Kathy Strong - Southern California Off the Beaten Path®: A Guide to Unique Places

A native southern Californian, Kathy Strong has lived and traveled extensively throughout the area for more than forty years. Kathy Strong, a former magazine editor for three regional magazines in the southwest, has been a travel writer for more than 30 years, having written or contributed to more than 20 guide books and countless magazine features, covering all areas of the world. Her own books currently available in bookstores nationally are: Southern California Off the Beaten Path; Recommended Bed & Breakfasts: California; Driving the Pacific Coast: California; Driving the Pacific Coast: Washington and Oregon; and The Seattle Guidebook. She was also the author of Recommended Island Inns: The Caribbean.

Kathys weekly newspaper column, GOING MY WAY, appears in Gannett newspaper travel sections every Sunday and concentrates on day and weekend outings from the California desert. She has been a frequent talk show guest on both radio and television, recently appearing on The Today Show.

Kathy Strong has resided in the Palm Springs area of California for more than 20 years and was a past Athena Award and American League of National Pen Women award recipient. Strong has been involved in many community projects, including the restoration of a Victorian living museum and the establishment of a childrens museum. Passionate about the beauty and the varied offerings of southern California, Strong attributes this book to all of her fortunate wrong turns while exploring the back roads and highways.

CENTRAL COAST

Gently rolling green hills studded with oaks, plains covered with wildflowers, rich remnants of Californias beginnings, sweet-smelling citrus groves, verdant fields of twisting grapevines, and unparalleled Mediterranean-like ocean scenery compose southern Californias Central Coast. From Hearsts elaborate San Simeon palace on a hilltop to a sprawling cowboy movie ranch near Thousand Oaks, the area boasts variety and abundant off-road adventures. Explore small late-19th-century towns with pioneer stagecoach stops, as well as big and little cities that boast hidden historical gems, wineries, surf-crashing scenery, and charming getaway retreats.

Scenic, two-lane Highway 1 leisurely twists down the rocky Pacific coast of northern San Luis Obispo County; plan to stop at various points along the thoroughfare, regarded as one of the most beautiful highways in the world, to linger over a romantic sunset or to watch sea otters at play. The town of San Simeon boasts the magnificent home of William Randolph Hearst, the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument, which attracts more than one million visitors annually. Although the castle schedules a wide variety of day tours, the most unique offerings at the castle are the evening Living History tours. The evening tours, which last more than two hours and take in highlights of the day tours, are really a step back into the glamorous 1930s, a chance to experience firsthand the opulent lifestyles of the celebrated guests and occupants of the Enchanted Hill. While guests tour the softly lit grounds and environs of the estate, docents in authentic 1930s costumes assume a variety of guest and staff roles. Guests in satin cocktail gowns and suits stroll the rose-filled gardens; butlers serve appetizers to guests playing cards in the Assembly Room; and a starlet lounges on the 400-year-old bed in La Casa del Mar. The evening is not over until youve viewed a movie in the castles theater, a Hearst Metrotone newsreel recounting some of the important events of 1933. Evening tours of Hearst Castle are available fall weekends. Reservations are recommended; call (800) 444-4445 for tour times and reservations or visit www.hearstcastle.com.

The oldest native of San Simeon, J. C. Pete Sebastian, died several years ago, but he left behind a legacy worth exploring. Sebastian took over Sebastians Store (established in 1852) from his father in 1948, but he worked as a child with his father in the store when the Hearsts were setting up the castle and later worked as a landscaper on Hearsts castle grounds. He remembered how the castle grew in concept from a few bungalows to replace the tents to the most opulent private residence in the country. The tiny grocery store across from San Simeon Bay saw customers such as Winston Churchill and Cary Grant and witnessed the unusual unloading of ranch cattle from ships, which involved the cows swimming ashore to waiting cowhands. This oldest operating store in the state was kept open during the Depression by purchases inspired by Hearsts generosity; he asked Sebastian to supply all the needy families in the area with food and groceries and to bill him for the costs. Visit the vintage store today and pick up some snacks for a picnic along the driftwood-strewn beach just across the way. The tiny wooden structure is packed with food, gifts, mementos, and nostalgic memories of an era gone by. Sebastians is located at 442 San Simeon Rd.; call them at (805) 927-3307.

hearst castle trivia for experts

How many bathtubs are there in the Hearst Castle?

a)16
b)22
c)61

(Answer: abut its hard to believe, since the castle has 165 rooms.)

AUTHORS TOP PICKS

Hearst Castle Living History Tour,

San Simeon

Jack House and Garden,

San Luis Obispo

Sycamore Mineral Springs,

Avila Beach

Nipomo Dunes,

National Seashore

La Purisima Mission State Historical Park,

Lompoc

Channel Islands National Park,

Ventura

Paramount Ranch,

Agoura Hills

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum,

Simi Valley

Corriganville,

Simi Valley

Pine-covered hills cradling a two-winged artists hamlet make up the village of Cambria just south of San Simeon. The charming alpine-like village on the sea was originally settled in the early 1860s when William Leffingwell built the areas first sawmill, now the site of Leffingwells Landing on Moonstone Beach. Visitors touring Cambrias Moonstone Beach Drive today will find a romantic strip of intimate inns with cozy fireplaces, small bistros, and windswept views of a shimmering expanse of green water met by fudge-colored sand. Stroll down this beachcombers paradise and collect polished pieces of jade, agate, and quartz and explore tide pools; or watch the sun set into the Pacific from giant log benches offered along the way.

Along this scenic drive is an intimate oyster bar and shellfish restaurant that is popular with local residents and anyone who is lucky enough to discover it. The Sea Chest at 6216 Moonstone Beach Dr. serves dinner only from 5:30 p.m. each evening (closed some Tuesdays). The petite restaurant, surrounded by lavender geraniums and ice plants, displays a combination of Victorian gingerbread trim and nautical touches outside, and inside offers informal, intimate seating, skylights, greenery, and spectacular ocean views. Enjoy the oyster bar and incredible seafood dinners. Call the Sea Chest at (805) 927-4514. (Neither credit cards nor reservations are accepted.)

Turn from Moonstone Beach Drive into Cambrias newer West Village, where youll find a variety of antiques stores, art galleries, specialty shops, pubs, delis, and boutiques. One of the most interesting of the specialty shops in the West Village is the Soldier Gallery