California Getaway for 2 Itinerary!
We have been very busy. Our little Lily has just been married and our family has grown once again by another son. The wedding was perfect in all the ways we dreamed and I can’t wait to share it with you all! But while we wait for the photographers pics, I have something to recommend for anyone thinking about taking a California adventure: do it! Especially if you have just married off anther daughter and you need some down time to process it. Or if you are celebrating a 30th anniversary… both of which we qualified for as we flew across the country and landed in sunny Los Angeles. This was our 4th trip to California, and each time we’ve seen more beautiful places and some of our familiar favorites.
The first thing we did in L.A. was pick up our car. A convertible is highly recommended as the views were amazing! And then it was a quick stop at In ‘N Out before we took the 2-hour drive to Palm Springs! The air became hotter as we drove and the sun began to set over the desert for the most beautiful scenery.
We arrived at our Airbnb after dark but the hosts had everything lit up and so inviting for our welcome. This pool was one of our first views and we knew it was going to be a great stay.
By morning, I was convinced we had chosen the right place for Palm Springs. This house has the perfect mid-mod vibe in the most adorable color scheme. We absolutely loved it!!
The backyard patio looks right over the golf course and a perfectly manicured landscape which was buzzing with hummingbirds after the bright flowers.
There were 3 adorable bedrooms with stunning wallpaper and decor…
And the kitchen and baths were updated with beautiful choices.
This huge mirrored wall in the living room was so nice for making the whole space feel even lighter and larger!
But our absolute favorite part was this gorgeous pool all to ourselves. It was a perfect way to relax for a few days and we definitely got our use of it with the temps hitting 111°! You can find the listing for this Airbnb HERE.
Also–this is a lemon tree above the hedge in the yard. So picturesque!
I wore my pink Amazon dress and gold shoes I had shared on Instagram that I wore for the wedding rehearsal and it was great for Palm Springs as well! Here are my affiliate links for those if you want them!
One of our favorite dinners while in Palm Springs was at Melvyns at Ingleside Estate. They were very friendly, the food was amazing, and they treated us to this special anniversary cake.
They have a beautiful sun room which Dave had requested for us because he knew I would love the vibe, but when we arrived the air conditioning wasn’t working out there so we had to pass on that!
One of our days here, we drove an hour to Joshua Tree National Park. This was our first time here and it was beautiful to drive through and stop for pictures and to take in the view along the way.
During the summer it gets too hot for people to hike safely but the drive was just perfect with the top up and some AC!
This pic below was the viewing area over the San Andreas Fault… beautiful canyon views for miles around.
If you’ve been here long, you probably recognize my favorite travel sandals I’ve worn everywhere! They are still available in some sizes and colors. I’ll share affiliate links for those and my monogrammed skort here!
We left Palm Springs on the 3rd day and headed back over to L.A. for just a few hours before driving through. We have been to L.A. a couple times before so we decided not to spend tons of time there. We were so close to spending a day in Disneyland which would be a great time to fit it in the itinerary, but we had other things we wanted to see, so we passed this time!
We did go back to the original Farmer’s Market & the Grove in L.A. because we do enjoy that! It was a gorgeous day to stroll around and shop.
We had planned to do the Griffith Observatory in L.A. as well, which we have not done before. However, it turned out to be a super crowded day there and we decided to pass because it would have delayed us to our next stops! Apparently early morning would have been a better time to visit so keep that in mind if you’re planning!
After that, we were off to our next stop in Santa Barbara! We planned to stay on the coast as much as we could for this drive, so we took the scenic route and arrived in a couple of hours. The downtown area of Santa Barbara has plenty of shops and restaurants and is a nice stroll.
Stearns Wharf is drivable and a great place to get some seafood to eat and beautiful views to take in!
We stayed at The Steward hotel in Santa Barbara which was clean and nice. And we were very surprised to find that this was the same place we had stayed in 2013 when we were here with all the kids! It is now owned by Marriott and has been completely remodeled so we didn’t recognize it before we arrived.
We only stayed the one night then continued up the coast to our last stay…Carmel, Monterey, and Pacific Grove!
Along the way, we made a quick stop in Solvang, which is the cutest Dutch town, full of great baked goods, restaurants and shops! Definitely worth a stop!
Then it was back on the road to more sights and beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea! This is one of our all-time favorites on the California coast.
This was just as we remembered it with all the beautiful storybook cottages and inns and shops!
The flowers were amazing! Can you believe the size of this succulent?
This beautiful beach is right downtown as well.
Later we checked in to our hotel and it was love at first sight…
Sitting directly on the Monterey Bay in Pacific Grove, the Green Gables Inn is a perfect stay if you want to drive the Pacific Coast Highway!
This is an 1800’s Victorian home that’s been completely remodeled, and it’s just gorgeous.
Breakfast and hospitality hour are served daily right here with the most amazing views. There are seals in the bay playing in the water right here as well!
And our room! We highly recommend the Chapel Room for the best views and so much charm. The original trim work and windows make it just magical.
And that window seat is the perfect place for morning coffee!
The one note to mention with this room is that the private renovated bathroom is just across the hall and accessed with a key, which was a little different, but still just fine considering the charm of the house. There are other rooms available with in-room baths as well.
We had dinner at the Red House Cafe down the street and it was also so charming and lovely.
This was the best mocha latte I’ve had in a while!
The gorgeous 17 Mile Drive adjoining Highway 1 is a must! It goes through Pebble Beach Golf Club and so many beautiful scenes.
The gorgeous drive continues on the PCH for miles. And there are too many beautiful sights to describe.
At the time of our trip, there was a portion of the PCH closed due to a rock slide so we were only able to drive a couple of hours and then turned around and drove back up… plenty of scenery to enjoy along the way.
We stopped for lunch at the amazing Nepenthe in Big Sur, which we missed on our last trip. This place is a must if you want delicious food with stunning views! It’s literally perched on a cliff and every seat has a view. Get there at opening if you can because there will be a wait! And request the rail for the closest seat to the edge. It was a great experience!
We woke up to this sunrise on our last day after 6 nights in California. It was a somewhat quick trip but we were able to relax and enjoy time at a slower pace while seeing so much! I hope this itinerary helps if you’re dreaming of California. I’m always happy to answer questions and you might enjoy the posts starting HERE from years ago when we took our family of 6 down the Pacific Coast for a longer trip! Also — I’m sharing reels on Insta for more views!
Home for now and trying to catch up! Wedding post coming soon!!!!
