire its guests to explore the natural beauty of the California coastline. There are several activities one can enjoy, including hiking, kayaking and even receiving a luxurious spa treatment. The experience was incredible and it proved to be a relaxing retreat indeed.







Costanoa has several accommodation options, including cabins, tent cabins, RV campsites and the main lodge. My friends and I each had our own cabin, and they were connected by a shared wall and a spacious patio. It was the perfect setup for all of us, and we hung out in the mornings on the shared patio to have breakfast. It was also great because our kids could play between the cabins and on the patio. The cabins are basically a room with beds and a half bathroom (a tiny sink and a toilet). Still though, it felt like a 5-star campsite for us since we had the convenience of sleeping in a room with nice beds and mattresses and a half bathroom inside. The cabin also had a skylight to watch the stars at night while lying on our beds. There were also very nice showers just a few steps outside of the cabins, and a fire pit was nearby with comfortable couches to sit on. At night, when we wanted to roast our marshmallows, we called the front desk and they started the fire for us. Talk about service! We had a good, old-fashioned time roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. Our friends also brought along their popcorn shaker, and we made popcorn on the fire, a new experience for my kids!

The next day we went out hiking at Butano State Park. I'd heard about the beauty of this park many times before, and we couldn't resist checking it out since we were just a few minutes from the park. We started off our hike by walking through part of the six-bridge trail, and it was fun for everyone to count the bridges as we hiked.

The uphill areas felt hard on the kids' legs. Still, they all managed to finish a 5-6 mile loop, with a lunch break in between. Having a bag of trail mix (with some yummy treats like M&M and Cheetos) kept them excited to go on while the nuts and dried fruits gave them the energy to push through the strenuous inclines. The park is located in a secluded redwood-filled canyon and has miles of hiking trails of different skill levels.

 











We visited Pescadero State Beach & Marsh during the rest of our trip. This is a beautiful park with a mile-long shoreline, tide pools, sandy coves and rocky cliffs. We enjoyed the great Pacific Ocean views while the kids played in the lagoon and on the sand. The water felt too cold for them (or even me!) to swim in, but we weren't opposed to getting our feet wet while we played along the shore and watched the cute little hermit crabs. On the last day, we stopped at Arcangeli Grocery Co for their roasted garlic, artichoke bread that was fresh out of the oven! Yum! We would never leave Pescadero without indulging in some artichoke soup and artichoke bread! It was the ideal ending to the perfect three-day road trip.