Sunday: Spend a Weekend Riding History on California’s Highway 1 Discovery Route

Continuing from our story from the last two days (if you missed it, click here and here), here’s part three on how to make the most of your weekend pioneering, with a closer look at our itinerary for Sunday:

Since Cambria is in the middle of the Highway 1 Discovery Route, you can still explore destinations on your way home. The boys insisted on making their own waffles before we left, the adults opted for coffee and pastries at Linns Restaurant, a town favorite we found after asking around. We walked around Cambria and enjoyed the unique displays of creative street fronts in a town where it seemed the most talented moved after making it big in the city. Cafés offered fresh, organic creations and shops sold wares for classy comfort and unusual statement.

We drove to Nit Wit Ridge, a conglomeration of bits and pieces that shape someone’s actual house. The random tiles and walls and pieces of toys put together the most bizarre dwelling we’d ever seen. Tours run daily, but we didn’t have time to wait for the 4 p.m. Our next stop, heading south, was Cayucos skatepark as I felt we were slowly saying goodbye to new friends. We popped in to the Cayucos Pier Visitor’s Center where volunteers shared photos of the first schoolhouse in town. Old books and other school accessories hung in display cases.

NitWit. Photo: Rina Nehdar

After, we treated ourselves to organic Cayucos Coffee and a cinnamon roll. We continued our way south and stopped at Oceano Historic Train Depot, once the center of activity in south San Luis Obispo County, the hub of transportation, as the Southern Pacific Railroad Station. Volunteers perfectly preserved many of the tools used in the successful operation of a train station. The boys held the earpiece to a wind-up telephone, tinkered with a telegraph machine and we had fun explaining communication technology before cell phones and email.

Close by, the dunes of Oceano Beach, playground to Pismo Beach, called to us. But it was time to get off the Highway 1 Discovery Route to make our way back home.