Day 4: Anaheim to San Luis Obispo (Missions!)

Day 4 was another day in paradise! We started the day with another continental breakfast at our hotel in Anaheim. We slept in a little bit (which means I didn’t run! Eek!) but it was nice to feel so rested! We checked out of the hotel about 9am and were back on the Pacific Coast Highway by 9:15.

 The first area we drove through was Long Beach. It was a really diverse town with a small downtown area, long stretched of sandy beach, and a hug shipyard used for cargo boats.

After that, we drove along the coast and passed lots of state beaches, most of which had really neat signs marking the parks. We stopped in the parking lot of some hotel just outside Redondo Beach to put the top down on the convertible because it was SO gorgeous outside. we hadn’t done it with all the luggage in the car before. It seemed like we would have too much, but after some maneuvering we managed to get the two big suitcases in the backseat and all the little ones in the trunk. With the top down, the day became like a dream. It was just me and my husband, driving along the coast, wind blowing our hair back, in a convertible. I couldn’t stop smiling.

This is a little video of us driving!

We decided to stop at Manhattan Beach to go out to the water. I was so excited just to get to touch the water! I figured if we drove all this way, I may as well get to touch the ocean!

Another little video!

And of course, I couldn’t resist, I had to leave a little something of us in the sand.

After we stopped, we headed up a long stretch of the highway on our way to the first of two missions we planned to stop at. This bit of the road was a mix of densely populated beachfront homes and also totally preserved state parks. Here's some pics of us driving that stretch:

Between the beaches and the first mission, we drove through the town of Malibu where a lot of the movie stars live. We passed a beach where Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello filed a few of their films in the 1950’s. It was like a fairytale land. Everything was pristine, the trees and bushes were trimmed to perfection, and every car looked like it had been washed that day. Actually, scratch fairytale. It was more like the Twilight Zone.

Finally we arrived in Ventura where the first mission, Mission San Buenaventura, was located. This Mission was so interesting because it is literally built into the downtown of the city. If it wasn’t for our GPS, we would have never found it because it looks like just another part of the town. It was a small mission, but when we walked into the church, I literally lost my breath. It was absolutely breathtaking. Every detail of the church was beautiful. I cannot imagine going to mass there every Sunday. I hope the parishioners there aren’t complacent! Another cool part of this church was that we got to light prayer candles as part of our tour admission. I always love doing this, especially in such a beautiful place. For some reason, I really feel such a connection to God in places like this. I felt the same at Notre Dame in Paris and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. As always, I said a little prayer for all those suffering from the disease of alcoholism and addiction and asked God to help guide them to recovery. For me, I can’t think of a worthier cause.

After we left Ventura, we headed to Santa Barbara for the Mission Santa Barabara. The downtown area of SB is absolutely incredible. In 1925, the town’s fathers passed a law that required all downtown buildings to follow the architecture of the Spanish revival, including red roof tiles and mission style arches. Block after block of the area looks like one huge church. As were looking for the mission, I would say, “Oh! Maybe that building with the gold dome is it!” And we would pull up and it would be a Gap. Or Jason would say, “What about that one with the bell tower. That could be it!” And we would get there and it would be a Macy’s. 

The entire area is just gorgeous, but when we finally saw the Mission, there was no mistaking it.

Pic of mission from far away.

This mission is often called the “Queen of Missions” because it is so magnificent. It was at least twice the size of the first mission we went too, and even included a cemetery in the back with some tombs dating back to the 1600s. The walls of the mission were painted so artistically they looked almost fake. Here are some pics from Mission Santa Barbara:

This is where they did their laundry!

When Jason saw this is said, "Bring out yer deeeaaad! Bring out yer deeeaaad!" Hahahaha

You can actually buy a plot to be buried at this mission.

The Altar!!

Saying a little prayer. 

Signing the guest book. 

This looked so much like our China!

Uh, awkward since I just married this guy...

From Santa Barbara, we headed up to our final stop for the day, the Apple Farm in San Luis Obispo. There wasn’t a very direct route for this portion of the trip, so Jason and I decided to experiment a little bit. We veered off HWY 1 a couple times in attempt to stay closer to the coast and cut the time off the trip to San Luis Obispo. We ended up on one stretch of highway where we were literally the only ones there. Then, we saw the sign that explained it all! At some point, we had entered onto Vandenberg Air Force Base, and we weren’t supposed to be on the road we were on without the permission of an Air Force Commander. Oops! We decided after that to head back to the PCH and continue on the marked route to San Luis. It was really pretty though:

When we pulled up the hotel, we were once again pleased with the reservations we had made. This hotel is a quaint little bed and breakfast done in Victorian style home. When we checked in, the woman working at the front desk noticed we were there on our honeymoon and upgraded our room to a suite! She also had hot and homemade cookies waiting for us. And get this, the key to our room is a really live metal key! Like an actual key! And the room is just adorable. It is completely decorated in Parisien décor all the way down to the upholstery on the chairs in the room. It also has a fireplace and a large sitting area. There was a cute little guest book in the entry way to our room that shows all the people who have stayed in this room since the beginning of 2012.

our REAL keys!

Complimentary apple juice!

This basket has cheese, crackers, apple butter, apple jam, fruit and sweets and it came  as a welcome gift in our room!

The view from our window.

The gift shop. My mom would LOVE this place!

And entire wall of blue and white dishes!

We had dinner at the restaurant that is part of the hotel which was good ‘ole down-home cookin’. Jason had chicken with dumplings and I had roast turkey and dressing. We finished it off with and apple dumpling a la mode, which was basically and apple covered in dumpling and then baked. It was so good it was sinful!

Now, I am sitting in our room at The Apple Farm with the windows open and I can hear the water flowing over the wheel on the Old Mill. There are frogs chirping somewhere in the distance, and the cool breeze is pouring in through the windows. It’s a perfect night to end a perfect day.

Tomorrow we are off to Hearst Castle, the part of the trip Jason has been looking forward to the most!