California Dreaming - Our RV Family road trip down the Pacific Coast Highway

Travel is like a secret tonic to creativity. When we get home, home is still the same, but something in our minds has changed, and that changes everything.

There’s nothing like travel to evoke curiosity and creativity. Traveling to new surroundings opens our eyes and enables us to reflect on the beauty of this amazing planet we are privileged to be guests on. 

The feeling of wanderlust took hold for so many of us this summer! And I was fortunate enough to jump on the bandwagon. I invite you to take a visual journey through the warm nostalgia of traveling the beautiful California coastline (aptly named The Pacific Coast Highway PCH for short) with my wee family in an RV.

Packed with so many wonderful towns, sights, parks, it offers so many amazing things to see over the course of a few days. By the end, you’ll feel like you traveled a lot farther than just a couple hundred miles.

You can drive your Highway 1 road trip either starting North or South – We flew into LA and began our adventure in Yosemite National park and then drove across to Carmel By The Sea & Monterey and headed south back to L.A. The weather got remarkably warmer as we drove.

Deciding how much time to take entirely depends on the pace you want to move and your travel style. We traveled for 10 days at the end of August in order to see everything on this list and have time to enjoy it all! This coincidentally was great timing, as school had returned in the U.S, so booking reservations and finding campgrounds the day of, was a breeze!

Carmel By-The-Sea & Monterey

These two stops are both little gems, hiding celebrity residents and beauty around every turn. Carmel township is full of quaint little homes & streets. I’ve been intrigued with the area since reading / watching Big Little Lies.

Ocean experiences, white sandy beaches and rusty pink coastal flora, what more can I say! Check out my travel reel of this area here.

Point Lobos State Park

Driving down the coast from Carmel By The Sea we stooped off to walk the Point Lobos coastal trail. The white rugged rocks, turquoise water, coastal flora and sea-life were breathtaking!

Big Sur & Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Big Sur and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park are nothing more than jaw dropping! By share fluke our timing was exceptional pulling over to the side of the road to the dedicated lookout spot just as the golden hour was approaching!

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park - This is the spot where you’ll see the famously beautiful waterfall cascading into a perfectly turquoise cove. The falls are a quick walk from the parking lot, so definitely check them out and then opt for a longer hike like Ewoldsen Trail, a 5-mile loop that winds through creeks, redwood forests, and offers impressive viewpoints of the coast.

Check out my travel reel of this area here!

Do & See - Hearst Castle & San Luis Obispo

THE MADONNA INN is a kitschy hotel that has become a bit of a landmark in San Luis Obispo. Complete with themed rooms, pink tennis courts, and plenty of gaudy fabulousness. Worth quenching your thirst in the Cocktail Lounge, if only to take it all in.

HEARST CASTLE is a historic estate in San Simeon conceived by William Randolph Hearst, a publishing tycoon, who definitely proved he had more money than sense!

I did enjoy the fact that he employed (for a total of 28 years!) Julia Morgan who was the first woman to receive the American Institute of Architects highest award. Morgan supervised nearly every aspect of the construction of the Castle including the purchase of everything from Spanish antiquities to Icelandic moss to reindeer for the Castle’s zoo.

Hearst’s guest list comprised most of the Hollywood stars of the period; Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Greta Garbo, Buster Keaton, Mary Pickford, Jean Harlow and Clark Gable plus Political luminaries. Visitors would play tennis swim in the pool (the indoor pool is tiled in gold mosaic) and gather each evening for drinks in the Assembly Room, dine in the Refectory and watch the latest movie in the theatre before retiring to their luxurious guest accommodation. Such a crazy fascinating and mind boggling historic story!

Leo Carrillo Beach

LEO CARRILLO park / beach / campground has great facilities and is just a short drive from Malibu township. We camped out here in the RV for 3 nights and spent our days catching the sun’s raise and surf during the day at Malibu’s beautiful Broad Beach.

The campground is nestled into a small canyon and is just a short distance from the beach where we’d walk to watch the sunset each night.

Malibu

Malibu, we love you!

So many highlights! The beautiful beaches (and beach houses!), surf lessons, great places to eat. Notable mention, Malibu farm, what’s not to love about this place, with it’s coastal nautical vibes and organic Farm-to-table produce, plus the best views in town!

Yosemite National Park

You can’t help but feel this is a very special and spiritual place. Everything is huge in Yosemite, from the beautiful Sequoia trees to the sky scraping rock formations, the entire time we were in awe and wonderment.

We stayed two nights and in that time we hiked, swam and spied so much wildlife, including a bear!

Must do’s include -

Tunnel View which is unarguably the most iconic view in Yosemite National Park. When driving into the valley. Yosemite appears before your eyes in all of its glory. You’ll definitely want to pull over into the parking lot to witness famous sights such as Half Dome, Bridalveil Falls, El Capitan, and the entire Yosemite Valley. And if you can, try time your visit at the end of the day to capture the sun setting on the valley.

Walk through giant Sequoia Groves. I love trees but I had a visceral response to these glorious giants, I was literally moved to tears. Getting There: The trailhead is two miles (3.2 km) from Yosemite's south entrance. Free buses to the grove stop by the parking lot every 10 - 20 minutes or so.

So much hiking, it’s hard to know where to begin and what route to take! The Park guides are so lovely and knowledgeable. It was well worth following their lead and advice before setting off as they know best what hikes (and levels) are best to do for each changing season.

Venice Beach, Santa Monica, LA

At the last stop we decided to treat ourselves and experience the architectural interior beauty of the Proper Hotel designed by interior designer extraordinaire, Kelly Wearstler . My eyes left no detail overlooked!

And when in LA you have to visit my favourite Thai Restaurant Night Market song OMG Yum, get ready for your tastebuds to explode and feel the heat baby!

Venice beach, you took us on a ride with your plethora of eclectic people!! The kiddos heads were spinning, it was awesome. Watching the skaters spin their wheels in the skatepark at sunset was SUPER COOL!

The entire trip was a feast for the eyes and soul! Definitely a BIG tick off life’s bucket list experiences. And not one family member was strangled by another, so that was a bonus, ha!