Justin and I went to Pismo Beach for a weekend getaway the other weekend. I hadn’t been to Pismo Beach in years and was excited to rediscover the central coast. The weekend flew by way too fast but we crammed as much in as we could in just a few days. The reason for the trip, a mini babymoon. Justin and I are so excited about our family and wanted to take some us time before our baby boy arrives. Sadly, with Justin’s military travel schedule he is unable to take an extra week off from work for us to go somewhere so we’re taking “mini moons” instead.
We started our trip off on Friday after work with a scenic drive down highway 1 with our first stop in Big Sur for dinner. We ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Rocky Point. Justin hadn’t been there before so it was nice to take him somewhere that I have enjoyed going to with my mom on our mom-daughter trips.
After dinner we stopped at a few of the lookout points to just take in the beautiful Pacific Ocean. We stopped at Bixby Bridge, a few other lookouts along the cliffs of Highway 1, and turned off the road and took a walk down to a beach just past Big Sur where Justin has surfed with his dad numerous times to check the waves, before really focusing on making our way to Pismo Beach.
We stayed at Spyglass Inn in Pismo. This hotel recently underwent an interior renovation. I loved the interior of our room and was happy they had Molton Brown bath products so my skin and hair didn’t have to suffer this weekend. Our room had an ocean view and the private patio off our room was perfect for watching the sunset and the sunrise.
On Saturday morning after taking in the beauty right outside our room we went to this cute little coffee shop, The Steaming Bean, that was near our hotel, before heading off to Morro Bay. We were in no rush, since this was after all supposed to be a relaxing weekend. We got to Morro Bay just before noon and walked along the harbor.
Justin remembered this spot he had eaten at with his dad that he wanted to go to for lunch so we set out to find it. Luckily it wasn’t too hard to spot. Tognazzini’s Dockside has three separate restaurants in the same area and their cute yellow and white awning was hard to spot down the alleyway. Justin enjoyed some BBQ’d oysters and we split some fish tacos and french fries for lunch. The tacos were so delicious and the salsa they had to go with them was the bomb!
After lunch we headed to Morro Rock. By then, the fog had cleared away so we had a nice view from the rock and got to see some families of Sea Otters floating around. After Morro Rock, we drove up to San Simeon, to go to the Hearst Castle. Justin had never been and it had been ages since I visited with my family so it was fun to get a history refresh on the Hearst Castle and be able to walk around and enjoy the grounds on what turned out to be a beautiful day.
Saturday evening we went to dinner at the Oyster Loft in Pismo. This restaurant is known for their oysters and even though Justin had some for lunch he was not opposed to having more for dinner! The view from the restaurant deck was lovely. We got some people watching in before our food arrived and we got to enjoy the ocean view. Everything we ordered was delicious! We started with their Shisito Peppers and a half dozen oysters for Justin and I had the salmon for dinner and he had the halibut. Being pregnant I’ve gotten tired of always drinking water or juice with dinner and so I was happy they were able to make me a virgin mojito. Honestly, it tastes so good I didn’t miss not having any alcohol in it. After dinner we went for some ice cream at Tomasko Salt Water Taffy which was right up the street from the Oyster Loft. We couldn’t go in without getting some taffy so we grabbed a bag of mixed flavors to take back to the hotel too.
On a side note, something I am definitely happy to report is that I haven’t really had any cravings for alcohol this pregnancy. It’s like from the moment we found out I was pregnant my mind switched and I no longer felt the desire to have a glass of champs with dinner or a glass of wine when I got home from work. I am so thankful for that because to be honest that was one of the things I was most worried about before being pregnant. I’m no alcoholic, that’s for sure, but I do love me some champagne. And any occasion was a good occasion for me to have a glass. Life is worth celebrating, am I right?!!
On Sunday we went back to The Steaming Bean for a decaf latte for me and a coffee for Justin. We split a pastry back at the hotel and chilled on our patio. We also took a walk down the trail to the beach before packing up our stuff. On our way out of town we stopped at the Madonna Inn in SLO for a late breakfast. I’ve always wanted to check out this landmark of a hotel. The portions were huge, I couldn’t even finish my granola bowl it was so large. But then again, there’s a lot less room for my food to go. So while I’m hungry all the time I’ve definitely been eating smaller meals just way more often. Then we were off to a long stretch of driving back to Santa Cruz. We made great timing and was able to get home by mid afternoon to enjoy the beautiful weather there too.
So there you have it, our first babymoon in a nutshell! Below’s a little recap.