The Trip Up The 1 ..... Day 1

Started out this morning from Marina del Rey, Ca around 9 am and drove north up the HWY 1 toward Malibu. The ocean was the deepest shades of green today, it might have been due to the over cast that we started out with. The sun came out slowly as we headed north. We drove to Oxnard, just south of Santa Barbra. We were looking for a restaurant that we had seen on Food Network's Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives (Guy Feity's Triple D). Long story short. We arrived just before the diner a place called "The Kitchen" was to open so we went into a few shops on the same street. As we spoke to some of the locals and were told if we really wanted to have an experience we should go to Ocotlan Restaurant. We told that it's not fancy (and it wasn't), there are no menus ( and there weren't) and it is very authentic (boy was that an understatement) We were greeted by a young high school student (off for the summer) who was the only one who spoke English. mark ordered the Chicken Mole and I ordered Chicken Enchiladas. Both were very good. Mark said it was the best Mole he had had since his mission in San Jose. We continued our trip to our first stop for the evening in San Luis Obispo or as everything around there is marked "SLO" . We drove through beautiful vineyard country and the amazing agriculture growing on both sides of the road. I almost had a fit when I saw a sign that said "7 Avocados for $1.00) Then again they were growing on both sides of the road. We saw Kale, Cabbage, Spinach and of course strawberries. We are staying at a really beautiful place " San Luis Creek B&B " Our room looks out onto a treed area with a wonderful creek right outside our window. After checking in, we walked 15 down to the downtown area. So cute. In the middle of town was a sweet little park where they had "Concert in the Park" and trails and bridges and the creek that runs through the town. We started looking for something to eat and with so many places we finally decided on Italian. We found a great place called "Momma's Meatballs". We felt assured that we had a good place when we walked in and heard two chef speaking Italian and the smells were were more encouragement. Mamma's makes their own pasta, breads and desserts. Mark had a Beet Salad and Pasta Fagioli and I had a House Salad with homemade Balsamic with a main dish of Linguini Fradiavolo. The topper of the meal was the most delicious Creme Brule' EVER. If you are ever in SLO .... GO TO MOMMA"S. Going to bed listening to the creek ..... More tomorrow.