Getting married Nov 8.. and will be honeymoon/ surfing the California coast for 7 days(renting a car and driving from san diego to san francisco).. i have always wanted to do this, and my bride to be thinks it is a great idea.. i am looking to buy a board in san diego, and ship it back to FL from san francisco.. can anyone give me a reccomendation for a surf shop that carries a lot of fish shapes.. looking for a 6'4" quad new or used.. also, how are the coastal water temps in november??
any help or advice regarding hotels, food options, and sight-seeing would be a great help.. we havent booked any hotels, we are just winging it. We think that will be a plus because we could stay more than one day in area we really like..
if anyone has made the highway 1 trip from san diego to san francisco that could give us an approximate drive time that would be great..
as far as shipping the board back to florida, who would you guys and gals reccomend.. i haven't shipped a board before..
Talk to ''Bird'', aka Eric Huffman @ South Coast Windansea, in PB, about fish. Drive time to SF from SD on Hwy 1........if you really stick to PCH/Hwy1 for the whole trip, it will be a real time consumer. It goes through many small coastal towns.
From LA to San Francisco, taking highway 1 from the end of the 10 fwy to Ventura, and then getting on 101 and picking up highway 1 again from Morro Bay, you can count on at least 8 hours including stopping for scenery, lunch etc.
Larry Mabile’s boards are offered there and they also have Skip Frye t-shirts for when you’re out of the water. You can surf right out in front of the shop at PB Drive too. The water should be cold (what I think of as “cold,” anyway) but there’s a ton of great food around here. If you’ve never had them before, you might try some fish tacos. After you visit PB Surf Shop, you can head north for a few blocks and eat at Taco Surf, where you’ll find surf videos on the TV and a museum of boards hanging from the ceiling.
They might have stock boards on hand (keels, quads, twinzers, etc.), or, if you can squeeze it in time-wise, you might get a custom out of it for a similar price as off the rack.
In San Diego I'd recommend you stay in North County SD (Carlsbad). There's a Hilton Garden Inn on PCH across the street from the beach. Ponto, Campgrounds (walking distance), Terramar and Tamarrack are witihin 5 mins of the hotel (none of these places are "secret", thanks to SurfShot). While you surf, your wife can entertain herself at the Outlet Mall (designer stores) just east of the I-5, and King's Fish House ( a little pricey) is just across the street from the Mall, Islands Restaraunt for more casual dining is nearby on Palomar Airport Drive, just off the I-5. Try Roberto's just south of Ponto for the best fish tacos/breakfast burritos, or Cessy's at Carlsbad Village Drive and PCH. They also have the best fish tacos/breakfast burritos (I can never decide which is better).
I dunno how often you make it out to Cali, but in the Fall you gotta surf Swami's (Encinitas) and Rincon (Santa Barbara). Respect the locals and wait your turn, goes without saying, right?. Avoid the before-work and noontime crowds, they're not very generous with unfamiliar faces, and besides, they're on the clock. Mid-week, mid-morning to late-morning is best crowd-wise. Avoid surfing on the weekends if you can. If it's chest high or better, it will be worth it.
Further north of LA, the Sheraton at the Harbor in Ventura is nice and reasonable, and just 10 min from the point break at "C" Street (another less than secret spot). Further north the Cliff House Inn on the beach at Mussel Shoals (Little Rincon) is a cool setup, even though rooms are small and a little funky. You can surf right in front of the hotel or make the 5 min drive north to Rincon. Lots of great ($$$) hotels in Santa Barbara. The Wife will love Santa Barbara, great shoping on State Street and great restaraunts (Brophy Bros at the Harbor is my favorite, so is the Palace Cafe, and the Cajun Kitchen for breakfast). Town of Cambria north of Morrow Bay on the Central Cali Coast is very romantic and quaint. There's a Best Western on the beach at Pico Creek in San Simeon. Can be a little sharky in the Fall. A tour of Hearst's Castle just up the road in San Simeon is worth the admission. Lots of secret surf places along the Central Coast. Driving PCH above Morrow Bay can be a little sketchy due to fog, especially at night. Big Sur/Carmel/Montery/Santa Cruz follow in that order. Really breathtaking scenery. You'll probably be out ot time by then, or close to it. And then there's San Francisco...
awsome info.. thanks much. this will be my first trip to cali. I am really looking foward to a pointbreak. all we have in florida is beachbreak that is rarely lined up and in good form.
Are there scenic points along PCH that you guys would reccomend.. Waterfalls, overlooks etc...
Thanks again. Just bought 2 8GB cards for the 20D, so i will definately share my trip when its over
You haven’t listed budget guidelines, but if budget allows, there are some higher end places along the San Diego County coast. One is L’Auberge right next to the beach in Del Mar - they’ll actually have the bellhop store your board and you can walk to the surf. Lineup can be crowded there because of accessability and proximity to Old Del Mar, but it breaks most days.
There is a spa for your wife, and plenty of decent and even nice restaurants within easy walking distance.
Depends on what you’re looking for, but it is your honeymoon.
ventura has accomadations right on the beach at a decent surf spot . i believe it's called the Crown Plaza....further north, shell beach and morro bay have some neat litle places to stay with reasonable rates.from there i'd try and hang in big sur for a day or two then work your way up towards SF via places like santa cruz, half moon bay, pacifica,etc..
Have to mostly agree with NoMasTomas. With these exceptions: in Carlsbad check out the fish house Veracruz great eats and not expensive. While in Encinitas/Leucadia go to Grand View and walk up the beach a was for some uncrowded breaks.
Also if you make it to Cambria (first town south of hearst castle) find the little corner bakery in the middle of town. They have the best bear-claws on the planet. From there head up the coast to the only campground between cambria and bigsur and take a walk and/or surf at Sand Dollar.
for those who asked, we are trying to be fairly moderate in our spending and hotels.. though a couple nice dinners and a nice room for a couple nights would be cool
When you get up to Halfmoon Bay, stay at the Ritz Carlton. Thats from the American Wedding movie i.e. pubs land on the wedding cake. haha. But, great venue stayed there 2 months ago and was the best hotel Ive ever been to. Tell the staff its your honeymoon, you'll get spoiled! Enjoy the trip!
FYI - San Diego County is pretty diverse in appearance and feel - everything from very polished (La Jolla, Coronado) to rather eclectic (Encinitas/Leucadia). I know the rest of the coast can be as well. If you give everyone here some more guidelines as to what you’re looking for, that might help eliminate any unwanted surprises.
If you decide to stop in Monterey Ca., send me a pm and we can surf if it's a weekend. Your welcome to any or all of my boards including do it yourself fishes. For relatively affordable accomodations check some of the hotel/motels on Munras Ave. Nothing is very far from this location. Beautiful coastline, fickle surf. Lots of places to eat. Most of them cater to the tourist crowd. More family oriented down home grinds can be found in Seaside a stone's throw away.
Most importantly, congratulations on getting married. My only advice is to remember marriage is a marathon and not a sprint. When you two 'hit the wall' don't give up and keep going and you'll get your 'second wind.' I hope you two have a happy life together and make healthy babies( good for my business),Mike
That’s a great offer, rooster, and if it were my trip, I’d take you up on it. I’ve always liked Monterrey and I’ve been curious about surf the few times I’ve been up there. Unfortunately, we always pass through briefly and only to visit the aquarium. What kinds of breaks are around Monterrey? Is there a point at the north side of the bay?
The north side of the Bay is Santa Cruz. Yes, there is point surf there. Monterey Co. has rocky reef breaks and pounding beach breaks. Very fickle. If you like big, knarly, rocky stuff in winter you can find that here, too. It's cold, windy, and sharky. It's a small, close knit surf community. I love it. PM me if your up this way for a surf. Mike