Happy Monday, friends! I hope you all had a great weekend! Last week, I shared the first part of our California adventure (see it here) where I recapped our time in Napa. Today, I am taking you down the coast for our trip south on the Pacific Coast Highway with a stop in Santa Barbara before reaching our final destination of Palm Springs. Once again, this post is picture heavy! Without further ado, here is my Pacific Coast Highway Travel Guide.

Pacific Coast Highway Travel Guide

California Pacific Coast Highway

We left Napa before sunrise on the morning we were headed south. Thankfully, the weather was pretty good. As you can see in the pictures above, it started off pretty cloudy (and chilly!) but the further south we headed, the more clear and gorgeous it became! Traveling the Pacific Coast Highway is definitely a bucket list experience. I had always heard how curvy and narrow the roads were, but I no idea what to expect in real life. Let’s just say, it really is as curvy as everyone says!

Naccimiento-Fergusson Road

Depending on the time of year you visit, there could be portions of the Pacific Coast Highway closed. The portion that happened to be closed was just south of Lucia and we were forced onto Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, the only connector between California Highway 1 and 101. (If you are planning a trip, you can see the current closures here.)

Before leaving Napa, I wrote down all the directions in case we lost a signal on our GPS and phones. Needless to say, when I wrote down Nacimiento-Fergusson Road I had no idea what was ahead of us. However, as we made the turn and saw the first road sign that indicated curves for over 40 miles, that should have been our first indication! With winding curves and steep dropoffs, it was definitely hair-raising.

Since we were in the middle of nowhere, we had no cellphone service or Google Maps. Looking back, this was very adventurous of us and totally outside our box of structure! We were running low on gas, so my best advice is to be sure to have a full tank before leaving the Carmel/Monterey area. There are few gas stations after this point, and the ones that are available in Big Sur are super expensive.

We planned to stay the evening in Santa Barbara, knowing we wouldn’t be able to make it all the way to our final destination of Palm Springs in one day. Our plan was to take Highway 101 just until we were passed the closures on Highway 1 and jump back on the Pacific Coast Highway until we reached Santa Barbara. But, after our interesting drive on Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, we opted to stay closer to civilization on the 101!

Although the drive was scary at times (I vividly remember saying to Richard that this is how people get eaten by bears in the forest!) I’m so glad we were able to check that bucket list item off our list. The views are truly incredible and something I will never forget!

Santa Barbara

After that crazy drive down the PCH, we were so happy to finally arrive in Santa Barbara. It was our first time visiting Santa Barbara and it definitely won’t be our last. We had only planned for one night since it was our “stop over” before Palm Springs and it was most certainly not long enough. We stayed at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara and it was absolutely gorgeous! While it was a few miles from downtown Santa Barbara, we loved the isolated location. These pictures of the resort were taken around 6am the next morning. Isn’t the sunrise amazing?!

Toma Restaurant – Santa Barbara

Since the resort was a distance from the downtown area, we wanted to get a taste of real Santa Barbara. I had done a little research before leaving for the trip and discovered Toma Restaurant. Located on the harbor, it is rated one of the best restaurants in Santa Barbara. Since our travel day was our actual anniversary, I knew this would be the perfect place to celebrate. And it’s Italian food!

I can’t say enough wonderful things about the restaurant. We had made a reservation for 8pm (not knowing what time we would finally reach Santa Barbara) but ended up getting there much earlier than anticipated. The restaurant (that seems to only take reservations) was super accommodating and fit us in two hours early! The food (and wine!) was nothing short of amazing. We started with an appetizer of the squash blossoms, while for entrees Richard had the black spaghetti and I had the ravioli with black kale and heirloom cherry tomatoes.

Also, one note about the wine. We pretty much only drink Napa Valley cabernet, but wanted to venture out and try an Italian wine since we were at an Italian restaurant for our anniversary. They recommended the Antinori Guado al Tasso Il Bruciato 2015. For an under $30 bottle of wine, it was fantastic!

Quick Stop in LA: Carrera Cafe

After leaving Santa Barbara, we made a quick stop in Beverly Hills to try a coffee place I’ve seen all over Instagram. Carrera Cafe is not only a delicious coffee shop, but they have also upped the art latte game! Download the app on your phone and you can easily send any picture from your camera roll to be featured on your latte. Obviously, Ella was the best choice! The latte was delicious as were the waffle sticks! Definitely a must-stop if you are a coffee-lover and are in the area.

Palm Springs

We were desert bound after our quick stop in LA! We were a little early for our 4pm check-in so we stopped at an outlet mall right before Palm Springs: Desert Hills Outlet Mall. If you are in the area, this outlet mall has an amazing selection! From Prada to YSL to everything in between, this is a must-see if you are in the area. We spent over two hours just browsing the stores!

For this trip, we stayed at The Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage. It was our second time staying at the hotel (you can see my review from our last visit here) and it’s one of our favorites in the desert. Previously, we have also stayed at La Quinta and enjoyed our stay there as well. After such a hectic and structured trip in Napa and down the coast, it was nice to relax in Palm Springs. I actually finished an entire book at the pool one day! This is definitely a rarity.

Not a ton to report from our time in Palm Springs since each day was spent at the pool, but a few of our favorite restaurants are: Arnold Palmer’s, La Quinta Cliffhouse (half priced wine night is on Wednesday!) and Old Town Coffee Company. Old Town Coffee Company has great coffee and we love their Californian breakfast sandwich. A bagel topped with cream cheese, fresh tomatoes and lemon pepper. It’s amazing!

Outfits in Santa Barbara and Palm Springs

left: White Eyelet Dress: J.Crew (on sale & available in red & navy!) | Sandals: Steven | Bag: Street Level, similar here | Watch: MICHELE | Earrings: Nordstrom

right: Dress: cabi | Sandals: Ivanka Trump | Clutch: similar here | Sunglasses: Le Specs | Earrings: Lisi Lerch

Here are two of my favorite looks from our time in Santa Barbara and Palm Springs. The look on the left was the dress I wore for the drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. I also wore this dress for dinner once we arrived in Santa Barbara. The white eyelet, long sleeve dress was perfect for the cooler temperatures as we traveled down the coast. See the full post and outfit details here.

This fun, floral maxi was perfect for a night out in Palm Springs. I actually wore this dress to half priced wine Wednesday at the La Quinta Cliffhouse I mentioned above! You can see the full post and outfit details here.

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That’s a wrap on our California Adventure! If you want to check out the first part of this series featuring our time in Napa, you can read that here. Thanks for stopping by and have a great start to the week, friends!