A Terrific First Day of Motoring Adventure in California—Brunch in Irvine, Pausing in Montecito ad Santa Barbara and Arriving at Morro Bay

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Los Angeles-Morro Bay, California

A Terrific First Day of Motoring Adventure in California—Brunch in Irvine, Pausing in Montecito ad Santa Barbara and Arriving at Morro Bay

And so the day dawned when we began our driving tour of Northern California. We awoke, showered and got dressed for a long drive ahead. But just as we were checking out, we discovered that our room included breakfast in the adjoining restaurant. Hence, we made our way to the restaurant at The Glenmark and ordered decaff coffee for the two of us and Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon for me and Eggs Over Easy with Hash Browns and Sausages for Llew. As Chriselle and AJ arrived just before we were seated, they shared our breakfast which was humongous to begin with and would leave all of us room for brunch as that was where we were headed.

Brunch With Friends in Irvine:

Yes, indeed. The next item son our agenda was Brunch in Irvine at the home of our Bombay landlandy, Annu, who had graciously invited us for a meal while en route northwards. Annu was accompanied by her daughters Deepti and Ritu and her spouse Kinshook and her cute little grandson, Vir. Of course, we had a very happy reunion with them as they are extremely hospitable and gracious and treated us like royalty. Brunch was a variety of Indo-Western foods: Annu had taken the trouble to make us idlis with sambar and coconut chutney (as a first course, as it were) and followed it up with masala omlettes served over hot, buttered toast with semolina pudding or sheera together with fruit. Gosh, were we stuffed! But, best of all, we really got to catch up as Chriselle was meeting Ritu and Kinshook for the first time while re-connecting with Deepti whom we had all met last year. Vir has grown up so sweetly. We loved their new home with its spaciousness and its outdoor space and the quiet environs of their locality. After we had also discussed some business matters very cordially, we had to take our leave of our generous hosts and continue on our long way northwards. What a lovely break it was and how delighted we were to have had the opportunity to squeeze in a visit with them!

The Drive Northwards Continues--Montecito and Santa Barabara:

And so, as our journey continued, we made our way along the scenic route, occasionally going past the blue of the Pacific Ocean as at landmark spots such as Malibu. The Pacific Coast Highway is always a joy to drive along and we truly enjoyed it. We had good music in the car to entertain us and we kept our travel spirits up. Just before we got to Santa Barbara (which we had visited before), I requested we drive through Montecito as I have suddenly heard so much about it, being the US residence of Prince Harry. Since it was a Sunday, the place was particularly quieter than usual, but it was still quite interesting to drive around it, to take in the multi-million dollar properties with their high gates, manicured lawns and sprawling gardens. We stopped at a gas station to fill up. The place was called Milpas Motors. We used the facilities and took a few pictures of the antique cars that were parked there for sale—quite swanky indeed--before we continued on our way. As we were all so full, we did not have any intentions of stopping for lunch but kept ourselves snacking healthily on nuts.

Since Santa Barbara was so close by and I was looking for a soap and hand lotion caddied set in TJ Maxx, we stopped in the main street of the pretty town. However, I did not find the items and moved quickly on. Just before we left Santa Barbara, we passed by a Mexican mariachi band crossing the street which provided us with an interesting photo op.

The route was generally quite stimulating visually especially when we passed occasional bodies of water. Of these, Cachuma Lake was especially vast and pretty as we made our way towards Morro Bay. It was not too long before we reached our destination and our accommodation—a place called The Landing at Morro Bay. Yes, it offered wonderful sea views of a very pretty part of California.

Viewing Morro Bay, Glimpsing Morro Rock and Dinner while watching the Buffalo Bills Play:

Just before we arrived at our lodging for the night, we had stopped at In ‘N Out Burgers to pick up dinner as once we reached the hotel, we knew we’d stay put. The Bills were playing tonight and AJ is a huge fan. He and Llew looked forward to catching it on TV. Hence, as soon as we checked in, Llew fiddled around with the TV channels and found the game. The four of us then sat in the same room watching the game as we munched on our burgers and fries and sodas—a true-blue American meal, if ever there was one, as we undertook a true-blue American past-time.

At the end of the day, all that was left was to marvel at our location and to hope that we would explore the huge Morro Rock for which the place is known, on the morrow, in daylight. And on that happy note, we went to bed.

Until tomorrow, see ya’…