Day 2

Today we checked out of the hotel nice and early so we could pick up the hire car and get on the road.

At the National rental depot we got told to “pick any SUV from this row – the keys are already in them” which excited Laura as it was like car shopping. After perusing all the available vehicles we settled on the biggest (and newest) of all the SUVs, a Chevy Equinox in bright white. Not quite as big as the Beast from last year, but still pretty damn big! The best feature (which we only found a while later) is the reversing camera.

We plugged in our sat nav and programmed it for Café 50s in Santa Monica. Driving there was effortless, although I do think US drivers are a little bit crazy and really do drive quite fast.

Cafe 50s

Decor inside Cafe 50s

Café 50s is a little place that Laura found on the internet. As it’s name suggests, it’s 50s themed and full of memorabilia, jukeboxes, vending machines and old signs. I opted for a Joe’s special (beef scrambles eggs with potato) and Laura ate pancakes with maple syrup and bacon. Both delicious.

After breakfast we drove all the way down Santa Monica Boulevard before turning right to follow the pacific coast highway north.

At this point I received yet another phone call on my phone from a random man. The first few had seemed like simple wrong numbers, but by now, it was clear that something weird was going on. The SIM card is a US T-Mobile SIM that’s pre-loaded with unlimited data – which is useful when you’re gadgety and techy like me and Laura are. As such, I would expect the number would be new… but then again, maybe not. It was when I got the following text though that it became clear what the callers were after….

Needless to say, I thing we’ll be ignoring any future texts or phone calls!

We stopped off at Santa Monica beach and had a wander along the sand, dipping our toes in the Pacific ocean. We Facetime’d Sam & Tina back home (Santa Monica has a special place in their hearts as it’s where Sam proposed to Tina) and I Facetime’d my mum and dad. Technology is fab.

Beach at Santa Barbara

The Beast 2

We then got back in the car and headed north again towards our destination of San Luis Obispo, and more specifically, the Madonna Inn.

And this is where Laura will take over the post…

I first saw the Madonna Inn about 7 years ago and knew immediately that I needed to stay there. It’s a big resort that has 110 individually themed rooms and looks like the tackiest thing ever created, brilliant! When we booked our room we spent a long time deciding which room we wanted to stay in but deep down I knew there was only one room for me…Rock Bottom, a room that looks like something out of the Flintstones complete with waterfall shower!

Despite the fact that the Madonna Inn features on many lists of places you should stay before you die, I was slightly nervous on the drive up that after all this time I might have built it up in my mind and that it might be a bit disappointing but as soon as we saw the huge animated neon sign I knew it would be ok. We checked in and drove up to the huge four story turreted white building our room is in, we opened the door to the room and it looked every bit as amazing as I hoped it would! At last, I was in a big rocky heaven.

We've hit Rock Bottom

 We explored the resort and decided to go up to the pool to catch the last of the sun. We each got a lovely cocktail and decided to test the waterproof case on the GoPro (it was waterproof, phew!). Everyone by the pool seemed like the friendliest people ever, I think it’s impossible to be moody or unfriendly at the Madonna Inn. We had some lovely conversations with an American family and an Italian man and then decided to head back to our room to get ready for dinner.

I had booked a table at the resort’s Steak House, I’d seen pictures of the restaurant on the internet but it didn’t quite prepare me for the beauty, my eyes could hardly take it all in when we opened the door.

It was like being inside Valentine’s Day! There was a live band playing to people waltzing, swinging and cha-cha-cha-ing around a dance floor that was just to the side of our table.

The staff were brilliant, attentive but not annoying. Our main waiter Lane has a funny voice but was lovely. We both ordered another cocktail and the most popular steak, which was a $41 filet mignon. It didn’t say the weight on the menu but I wasn’t expecting the size that arrived - it was the size of a fist (Natalie’s fist, not my tiny little thing!)

Amazing steak

To say it was the most melt in the mouth delicious steak I’ve ever eaten would be an understatement. It was barbequed over oak and that gave it an amazing smoky outside but with the inside nice and juicy. It was perfect but easily big enough to feed three so we gave up and doggy bagged the leftovers.

After approximately three minutes of saying how stuffed we both were, Natalie decided to have a piece of cake. We’d seen the huge slices throughout the night, I knew I couldn’t handle it, Natalie was in denial. Natalie had a good go at a slab of lemon coconut cake but in the end she admitted defeat and needed another box to take our leftovers with us. 

We had a little dance, watched the band for a bit and made our way back to the room.

All in all it was a fantastic day.