By ChristinaChristina writes and edits Travelling Companion. Her writing covers expeditions, food, and culture for the blog.
California Dreaming with Dad Trip Report
California Dreaming with Dad Overview Delta 757 DCA-LAX Economy Class Review Renaissance Los Angeles Airport Hotel Review Exploring California's Central Coast Exploring Los Angeles Delta 757 LAX-DCA Economy Class Review 
101 North Gaviota Pass - Highway tunnel as seen in the movies like The Graduate and Sideways
Exploring California's Central Coast Overview
Roughly half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the Central Coast of California is not well known outside of California. When Californians think of the Central Coast they usually think of the amazing food, beautiful weather, and picturesque scenery. Born and raised in the Central Coast, I was thrilled to be able to share a bit of my "home" with my new mother and father in-law. We had limited time to explore, so I built an itinerary aimed to have a quick overview of what the Central Coast can offer. AttractionsHearst Castle
Hearst Castle was one of the homes of newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in which he created his own castle with the help of the architect Julia Morgan. The castle was not finished at the time of William Randolph Hearst's death and the property is now being maintained and preserved by the California State Parks. Hearst Castle feels frozen in time as many of the original pieces are on display for visitors to enjoy including art, gardens, artifacts, and furnishings. The property is nestled on a large cattle ranch, in a mountain range, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, giving the castle's location a balance of seclusion and natural beauty.
Opulent, bordering gaudy, Hearst Castle had its own zoo, airport, theater, indoor and outdoor pool, a wine cellar built during prohibition, and three guest houses. The main house "Casa Grande" has 38 bedrooms and 42 bathrooms. The property's grandeur made its way into pop culture, including the two famous pools which were used in Lady Gaga's music video, G.U.Y. The castle offers multiple tours, which focus on different aspects of the property and change depending on the season. If you visit you are likely only going to have time for one tour and will want to come back to see different parts of the castle. Elephant Seals Beach
Just up the road from Hearst Castle is a beach where the beach goers are limited to elephant seals. Human species are regulated to the sidelines where they can look at the elephant seals bask in the sun and dip in the water. Facts and history are available to read along the walk parallel to the beach regulated to humans. There are a few benches to sit and watch the seals, but we couldn't find any bench available due to the large number of visitors. We visited during mating season, which is from early December through March; the males were quite loud. You can expect to spend about 30-45 minutes visiting with the seals.
Pismo Beach
Another hidden gem, Pismo Beach is a sleepy beach town that has appeared in movies and television shows including in Clueless and Looney Tunes. I was excited to show my Bahamian in-laws our version of beach life which is slower and involves lots of surfing. We stopped at Splash Cafe and got ourselves a delicious bread bowl of clam chowder. Then we walked the beach and the pier. My in-laws enjoyed the low-key vibes and the natural beauty at Pismo, but they were shocked on how chilly the water was. It was definitely not as warm as Bahamian waters.
Take Away
Photo of a winery lined up against the 101 freeway. Farmworkers are visible in the distance.
Visiting my hometown with my in-laws was really fun. My in-laws were excited to explore the Central Coast and surprised on how much there was to do. While we were driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, I was creating a list of all the things we missed and should do on the next visit such as:
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By RamonRamon is the creator of Traveling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further.
California Dreaming with Dad Trip Report
California Dreaming with Dad Overview Delta 757 DCA-LAX Economy Class Review Renaissance Los Angeles Airport Hotel Review Exploring California's Central Coast Exploring Los Angeles Delta 757 LAX-DCA Economy Class Review 
Dad in California
Introduction
In February 2020, I had the pleasure of taking my Dad on a trip to California for his 70th birthday. This was the first time he had traveled to the West Coast of the United States. The planning of the trip began months before when I let my Dad know that for his 70th birthday I would take him anywhere in the world. He narrowed it down to two places he was interested in visiting California, and England. After a lot of discussion, we decided to take a trip to the Central Coast of California to see my wife's family and to check out the sites in the Los Angeles area. For this trip Christina and my Mom also decided to come along and it was the first time all four of us had traveled together. I was happy to have three traveling companions along for the trip. This trip was truly eye opening my for Dad. He really loved the kindness of the people in the Central Coast of California, was surprised by the traffic in Los Angeles, and thought the beauty of the California Coast line was stunning. However, the most memorable line from our trip was him telling me he was shocked by size of California and couldn't believe it was all just one state! It also still amazes me that despite all of my trips just how much more relaxed the vibe is in California versus the East Coast.
Booking Flights
For our flights we decided to book all of the flights into and out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) because it allowed my parent's to only have one stop flight from The Bahamas. My parent's booked flights from Nassau Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) to LAX with a connection in Charlotte on American Airlines. This was the flight that had the best timing and ended up costing $426 per ticket. We had previously broken up with American Airlines and decided to match our American Airlines Gold status to Delta Silver in 2019. Since only American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Delta offered non-stop flights from Washington Reagan National (DCA) to LAX it made our selection easy. One added benefit of flying Delta on this route is that it is a premium route so we would be served a meal even in economy and have the chance (an extremely small chance) to have a same day upgrade to Delta One lie flat seats. 
Delta 757 DCA
Since we had few Delta miles and the mileage cost on this premium route was expensive, we decided to book with cash. Also, Christina had a work meeting back in Washington D.C. so we booked separate tickets. Her roundtrip DCA-LAX ticket was $413 and she earned 2,506 Delta miles which I value at $31. My roundtrip DCA- LAX ticket cost $473 and earned me 2,982 miles which I value at $36.
Booking Train
On our trip we needed to get to and from Los Angeles and Christina and I really don't like driving especially in the Los Angeles traffic. So, we decided to take the Amtrak Surfliner from Los Angeles Union Station to Santa Barbara and back. The cost was ~$30 for each of the three tickets and we redeemed Amtrak Guest Reward Points for one ticket. 
Amtrak Surfliner Train
Booking Hotels
We stayed with Christina's parents in the Central Coast and in hotels during our four nights in Los Angeles. Because my parents' flights arrived at about 11 pm and departed at 5 am we decided to stay in an airport hotel for all four nights in Los Angeles. Because of Christina's Marriott Platinum elite status we chose a Marriott brand hotel the Renaissance Los Angeles Airport Hotel. The cost was $167 for the first night and $474 for the second three-night stay. I thought both of these were quite reasonable for a California hotel and after our stay I would say this hotel offers very good value. 
Renaissance LAX
Summary
It was such an honor to take my Dad to California and even now I look back on the trip and it warms my heart. I also feel it was amazing timing since the following month the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most travel and we would have cancelled the entire trip. I look forward to sharing my reviews especially of some of the beauty of California and some interesting attractions in the Central Coast and metropolitan areas around Los Angeles. |
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