With numerous toddler-friendly actions – this is why a highway journey throughout California was the very best resolution for our two-year-old
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Santa Monica Pier (Picture: Categorical)
When you had requested me a yr in the past if I wish to take an 11-hour flight the world over with a two-year-old, adopted by a seven-day highway journey operating on an eight-hour time distinction – I might have mentioned hell no. However quick ahead to February 2025 and right here I’m not solely willingly, however eagerly speaking about how a lot it was the very best resolution for our toddler — and I might do it once more.
My husband and I, together with our practically two-and-a-half-year-old, packed our luggage earlier this month to benefit from the California sunshine. Our week was jam-packed with continuous actions all deliberate by Go to California, and we cleverly timed our highway journeys with nap time. I will offer you dad and mom a lowdown of how we managed, survived and thrived to ensure all of us acquired the very best expertise out of the journey.
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The Lodge on the Presidio (Picture: Categorical)
Blue & Gold fleet (Picture: Categorical)That features how we managed our days, what actions we ended up doing, the lodges and motels we stayed at and naturally crucial – the insane meals we ate. All while balancing the whims of a toddler.Beginning off in San Francisco, we stopped off at Santa Cruz, Morro Bay, Ventura, and eventually LA, Santa Monica.
First cease: San Francisco
Our first cease was the attractive metropolis of San Francisco. Our journey started with an 11:45AM British Airways flight from London to San Francisco. We landed at 3:00PM and swiftly navigated by customs earlier than gathering our rental automotive from Alamo.
After guaranteeing we had a automotive seat sorted, we drove to our first lodging: The Lodge at The Presidio, a historic and charming lodge that offered a peaceable retreat throughout the metropolis the place queen rooms begin from £302 per night time. This was most likely probably the most lovely lodge of the journey so we began off sturdy – located proper in entrance of the Golden Gate Bridge, it was the proper location.
That night, we explored Pier 39, a vigorous waterfront attraction the place we collected our Premium Move for entry to among the finest actions in San Francisco. We took within the sights and handled ourselves to a fast takeaway meal earlier than heading again for an early night time. Particularly so we may make sure that our toddler had a very good night time’s sleep and began the journey in direction of adjusting to the eight hour jet lag.
The subsequent day, with a well-rested toddler, we began our day at Aquarium of the Bay, a mesmerising expertise for little ones. She loved seeing all of the fish and did not need to go away!
We lastly lured her out and just some minutes stroll away determined to hop on the Blue & Gold Fleet cruise – this took us underneath the Golden Gate Bridge and with the solar shining, it was like we had been in a film.
The boat tour took throughout in direction of Alcatraz and was a very good hour! Though it was windy, my daughter did not need to sit inside – she needed to see the ocean and benefit from the views which was so good to see. We then walked across the wharf, grabbed a fast snack and my toddler rushed to the merry-go-round to take a seat on the horse.
We utilised the drive to the California Academy of Sciences to ensure our toddler had a fast nap, so she was able to see the fascinating rainforest dome and planetarium. After this, we took a leisurely stroll by Golden Gate Park, letting our toddler burn off vitality.
Our night concluded with a pleasant dinner at Scoma’s, a seafood restaurant with gorgeous waterfront views, earlier than returning to The Lodge at The Presidio for our final night time in San Francisco.
The spotlight of this night was the contemporary crab which is a must have.
Scoma’s restaurant – crab (Picture: Categorical)
Second cease: Santa Cruz
After an early checkout, the next day we departed for Santa Cruz, a brief 1.5-hour drive. Our vacation spot was Seashore Avenue Inn + Suites, an oceanfront lodge with quick access to the boardwalk, the place we stayed within the Pool Patio Room (out there from £107 per night time).
Lunch at The Picnic Basket was a refreshing cease, providing domestically sourced meals with a view of the seaside. Straight after we went to go to a preferred toy store, Infantile, the place there have been limitless selections for my little human to decide on a gift! The neighborhood really feel of the store was evident because it was one in every of its form within the space. Subsequent we stopped off on the Bookshop Santa Cruz the place we spent a very good hour.
The youngsters part was fairly massive with a pleasant selection – we even discovered a guide about Pakistan there and acquired just a few presents for our toddler. This retailer was enormous and we did not even get an opportunity to discover the grownup sections correctly.
Late afternoon was spent exploring Santa Cruz Wharf, indulging in candy treats at Martini’s on the Wharf. My toddler had been reminiscing and desirous to see extra sea lions from our aquarium journey in San Francisco so she was excited to see them on the wharf!
Our day ended with a go to to Pure Bridges State Park, the place we marveled on the sandstone arches and picturesque shoreline, adopted by a fully scrumptious meal at Jack O’Neil restaurant on the wharf, earlier than settling in for the night time.
It is secure to say we had a fully jam packed day and made the a lot of the one night time cease over!
We wakened in Santa Cruz and had breakfast at The Grove, Felton. I had the very best grilled cheese of my life and my husband nonetheless will not cease raving about his Turkish Eggs.
Earlier than heading to Morro Bay, we made a memorable cease at Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton. The classic prepare trip by towering redwoods was an absolute spotlight for our toddler, who was fascinated by the majestic bushes.
Roaring Camp Railroads (Picture: Categorical)
Third cease: Morro Bay
Though today did not go as deliberate because of the heavy rain, we managed to have a terrific cease! A 2.5-hour drive took us to The Pacific Motel (commonplace king rooms from £127/night time) in Cayucos, a captivating coastal retreat the place I do want we had longer to spend as a result of this was the cosiest but modern keep.
The rain meant that we had been held up in site visitors and ended up lacking the sundown we had deliberate to observe at Cayucos Pier earlier than eating at Home windows on the Water.
Nonetheless, the restaurant did make up for the climate as we indulged in heat contemporary seafood, I opted for the salmon and it was divine. I might have liked to come back again to this place the subsequent day when the climate cleared up, nonetheless we had been quick on time.
Regardless of wet climate, the subsequent morning we embraced a slower tempo and went to breakfast at Hidden Kitchen. Right here I had the very best waffles of my life and I’m not exaggerating. Made with Blue Corn, this cute breakfast place made us realise that Morro Bay doesn’t play about on the subject of meals. I went for the Monterey Mushroom which got here with sautéed mushroom, bell pepper, and onion, melted havarti cheese, avocado, hk sauce, arugula.
The parts had been completely enormous however this can be a must-have in the event you’re visiting Morro Bay. Sadly our E-Boat expertise that was deliberate for today was cancelled, and the wet options such because the Morro Bay Museum of Pure Historical past had been additionally closed. So, we ended up driving to Ventura, our subsequent cease, sooner than deliberate.
Hidden Kitchen – Blue Corn Waffles (Picture: Categorical)
Fourth cease: Ventura
We acquired to Ventura and checked into the stunning Crown Plaza Ventura Seashore (commonplace rooms from £178/night time) in time for a sundown. Once more, because the climate was not in our favour, we ended up watching the sundown from our lodge balcony because it was going through the seaside. This additionally allowed our toddler to relaxation in meal time just a few hours later.
Dinner at Café Fiore was a comfortable affair, and we appreciated the nice and cozy hospitality of Ventura, a lesser-known gem on the California coast. We had Italian meals which was warming and all the time welcome, the place was packed! Which means it is common with the locals.
We acquired an early night time and the subsequent day we began with breakfast at Busy Bee Café, a basic 50s-style diner that may be a hit with each youngsters and adults. I ordered the Honolulu Pancakes which had been completely divine, and we even put in a coin to decide on a tune on the jukebox which was a enjoyable expertise!
After a morning assembly on the Ventura Guests Bureau, we determined to discover the native space, and fortunately every little thing was very shut by. The climate was additionally lastly on our facet and we managed to catch the solar! We took a stroll at Ventura Botanical Gardens which was a pleasant stroll to an exquisite view of the ocean.
The Ventura Botanical Gardens is residence to over 120,000 totally different crops, all representing the 5 Mediterranean climates. It is thought-about a usually simple to reasonable nature stroll with a gradual incline as you stroll up the hill – even my toddler was in a position to stroll it!
Ventura Botanical Gardens (Picture: Categorical)
After this we stopped off at Rice By Mama to take pleasure in some genuine Thai meals – I liked the variability this place had, we even ended up chatting to some locals who mentioned they all the time come right here for Thai meals and even deliver their associates from Santa Monica.
As soon as we had completed our scrumptious lunch we acquired within the automotive and drove to the Channel Islands Customer Harbour the place we loved a scenic stroll searching on the sea.
Right here was most likely my toddler’s favorite cease as we headed over to Coastal Cone to seize some ice cream. My toddler liked the fish formed cones! And for us adults, we loved distinctive flavours like matcha and ube tender serve which had been very welcome with the sunny climate.
From right here, we lastly drove to our subsequent cease – Santa Monica.
Remaining cease: Santa Monica, LA
Arriving in LA, we checked into our family-friendly lodging The Pierside Lodge (Pierside king from £242/night time) – driving as much as this was surreal as a result of we had been greeted by the coast and palm bushes. Our lodge was proper opposire Santa Monica Pier which was iconic. When it comes to location and hospitality, this lodge was perfection.
As soon as we put our luggage down we headed the The Browsing Fox for dinner the place we had been hosted by a member of the Santa Monica Tourism & Journey crew. This restaurant had such a wide selection of meals, a fusion of Japanese and Mexican. We had shishito peppers, gochuagang mac and cheese, lobster roll and fish tacos!
When you’re within the space make sure that to verify this place out because it was bursting with flavours.
LA Zoo (Picture: Categorical)
We headed off to mattress to recooperate for the next day which was jam-packed. We had been planning to pack in Common Studios and LA Zoo in the identical day as we solely had two days in Santa Monica, so we grabbed a fast espresso and pastried from Espresso Cielo – advisable by locals.
We headed straight to Common Studios and my toddler had the time of her life. It was magical – deapsite top restrictions on a lot of the rides there have been areas that had been very toddler pleasant. She completely liked the Common Studios tour, and the toddler dinosaur play space. Alongside this she actually loved exploring Mario Kart!
We spent round three hours there which was sufficient as we had precedence passes so had been in a position to trip share and skip the queues. Then we headed to LA Zoo – fortunately our toddler slept within the automotive for a fast 30 minute energy nap.
She wakened simply in time to discover to zoo and actually needed to take the flamingos residence! LA Zoo is a must-see with youngsters, there’s simply a lot to see because it’s enormous! The giraffes, zebras, elephants and gorillas had been a prime favorite.
For our ultimate day, we visited Santa Monica Pier, the climate was completely superb. We had tickets to go on the rides so we managed to go on an airplane fashion merry go spherical which my daughter liked.
We then walked round taking within the sights of the seaside and my toddler actually needed to go to the sand. So, though we had a flight to catch within the night we thought why not let her get a detailed up. We headed all the way down to the seaside and he or she walked on the sand, she was a bit hesitant nevertheless it was undoubtedly a core reminiscence.
After this we went to The Curious Palate for lunch – the place we loved seasonal farm-to-table dishes straight from the kitchen. We had the freshest shrimp tacos right here! I might extremely suggest a cease right here if you wish to attempt a freshly cooked meal.
This was located proper reverse the Cayton Kids’s Museum. Right here, my toddler went loopy for all of the actions! They’d EVERYTHING.
Santa Monica seaside (Picture: Categorical)
This was the proper finish to the journey because it meant she was drained out for our flight later that night. She was operating round, leaping within the ball pit, taking part in with the position play procuring space, drawing, constructing, pretending to be a vet, climbing! You title it, they’d it.
When you’re within the space and have youngsters this can be a must-visit place! After this we needed to drag her out of the play space and he or she wasn’t very joyful, I feel she may have spent the entire day there if we did not have a flight to catch.
Remaining ideas
Regardless of the preliminary challenges of jet lag and a busy itinerary, our toddler tailored rapidly, making the journey a rewarding expertise. By planning round nap instances, choosing stroller-friendly points of interest, and permitting for flexibility, we turned what may have been a frightening highway journey right into a collection of unforgettable household recollections. California proved to be an unimaginable vacation spot for a highway journey, providing an ideal mixture of journey, rest, and family-friendly enjoyable.
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The one factor I’ve learnt as a lesson to all dad and mom is – toddlers adapt. The adapt very simply! On journeys like this I might advise to let go of the stress and concentrate on little one pleasant actions like we did, and let their our bodies take the lead on the subject of nap time on the go and slowing down. That means, you may discover your journey to go far more easily.
For additional info, head to visitcalifornia.com and plan your journey!
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