California Road Trip

San Francisco

Grab a Waymo from Nob Hill and let it carry you down the hills. I get a kick out of it every single time, and it's the easiest way to see the city without fighting for parking. Then drive across the bridge to Muir Woods and walk under the redwoods. It goes quiet in there in a way that always slows me right down, so head out early before the crowds find it.

Carmel

Do the 17-mile drive through Pebble Beach at least once. The Lone Cypress and the coastline get me every time, even though I've seen them more than I can count. After that, just wander the village on foot. There are no street addresses here, which sounds maddening until you give in to it and start finding the little courtyards and galleries on your own.

Cambria

Pull over for the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas. They sprawl out by the hundreds and bark and flop around, and I could watch them way longer than I want to admit. Then take a slow morning on the Moonstone Beach Boardwalk. Bring coffee, look for sea glass, and let yourself do absolutely nothing for a while.

Santa Barbara

Climb the courthouse tower for the view over all those red-tile roofs and the ocean behind them. It's free, it's quick, and it's the best way to get your bearings in town. Then spend an afternoon on the Urban Wine Trail. The tasting rooms are all within walking distance downtown, so you can wander between them without anybody having to be the designated driver.

Los Angeles/West Hollywood

Get up early and hike Runyon Canyon. You earn a real view of the city and the sign, and you'll share the trail with more dogs than tourists if you beat the heat. End a day at Griffith Observatory around sunset. Watching the light go down over the whole basin is one of those LA moments that actually lives up to itself.

Laguna Beach

Work your way along the tide pools at Heisler Park. Low tide turns the whole stretch into little worlds you can crouch over, and the coves below are some of the prettiest on the coast. Then take the galleries seriously here. This is a real artists' colony, so it's actual art worth slowing down for, not the tourist-shop kind.

Palm Springs

Ride the Aerial Tramway up San Jacinto. You leave the desert floor and step out into pine trees and cooler air at the top, and the change still surprises me. Save a day for Joshua Tree. The landscape out there is so strange and still that it resets something in you, and the light at the end of the day is unreal.

Carlsbad

If you catch the spring, walk through the Flower Fields when the ranunculus are blooming. Fifty acres of color stacked up the hillside is a lot to take in, in the best way. Otherwise, drive down to La Jolla Cove and kayak out to the sea caves. The sea lions are right there on the rocks, close enough that you stop reaching for your phone and just watch.

San Francisco

Start with breakfast at the Fairmont. Sitting up on Nob Hill with a good coffee and croissant before the city wakes up is one of my favorite ways to begin a day here.

Carmel

Casanova for a romantic dinner in an old converted cottage. Breakfast at Stationæry in Carmel had that little European feel. A good latte, a flaky croissant, and a morning that's in no hurry to go anywhere.

Cambria

Cambria is quiet, and that's the charm of it. The best meal was the breakfast picnic basket they bring right to your room at the White Water Inn, eaten with the ocean out the window. Sometimes the simplest thing is the one you remember.

Santa Barbara

Best breakfast of the whole trip was Alessia Patisserie & Cafe in Santa Barbara. The croissants and the whole European-café feel of it were so good that we routed back through Santa Barbara on purpose just to eat there again.

Laguna Beach

Breakfast at the Montage, with the ocean stretched out in front of you and the lawn rolling down to the cliff. Hard to beat starting the day there. Las Brisas at sunset, with a margarita and Mexican seafood while the sky goes pink over the water. The view does half the work.

Palm Springs

Workshop Kitchen + Bar. Award-winning design and cocktails worth dressing up for, with a patio that's the prettiest seat in town after dark. Eight4Nine. All white-and-pink polish for a long lunch or dinner, and the garden patio is a stunner in good weather.

Carlsbad

Campfire is the one to book in Carlsbad, wood-fired everything in a cool, intimate room. Come hungry, because the live-fire menu is made for sharing across the table. Belleflower in the Village does California coastal cooking that's worth getting dressed up for. It's an easy walk from the wine bars, so you can make a whole evening of it on foot.