West Coast First Timers - Day 8, Pismo, Santa Barbara & drive to Anaheim

[abiknox]

Index here

Im awake at 8.30am today and spend time painting my nails until Aaron wakes at 9.15am. We head down to the complimentary breakfast to see what's on offer and it's not a bad selection. There is a waffle maker, pastries, yogurts, juice ect.
We shared a waffle which was really lovely and also picked at a bagel, fruit & yogurt.



We packed up and left the hotel just before 11am. We had originally planned to spend some time in Pismo, either on the beach or heading out on a kayak tour but the weather was drizzly and miserable so we decided to have a quick pop in at the outlets instead. It was only a couple of minutes down the road and after a few minutes we managed to bag a parking space and hit the shops.

Unfortunately, we had fully searched all our bags and Aarons Oakley sunglasses were nowhere to be seen so we popped into the Sunglasses Hut. They same pair were priced at $110 where we had only paid $80 for the last pair in Florida so we left without buying. We spent a bit of money in Hilfiger on jeans, Levis on T-Shirts & shoes in Vans. Just before we left we popped back into the Sunglasses Hut. Aaron mentioned that he only paid $80 last time & they agreed to do them at the same price. Excellent!

Onward, we set the Sat Nav for Santa Monica, it was 1.15pm at this point and it said it would take 3 hours. We traveled on the 101 most of the way, the sun was out and we were making good time so we decided to make a pit stop in Santa Barbara. We got parked easily and spend about 45 minutes just wondering the streets. It’s a beautiful place, full of vintage shops and art galleries. It also had a very quaint looking McDonalds that was almost unnoticeable.













We stopped for some gelato as it was really hot by this point. I had hazelnut & salted caramel & Aaron had Rocky Road & lemon sorbet. We shared and they were all lovely.





Back in the car, we programed Santa Monica back in, 35 minutes. At this point though the roads are getting noticeable busier as we head towards LA. We spotted this which at first we thought was a fire but it was just a very dark cloud, quite eerie I thought.





We were creeping all the way and when we saw a sign that says its 75 minutes to the turn off we wanted we had to reconsider our visit A real shame as I desperately wanted to see Santa Monica and Muscle beach. We re programmed to Anaheim and Sat Nav said 1 hour, I checked on my phone though knowing it had more accurate timings and it said 2 hours 20 minutes! Eeeek. That would have us arriving in Anaheim at about 7pm, 6 hours after we set off from Pismo.



We drove right through Hollywood, we actually saw our hotel for later in the week at Universal City and I so wished our itinerary was the other way round. I did consider pulling in to have dinner at City Walk but Aaron was just keen to get to Anaheim. The sun set as we were driving and the skyline looked lovely.



We arrived at the Ayres hotel just after 7 so once again my phone had been right on the money. We checked in fine & were given room 316. It was lovely again, a massive bed that was really comfy, the best of the holiday in my opinion but Aaron disagrees and thinks the one at the Hilton in Universal City was better.



We were really glad we were here for 3 nights, long drives for the past 3 days had taken their toll on us. We were ravenous by this point and took the hotels recommendation of JT Schmids Brewery across the road for dinner as we couldn't face getting back in the car. We walked over and it looked fab, it was an enormous restaurant, I guess they have a lot of business when there is a game on at the Honda Center opposite.

Aaron wanted an America lager but they only offered Ales, he wasn't too pleased but settled for a beer cocktail in the end. I had strawberry lemonade.

Food wise, we shared the boneless wings. I then had the French dip sandwich & Aaron had the cowboy burger. The food was really good but just massive portions that I seriously failed with.







The bill came to $59 plus tip. I paid with my FX card but it got declined It had plenty of $ on at this point so I'm not sure why but luckily we had cash with us too. I did contact FX the next day & they said that the restaurant had tried to credit the card but that seems unlikely to me. Anyway no big issue and the card worked fine from here onward.

Back at the hotel I purchased 3 day shuttle tickets from reception. These cost $24 so didn’t save us too much on the parking front but a free travel was drawing us in. it also meant that a few drinks could be consumed without having to worry about who was driving!

I had a quick bath before bed and then we had an earlyish night as Disney was calling

Tomorrow……. Disney’s California Adventure!

[Guest]

What a shame you missed santa monica. Always a reason to go back ;-)

[abiknox]

Originally Posted by princess_chazy

What a shame you missed santa monica. Always a reason to go back ;-)

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We may have made it there in the end You'll have to wait and see!

[Pussycat Doll]

Lovely day, great photos, that dinner looks yummy. Pussycat

[orlandosgr8]

Shame about the traffic today. Well done to Aaron getting a deal on his Oakleys and wow that burger looks amazing

[k4ti3-x]

Shame about the traffic we managed to avoid the 101 as it's suppose to be awful! Shame about Santa Monica though! Xo

[abiknox]

Originally Posted by Pussycat Doll

Lovely day, great photos, that dinner looks yummy. Pussycat

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The dinner was really good, it was fab to just get sat down somewhere other than the car

Originally Posted by orlandosgr8

Shame about the traffic today. Well done to Aaron getting a deal on his Oakleys and wow that burger looks amazing

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No well done for Aaron, thats the second pair of Oakleys he has lost and the third pair of designer sunglasses overall :angry: Its a good job he got the deal as he wouldnt have been allowed them

Originally Posted by k4ti3-x

Shame about the traffic we managed to avoid the 101 as it's suppose to be awful! Shame about Santa Monica though! Xo

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Ah that was a good idea! Really wish i had researched roads a bit more instead of relying on the Sat Nav so much.

[Aims]

I agree with k4ti3-x... the 101 always sucks! I avoid that one if there's another route I can take. Sorry you had to miss your stop in Santa Monica...ahh, the joys of LA traffic. It's a beast with a mind of it's own, lol.

Glad you got to see Santa Barbara It's such a lovely, "walkable" town, compared to most other places around LA.

Good food pics. I want those boneless wings! I'm going to have to try that brewery sometime. I'm always looking for new places to eat around Disneyland.

[abiknox]

Originally Posted by Aims

I agree with k4ti3-x... the 101 always sucks! I avoid that one if there's another route I can take. Sorry you had to miss your stop in Santa Monica...ahh, the joys of LA traffic. It's a beast with a mind of it's own, lol.

Glad you got to see Santa Barbara It's such a lovely, "walkable" town, compared to most other places around LA.

Good food pics. I want those boneless wings! I'm going to have to try that brewery sometime. I'm always looking for new places to eat around Disneyland.

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Santa Barbara was lovely and we did manage a sneaky visit to Santa Monica on our last day so it all worked out in the end!

JT Schmids was really good actually, huge portions!

At least when I listed to Phantom Planet California I will know I have driven down the 101

[disney owl]

Shame about the traffic