The Birthday Trip: Year 33
A solo roadtrip down the California coast to Big Sur and Pacific Grove, with reviews of my two hotels - the Martine Inn and Deetjen's Big Sur
This wasn’t originally going to be a dedicated post. I spent all week finishing additions to the US, Greece, Caribbean, Mexico, and Rajasthan hotel lists and making sure to have photos for all. But then I finished writing about last weekend, and even after the fourth edit, I clocked in at 3,900 words. So, today’s all about how I spent last weekend. My Birthday Weekend. The hotels that are missing today are already awaiting their release next weekend – there are a lot of additions I’m very excited about.
Today’s agenda:
A travelogue (journal, you could say) and itinerary of my solo roadtrip along the Central California coast
Hotel review for where I stayed night one, on the Monterey coast
Deetjen’s Big Sur hotel review, hopefully answering all your questions and the ones you didn’t know you’d have
33, Solo
In the five years since I’ve moved back to California, I’ve spent a good amount of time on the central coast. But, not for a couple years. It’s a part of the world I find familiar, as the towns have Marin-like charm and the coastline is utterly Californian. I drive best on a windy cliffside road, and think most clearly as the wind rips through rugged hills.
Recently, I’ve been really missing my childhood home, which we sold suddenly in 2022. I’ve written about it before. A 1909 bungalow on Mt Tam, with a lot of bare dark wood, tall trees, skylights, antiques, and my beloved four poster bed. When I was initially booking this trip, I thought I would likely cancel and go elsewhere by plane. But I got COVID right as I finished my Italy trip, which curtailed that possibility and in my bones I felt this was good, that was right. I wanted to go somewhere, but also i wanted to go home.
My best friend since birth, who’s birthday is four days before mine, couldn’t come. My three best friends from high school, who all live here in San Francisco, have either very recently gotten married, were petsitting, or attending a wedding. I could have gone with a boy (a straight human male prospect is a boy until husband grants him man status), but I’ve been there and done that and not this year. My birthday is sacred to me. It’s time I act accordingly. Faithfully and luckily, I can rely on myself for a good time. Birthday roadtrip, party of one, served straight.
I got in the road at exactly 11am last Saturday, and severely underestimated Labor Day Weekend traffic. Typically, if I go somewhere local for LDW, I leave on Friday. For this, I was anticipating a drive just under three hours. With bumper to bumper more often than smooth sailing, it was four and a half. And not a single Jack N The Box! I was hungry but I was excited. Pacific Grove was stop number one.