In the 1960s, Tim’s grandpa built a cabin himself in the mountains above Bishop, CA, in the small town of Aspendell. Named after the many little groves of aspen trees all over the area, Tim’s grandpa spent a lot of time at his cabin fishing, hiking, and enjoying the scenery of the Eastern Sierras. Unfortunately, I never had the privilege to meet his Papa John, but he was loved dearly by many and respected by even more. One of his final wishes was to have his and his faithful dog, Boss’s, ashes scattered at the base of Cardinal Peak by his sons and grandsons in a very clearly marked spot.
We drove up to Aspendell on a late Wednesday night after Tim’s work and my school with minimal stops. Last year, we made a weekend trip to Lone Pine and Whitney Portal for a siblings attempt at Mount Whitney, so I had seen a lot of the scenery before and I wasn’t too bummed about missing the sights of the drive.
The drive was a peaceful one–very few people were on the road, and all the stars and the Milky Way were visible as we cruised up the 395 and then headed up the mountain to Aspendell.
The next morning, all of Papa John’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren gathered together to remember him for a moment before the scattering of the ashes.
All the cousins!
Pap John loved the Eastern Sierras and Aspendell so much that he took a picture of Cardinal’s Peak and circled exactly where he wanted his final resting place to be.
No easy task to reach the peak!
This is a view of Cardinal Peak from the General Store.
While the sons and grandsons went up the mountain, the rest of us waited down at the field below to observe their progress. Among all of us, we had a single pair of binoculars, so we spent a lot of time trying to pick out the small figures climbing up the steep grade squinting and saying, “I think that’s someone?” or “There they are! … but I can’t tell who that is!”
Look at that little rascal!!
When they finally reached the top (maybe an hour and a half later), they walkie-talkied down saying, “We are releasing the ashes,” and then it was done. It was a pretty emotional moment, especially for those closest to Papa John.
After the summit to the base of Cardinal Peak was completed, the six hikers returned to camp, recovered, and then we had our memorial lunch at the Cardinal Valley Lodge where everyone who wanted to got to share something about Papa John.
Tim and his brothers. Can you tell they are related?? Hehe.
All the boys
Tim’s dad with his siblings – the three children of Papa John
After our lunch festivities, we all hung around a little longer, and then everyone split up to their respective lodgings. Tim and I decided to go fishing with his dad, and on the way, we stopped at Papa John’s original cabin that he had built in the 1960s. It was a nostalgic moment for Tim, who hadn’t seen the cabin since his grandfather sold it, but still remembered all the fun times that he had when he had stayed at it. Apparently, not too much had changed.
The original cabin!
Tim’s grandpa loved bird watching! This is a birdhouse that he had built and mounted almost 20 years ago.. And it was still there!
After taking a quick peek at the cabin, we headed to the reservoir to try our luck at fishing. The day before, Tim’s dad had caught a few trout, so we were hoping for the same.
A lesson on how to attach a worm to a hook
Action shot!
We fished for about an hour and a half, where I learned to cast a fishing line and Tim decided he wanted to buy a fishing pole and go fishing more often. Hehe. It was quite nice to spend time with Tim’s dad and just enjoy the silence and the nature and the relaxation that comes with fishing in a lake.
A boy and his father
The rest of our day was pretty uneventful–we had dinner at the cabin with just Tim’s immediate family, made s’mores, and then turned in for an early night.
The next morning, Andy had the idea of having all three brothers run from the 395 highway back up the mountain to Aspendell–a mere 17 miles. Tim’s dad dropped them off at 6:30 AM and followed them as they ran, making sure they were hydrated (and still alive. Hehe.). Tim conked out after 12 miles, and Jeff after maybe 14 miles. Andy was the last brother standing as he ran back to the Cardinal Village Resort and arrived sometime later.
Once everyone got back, we made some hasty goodbyes and headed home to pick up the doggies and stop for a quick diner breakfast in Bishop at Jack’s. Whenever Tim has done a long run, he almost ALWAYS wants a huge plate of American breakfast–usually some kind of omelette with a huge stack of pancakes. Today was no exception. Jack’s pretty much fit the bill of American breakfast diner fare to a T.
It’s funny how similar Bishop feels to the town of Lone Pine. Last year when we went to Lone Pine, we ate at an American restaurant that felt almost IDENTICAL to Jack’s. I think a lot of these small mountain towns on the eastern side of the Sierras feel very similar in look and feel. Hmm.
Jack’s Restaurant and Bakery
Because I like to collect stickers to put on my suitcase and Tim likes to put metal signs up in the garage, we stopped at the 395 Souvenir Store to pick some up, and then began the 4.5 hour drive home.
Ben’s birthday just passed, and this year, the siblings decided to go to San Luis Obispo for the weekend! Last year for his birthday, we did a Siblings in Seattle over the long weekend, and this year we ended up having a little more of a relaxed time driving up to the coast to Central California. Since this was technically Ben’s birthday weekend excursion, we picked SLO because it was his old college town and he wanted to revisit some of his old hangout spots.
Stop #1: Goleta, CA
We spent Friday night at Casey’s in-laws’ home in Goleta, CA. Tim was really enjoying the drive and pointing out various local spots since he lived in Isla Vista for two years during college. The home we stayed at is in the hills above Goleta and has an avocado orchard on the property. We arrived after dark, so it was hard to see the surrounding area, but the next morning, it was a really nice day!
Hass avocados from the orchard. So delicious!!Ben and Casey striking a pose!
After a delicious breakfast, we headed to church in Santa Barbara. We stayed for the service, then said goodbye to Casey’s in-laws, and then it was on to the next stop.. Solvang!
Walking through the courtyard to the main chapel area.
Stop #2: Solvang
Welcome to Solvang, the Danish capital of America!
We north on the 154 highway past Lake Cachuma and past the Chumash Casino (one of Ben’s old card hangouts back in the day), and then arrived at Solvang. Parking was pretty difficult to find–there was a lot of street parking and some free public lots, but it looked like lots of people thought it was a good Saturday afternoon to visit Solvang.
The whole time before go to Solvang, I actually thought it was Dutch (haha..) before we got there, and I was quite surprised to find that it was ACTUALLY Danish. I was looking forward to having some Dutch fare to remind me of Amsterdam.
I had been to Solvang once before when I was young, but the only thing I remembered were the tandem bicycles and the 4-person Surrey bikes as well as the windmills. With that being said, Solvang was pretty much what I remembered it to be. Hehe. There were lots of windmills around, Danish facades on the houses, and a lot of tchotchke shops and other random souvenirs.
Hans Christian Andersen bust in the center of town! (if Tim isn’t blinking, then Jane is!)
One really cool shop worth a visit is the Renaissance Antiques shop. It’s full of really interesting antiques and musical boxes that they will play upon request! The coolest thing I saw was this Virtuoso Violin, which is essentially a player piano but for violins (though after just doing a quick Google search, it turns out it was invented in 1998.. -_-).
Right near the village green on the cornerFull of really cool stuff!
After the antique shop, we visited the Hans Christian Andersen museum, which ended up being an upper floor of a puzzle/bookshop. This is definitely a skippable stop–I literally walked up, poked around a bit, and walked downstairs. I think this is really for kids maybe 10 and under.
Ben and Jane waiting for Casey and Tristan to finish up the museum
We were all getting quite hungry, especially since it was maybe around 2 PM, so we started heading towards the Mortensen’s Bakery, which is one of the “must-sees” of Solvang. Across from the bakery, we first went into the Solvang Spice Merchant shop, which was a cool little shop with an array and large selection of different spices and rubs.
Ben pointing out some spice!
I ended up buying a Santa Maria Red Rub–it will be a tasty rub to try on a steak or tri-tip when summer rolls around. I love collecting things when I travel, but as I’ve gotten a little older and traveled more, I stopped buying most souvenirs except: smashed pennies (I LOVE collecting these! Especially from other countries!), herbs and spices, and snacks. Sometimes I will purchase artwork if it seems like it would fit in our Bear House, but mostly it ends up being snacks.
At this point, we were REALLY hungry and in search of food that wasn’t going to cost us an arm and a leg. Since Casey and Tim are both vegetarian, we can’t always just eat wherever since we like to give them more choices than just a veggie burger.
Right near the bakery in a small mini plaza was a cluster of restaurants, so we headed over there. The place we chose was called Fresco Valley Cafe which, despite its blah exterior, was surprisingly delicious and excellent value. I was torn between the tuna melt and the seared ahi burger, and I ended up going for the ahi burger. It ended up being quite tasty, and the fries were exceptional. Tim and my sister split a veggie sandwich and grilled cheese entree, and according to both of them, it was delicious!
Seared ahi burger and fries. Yum!Tim’s half veggie sandwich and half grilled cheese. The grilled cheese had some toasted Parmesan on the outside that made it crunchy and savory.
After that, we headed back to Mortensen’s Bakery for some overprice Danish desserts and pastries–though to be honest, they were pretty good, and how many times are you actually in Solvang? After this trip, probably not that often. Hehe.
Mortensen’s BakeryCasey, Tristan, and Ben displaying their pastries
After the pastries, we headed back to our car to drive 2 miles to the next stop…
Stop #3: Ostrich Land, U.S.A.
This was a quick hop back on the 246 Highway, and then a quick left into a gravel and dirt parking lot. This was a really pretty tree-lined stretch of the highway, and then you pull into this parking lot with high 8-foot fences so you can’t see the birds at all without paying the fare.
The ticket to get into Ostrich Land was $5, and $1 for a little dog dish with a handle full of pellets to feed the birds. To be honest, it didn’t look like much from the outside, and I was beginning to doubt my suggestion to stop here. There was a line of about 20 people out the door waiting to pay, so we got in line (in the gift shop) and checked out some ostrich memorabilia while we waited.
At this point, it was maybe around 4:30 PM, so something to note is that a lot of online reviewers mentioned getting there earlier to feed the ostriches when they were still hungry, and that later in the day, they get pretty full. Knowing this, we opted out of buying any ostrich food, since a few people had returned their food bowls since the birds weren’t feeling very hungry anymore.
Talk about a rough exterior!
After we paid, we walked through the door past a few ostrich and emu infographics to see this!
Those are some big birds!
Apparently, ostriches full grown are about 9-feet tall and have eyeballs the size of tennis balls. Although the tennis ball thing sounds a little bit too large, they were pretty gigantic birds.
Looking at the emus, I could see how they might be related to dinosaurs somehow. They had this weird, wild look to them (more than the ostriches, anyhow) and looked a little frightening.
The emus were terrifyingIt was huge when it stood up!
Something funny happened while we were at the ostrich farm: while everyone was standing around checking them out (there were tons of families with small children, adults of varied age, and teenagers), one of the big ostriches started making this really weird guttural sound with this throat. It had been lying there, and then all of a sudden it stood up while making this noise, so of course everyone rushes over to that pen to see what it was about to do. It stood up, and then all of sudden, something large (and obscene) unfurled from behind the ostrich, and splorted right on the ground. Everyone was like, “what is that… huh??… EWW!!!!” It was both disgusting but simultaneously hilarious, as everyone gave a collect, eeeeEEEEWWW!!!
Needless to say, this incident created a great deal of ostrich jokes for the rest of the trip. Hehe.
After this quick stop (probably no more than 45 minutes or so), we headed back onto the 246 Highway to the 101 Freeway to our next destination.
Stop #4: Pismo Beach
Our next stop was Pismo Beach! We drove to the downtown area, got lucky with beach parking, and headed for the Pismo Beach Pier. It was getting close to sunset, so it was a really nice time to be at the beach. It was more crowded than usual (or so I was told), but it was also Memorial Day weekend.
Tim posing for me
The pier walk was really pleasant, and there were lots of families strolling around, as well as fishermen casting some lines to catch some fish.
My favorite modelGroup photo (minus me)Ben took this picture for us!Look out!!!Pier shot!
After walking around the downtown area, we headed back to our cars and drove the last leg of our drive for the day to San Luis Obispo.
Stop #5: San Luis Obispo
We got to SLO and then checked into our suite at the Embassy Suites. After we relaxed, enjoyed their happy hour in the main area, we went to downtown SLO to meet up with one of Ben’s best friends from college and groomsman, John. Ben gave us a mini driving tour of SLO as we drove to dinner by showing us the taco place he used to eat at (though it used to be called something else), the first apartment he lived in his first year, the apartment he lived in for the rest of his years at school, and the Taco Bell that makes a ton of money since it’s the only place open after midnight anywhere.
While we waited for John, we checked out some of the little shops and walked over to the Mission San Luis Obispo. A few years ago, Casey and Tristan made it their goal to visit every single mission in California (which they did). Tim and I don’t have the same desire. Hehe.
Something I always think about whenever I go to Europe (or other countries too) is how old the buildings are in the cities. These buildings are hundreds if not 1,000 years old, and yet the locals walk around them like they don’t even notice it! The oldest buildings in California are probably the missions, and those are probably only around 300ish years old.
I guess if you were used to seeing old buildings and structures every day as part of your commute, you’d probably stop noticing them. Hmm.
Tristan throwing up a shaka in front of the mission!
Afterwards, we met up with John at Firestone Grill. This is one of Ben’s favorite (if not THE favorite) place to eat in SLO. He didn’t even have to tell me that; if ever tri-tip sandwiches comes up in conversation, inevitably Ben will mention the tri-tip sandwiches from Firestone and how nothing can beat them.
A lot of people evidently share this opinion, since when we got there, the line was probably 40 people long and out the door into the courtyard. The line goes really fast, and there is a lot of seating, so it wasn’t too bad of a wait. We luckily snagged a table inside since it was getting chilly and waited for our food.
The price at Firestone is really excellent value–when they give you a basket of fries, it is a BASKET. The sandwiches were HUGE and probably like 6 layers of tri-tip on a super crispy (and yet soft) buttery french roll. Tim gave the veggie sandwich two thumbs up and devoured a ton of onion rings. Pictures don’t do the food justice, so if you are headed that way, just take my word for it and check it out. You won’t be disappointed! After dinner, we were all pooped, so we headed back to the hotel to sleep.
Stop #6: Hearst Castle
Our next stop on our trip was… the Hearst Castle!! I really enjoy this place, and no trip to the Central Coast would have been complete without stopping here. Prices are decent too–if you buy a ticket on site (no time reservation), it is $25; if you buy on on Recreation.gov, it is $25 + $8 for a online fee.
When we were younger, I want to say I was around 8 years old or so, our parents took us on a 4th of July trip up to Hearst Castle and Monterey Bay. I remember this trip as being such a cool roadtrip, as we drove up in our family sedan (my parents never bought a minivan), and checked out the area. My father is a general contractor that designed and built our family home himself, so I think he really loved the aspect of the Hearst Castle that Hearst had this dream to build a huge house on a hill that overlooked everything in his own little kingdom, and especially the fact that Hearst just went for it and fulfilled his dream.
I think visiting the Hearst Castle when we were younger might have sparked my brother’s interest in architecture as well, and it was just a really great memory. When Tim and I have kids, we’re definitely taking a roadtrip up here!
The drive from SLO to San Simeon was a rainy and gray drive through several sleepy beach towns, and really relaxing. So relaxing that Tim told me to stop playing gentle piano music because it was making him sleepy. Hehe.
Driving through Cayucos. Pretty quiet on Sunday morning.Welcome to the Hearst Castle!
Once we got to the Hearst Castle parking lot, we parked and went into the main lobby area to check in and get our wristbands for the tour. It was pretty packed (our reservation was at 12:30 PM), so if you plan to visit on a holiday weekend, perhaps the online reservation is a good move. There are also a BUNCH of penny smashing machines there too. Maybe too many. Hehe.
After you check in, there is a little tram waiting area outside where you go to different gates depending on which tour you’re doing. We did the Grand Rooms tour (which was good since last time Tim and I went–coincidentally 6 years earlier to the weekend, we did the Upper Rooms tour).
View on the winding tram ride of the ocean and rolling golden hills
As soon as we got off the tram, the tour began of the outer parts of the property, and then moved indoors. If you haven’t been in the last 6 years, they changed the way the tours work. First, groups will go with the walking tour guide around the outside and then indoors for about an hour, and then when the tour is concluded, you are free to roam the gardens at your own pace to check things out. At the end, you exit the grounds through the famous indoor pools and get on the tram immediately to take you back to the base area.
Casa del Sol – one of the guest “cottages” that would house celebrities of the times while they stayed on Hearst’s estate.Neptune Pool – the columns and artwork were all real art pieces and portions of structures in ancient Europe – Hearst had them brought here to give his estate a feeling of authenticity.The excessively elaborate front door. All the pieces were taken from many different places, and thrown together in this mish mash of world history. A little over the top.This was the Refectory (dining room). It was the ONLY dining room on the whole property–Hearst wanted everyone to eat together. Apparently, this inspired the long dining tables that they depicted in the Harry Potter movies.The Billiard Room. Lots of Spanish influence in this room and on the ceiling. The term, “pool,” comes from the idea that when gambling at billiards, all the money is placed together in a pool to be won.Group shot with Neptune Pool in the backgroundTim got scolded by staff immediately after this picture. Hehe.View of the Mediterranean garden and another guest cottageCertainly a very distinct profile.The Roman Pool – this was part of the “gym” area with a weightlifting area and beneath the tennis courts. Last stop before getting on the shuttle!
After we concluded our tour and inspection of the grounds, we headed back to the parking lot on the shuttle. Everyone was feeling a bit hungry, so we decided on one last stop in Cambria before heading home.
Stop #7: Cambria, CA
The final stop on our trip was Linn’s Easy as Pie Cafe, which my sister saw on a blog as a “must-see” stop. We stopped here to try the olallieberry pie (a mix of raspberry and blackberry flavors). I also got a cup of the olallieberry lemonade (which was delicious until I spilled the uncovered cup all over my car).
The cafe itself is an order-at-the-counter type of place, and they give you a number and bring it to you. The inside had all kinds of farmy decor with an outdoor feel–the tables were covered with vinyl table cloths and had patio chairs for sitting.
Very nondescript exterior.Olallieberry pie — we ended up purchasing an entire pie and cut it into 6 pieces.It was pretty delicious!
As far as pies go, I would say that this was a fine pie. It wasn’t so amazingly delicious that I would go out of my way to tell everyone about it, but it is definitely would be worth a mention if they told me they were coming up this way. The crust was super buttery and flaky, and the inside was not overly sweet as some berry pies are wont to be.
My sister-in-law, Jane, loves to bake pies, and she is rather good at a tasty apple pie, so maybe my pie standards are too high (see our Pie ‘n Burger review at the bottom of the JPL post).
BUT, with all this being said, the olallieberry lemonade was absolutely fantastic. It wasn’t too sweet, there was absolutely no fruity bits (it was probably really well-strained), and it was this really pleasant pinkish color. (I will say I tried to recreate this when I got home with blackberries, but either I didn’t put enough sugar or I put too much lemon juice and it wasn’t nearly as tasty).
Mmmm. Olallieberry lemonade!
After the quick pie stop, we hit the road again for the long haul back to Southern California. We stopped at the Costco in Santa Maria for gas and Starbs, then to our parents’ house for a homecooked Vietnamese meal.
The next day, we hit the pickle ball courts (they were PACKED with retirees), hit around a few balls, and then went to Casey and Tristan’s house for a laidback Memorial Day BBQ. Tristan makes a fine cheeseburger, if I do say so myself!
We also did a a salt tasting test using different types of sea salts, salts from around the world, as well as Morton’s table salt, to see if the regular person could differentiate expensive salts from other salts. The consensus was… no. The only thing that everyone agreed on was that the table salt was the identifiable and extremely salty in comparison. Next up, RC Cola vs. Shasta!! Hehe.
Tim and I headed home to pick up Winnie and Charlie from the dog sitter, and we just relaxed for the rest of the evening before our work week ahead.
