Cole and I finally worked out a weekend to visit Uncle John (UJ) in San Diego. Cole's mom, Vicki, generously offered us their car to make a road trip out of it and so we could justify bringing our dog Georgia. I was so excited to do a road trip with Cole and Georgia and drive along the coast down Highway 1 for my first time ever. I must admit my American Highways Capstone at Bucknell still makes me have a serious appreciation for the art of road trippin'.
I came up with an idea that we should stop at several different bakeries along the way. I did my research and picked out an aggressive list of about 10-15 places. Needless to say, the 12 hour route (not including the time to be spent at each stop) I had mapped out was a bit delusional. We couldn't possibly stop at all those places in one day and and have each one be OPEN. I made a short list of my top three and Cole promised we would stop at them either on the way down to San Diego or on our return trip. Plus, UJ helped tack on two more confectionary adventures in San Diego with a visit to Haute Pink Cakes and The Gourmet Experience food festival.
I will be posting separate posts on the places we did stop, but here is the original wish list just in case anyone else wants to try it out. :)
TOUR de PASTRY: A Sugar High Down Highway 1View Larger Map
Tartine (San Francisco, CA)
Layers (Monterey, CA)
Patisserie Boissiere Restaurant (Carmel, CA)
Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant (Big Sur, CA)
Brown Butter Cookie Company (Cayucos, CA)
Art Cafe & Bakery (San Louis Obispo, CA)
Enjoy Cupcakes (Los Olivos, CA)
Renaud's Patisserie and Bistro (Santa Barbara, CA)
Le Pain Du Jour (Santa Monica, CA)
Jin Patisserie (Venice, CA)
Bluebird Cafe (Cuver City, CA)
VG Donut & Bakery (Cardiff, CA)
Haute Pink Cakes* (San Diego, CA)
*Bonus stop suggested by Uncle John!
We had absolutely GORGEOUS weather on the way down. The real treat ended up being the breath-taking panoramic views along the coast. I could not stop clicking the camera.
Here are some of my favorite shots from the road:
And a few from the trip back home:
