LA/Big Sur/Ojai

 //  Travel

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great 4th of July!! I am back from our road trip up the coast and I decided to break this recap up into 2 parts – the places and the food. You guys love the What I Ate posts so much and I took so many food photos that it will be easier to just do a whole separate post about the food! For this post, we have the places…

BigSur3BigSur2We spent our first night in LA at the Hotel Bel-Air and got the night started with a pre-dinner cocktail hour on our patio. I loved the hotel’s pink walls and outdoor glass fire features!

 Dress: Indah // Shoes: Vince

BigSur4We woke up the next morning and did a great workout + breakfast before starting the drive up to Big Sur.

BigSur8I highly recommend doing this drive at least once even though it can be a little nerve wracking with tiny roads and sharp curves. It’s so beautiful!

BigSur1We checked into one of my favorite places in the world, Post Ranch Inn,  and decided to do a casual dinner alfresco at Big Sur Bakery. We split a bottle of rose and sat outside with a beautiful view and it was so perfect.

Skirt: Le Salty Label // Top: Free People // Shoes: Vince

BigSur11The next day we pooled it after a killer workout and yoga in a yurt.BigSur13Bikini: Salt Swimwear – top, bottom

BigSur9We had dinner at the Sierra Mar restaurant at Post Ranch Inn and they do an amazing 4 or 9 course dinner. I don’t always love coursed out meals because I like to order my own food, but we’ve done this one before and everything is SO AMAZING! And you have this view!BigSur10Top: Nightcap // Bag: Chloe

BigSur6We woke up the next morning to this baby deer on our roof! Cutest!

BigSur12We spent the morning hiking and exploring and the weather was so beautiful that day! After our hike, we had breakfast and decided to go workout at the hotel gym before getting massages. Then we showered and went to dinner at a well-known place in Big Sur called Nepenthe (food in next post!)BigSur7After dinner, we came back to Post Ranch and decided to do a late night jacuzzi dip. After all our our physical activity hiking, yoga-ing, and working out it felt sooooo goood!

Bikini: Stone Fox Swim

BigSur5The next day we hopped in the car and cruised down to Ojai for the last night of our trip at the beautiful Ojai Valley Inn. We arrived in the late afternoon, had dinner, slept hard, had breakfast, and cruised back down to San Diego. I loved breaking the drive up like this because it made it much more manageable than driving the whole coast in one day.

Like I said, next post will be all about the food and what I eat when I’m traveling! Have you guys done a Cali coast trip and what are your favorite places to stay?

X

  • Liz Stark

    I have to admit, I’m not a fan of road trips – I’m too impatient, haha. But your recap totally makes me want to reconsider my feelings on road trips. Wow, all those beautiful sights! California is such a picturesque state. Can’t wait for more of your trip recap! X

  • Rachel D.

    I love your pics of the beautiful roadtrip ! Next week I am taking a short road trip to Mackinac Island for the weekend and I can’t wait! Taking road trips has been a part of my life since I was little with the fam. Glad you had a great 4th!

  • Alex @ True Femme

    Girl, you look so fab in these pictures! I’ve never been to Big Sur but it looks stunning and everyone I know who has gone says it’s gorgeous! BTW…any recommendations for a cute cashmere/silky hoodie for traveling?

  • Olivia

    Hi Annie! California is so beautiful! You are so lucky to live in such an amazing state 🙂 It made me appreciate road trips so much recently because my family and I did a red eye flight from the Pacific Northwest to Chicago in 1 day. It was crazy but, so worth it. I’ll email you all about the trip. Can’t wait for the food post! Have a great weekend! <3 Olivia

  • Rachel S.

    Big Sur is my favorite!! My fiance and I went a few months ago for the weekend. I’m so with you – the drive alone is incredible, although slightly different than your drive since we were coming north from SF. We had lunch and drinks at Nepenthe – such a fun and funky spot, and stopped by Big Sur Bakery for a sweet treat. I would LOVE to stay at Post Ranch Inn, it looks incredible. We stayed at a place called TreeBones, which is “glamping” in the best way possible – yurts, pool and hot tub, main lodge with fireplace, and a sushi restaurant. It was a good balance of getting to spend a lot of time outdoors, without dealing with the struggles of actual camping haha. Can’t wait to see the food you ate! xo

  • Kat Motl Meeker

    it’s all so scenic and beautiful! I think I’ve mentioned this before but about 8 yes ago when my hubby was still my boyfriend we flew to San Fran and then did a road trip up the coast, driving on hwy 1 as much as possible. That alone was so pretty and such a fun experience – lots of pulling over to take in the view and we had the best fresh figs at a little roadside stand. We drove all the way to Portland (which is awesome by the way! Lots of delish food and fun little markets) and did hiking along the way (Klamath falls, fern canyon). I would definitely like to go back and drive the coast again! Can’t wait to see all the food 🙂

  • All of this looks stellar. From the yoga to the pool to that car (that drive must have been fun!). All I aspire to do when I grow up is be able to take amazing vacations like this haha. So glad to hear you had a good trip! Cant’ wait for the next post 😀
    xx, Pia

    http://gymbagsandjetlags.com

  • Jenna

    Going to Big Sur (and hopefully staying at Post Ranch) at the end of August. Everytime I try to make resos at Post Ranch they are booked solid!! What kind of room would you recommend we get? xoxo

  • blawnde

    I know it’s always sold out!!! Because it’s amazing! You will looooooove!

  • blawnde

    haha when u grow up…I’m hoping I never do! 🙂 XX

  • blawnde

    Yes! It’s so cool that a coast trip like that is still one of your fave experiences! There is NOTHING like a road trip to really appreciate the journey. There’s such great car time with your man that you just don’t get when you fly. U will dieeee over the food…coming soon 🙂 XXO

  • blawnde

    Wasn’t Nepenthe awesome! I loved that view and the decor! We totally drove by Tree Bones and were talking about it because we read about the sushi and almost went! Post Ranch is glamping too – same thing – yurt, pool, hot tub, restaurant with fireplace. It really is so fun to be out in nature with those amazing thousands of years old trees and hiking without actually sleeping in it lol. XX

  • blawnde

    Yes! I totally am lucky and I appreciate CA sooooo much because I’m not from there! I’m originally from Phoenix and have only been in CA for 4 years so I still get a thrill every time I see the ocean/coast. Would love to hear about your trip! XX

  • blawnde

    Thank you!!! My favorite cashmere hoodie that I wear traveling/aroudn the house/morning coffee runs is this guy and its heaven on earth: http://rstyle.me/n/5mye26u66 It’s a bit pricy but I bought it last year and have worn it into the ground. Best investement for an all purpose cozy sweater piece. X

  • blawnde

    Have so much fun!!!! I haven’t been there – can’t wait to hear about it! XX

  • blawnde

    LOL, I’m with ya sister. BUT, this kind of road trip is amazing because after the drive, the destination is an amazing 5 star restort that feels super luxurious but somehow manages to still feel “nature-y”. Trust me, you would LOVE Post Ranch – if I read you right its def your kinda place! 🙂 XX

  • Alex @ True Femme

    Thank you! It’s adorable! And I think you’re right that it’s a great investment for a versatile but cozy piece.

  • Katie

    Hi! What are your healthy cocktail’s??

  • I love trips where there is a great balance between exercise, good food, good cocktails and relaxation, and it sounds like your trip was just that!

    Stephanie
    http://ishowedupinboots.com

  • Liz Stark

    You definitely read me right – sounds like the destination is MORE than worth the road trip journey! Hoping to get back to the west coast in the very near future (haven’t been out west in almost a year, which is a long time for me, haha).

    On another note, I sent you a message (last week, I think?) via your site’s contact form – no rush or even obligation to read it! Just making sure that it went through. I know you’ve been super busy with everything, so I’m not asking this to be annoying – just wanted to know if it went through 🙂

    Happy Thursday, Annie! X

  • blawnde

    Oh no I didn’t get it! would you mind re-sending to annie@blawnde.com?! sorry to ask u to do that, but sometimes the contact forms get into my spam or junk and I’m not sure why. XO

  • Liz Stark

    Oh no 🙁 I should’ve just sent it to you on Facebook instead of your site… I wrote a lot and there’s no way to recover it. Ahhh. Sorry about that! I’ll try to remember what I said and email you, haha.

  • Kari

    Hey Annie! Love all of the photos! Question: what do you use to fill in your eyebrows? They always look on point!

    Thanks,

    Kari

  • blawnde

    I’ll do a whole post about this!

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