Central Coast Getaway
Story: Mike Woodings
Photos: Judy Woodings
The open road is where we want to be and when it leads to the Central Coast for a weekend away, even better. November included severe fires throughout the Calabasas and Malibu area, fortunately not in our area this time and our scheduled getaway to San Luis Obispo on November 9 to 11 allowed a great number of our members to observe the tremendous cloud of smoke streaming out across Ventura County and west to the ocean as we traveled on Friday morning in our caravan on CA 126 and north on US 101.
Our route bypasses the fire and resulting congestion and included a lunch stop in Buellton at Morrell’s Farm Fresh Dining on McMurray Road. It’s an American food place with excellent ratings where we were all welcomed and well taken care of. The restaurant staff was excited to have us all pour into their place and photo’d us leaving. We apparently were the guests of the day. Our caravan of 23 Corvettes was spectacular as we headed north and all the way into SLO and took over the Best Western Plus on Madonna Road for the weekend. Naomi, the manager, was gracious and she and her staff all treated us as longtime family friends, like her buddy Don Ceo.
Besides getting to SLO all together, there was no set agenda for the weekend, but despite that we all dined together at Tahoe Joe’s nearby to end our day. Our club is one that likes to stick together, and this getaway was no different. After Saturday’s leisurely breakfast, most of us lined up for another caravan, outbound on Los Osos Road to Morro Bay, then north on CA-1 to Cambria where one of our own, Chuck Negri suggested a stop at the little known Nitt Witt Ridge house. It was at least worth a drive-by.
With the Nitt Witt detour in our rear-view mirrors, we continued north on Highway 1 past San Simeon and on to the gateway to Big Sur, Ragged Point. There were plenty of photo ops there and the fresh ocean air was a welcome change from our hot summer’s end.
The caravan then continued, back south to Sebastian’s in San Simeon for lunch. The Corvettes rolling in all together were an added attraction for the many tourists at the café and my chili burger was especially good.
Onward south to Cayucos was next for a mandatory stop at the Brown Butter Cookie Co. for our favorite cookie selections and for some a look at the other spots of interest in the great little beach town.
Our caravan splintered into several smaller groups through the day, but we all made it back to SLO in good order in time to once again assemble for another “group meal”. This time the location was the nearby and infamous Golden Gong Chinese Restaurant. It was a close walk from the Best Western.
The hotel lobby lounge transitioned after dinner into the SCVCC Acey Ducey casino where some were lucky and some, not so much. The words of Kenny Rogers seemed to echo through the room saying, “You got to know when to hold ’em, Know when to fold ’em, Know when to walk away, And know when to run.” For some, if it wasn’t for bad luck, they wouldn’t have any luck any all!
Then, almost as quick as the weekend started, it drew to a close. For some, Sunday morning had an early drive home in store and others had local stores to visit. With the ongoing fire situation in our home area, the route home was a consideration for all and there were several options discussed and taken, but we were all in the same accord, the Central Coast Getaway was another great event for the SCVCC!