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The Lone Cypress in Carmel

The second part of our drive up the California coast started with a stop in Cambria. After a beautiful drive on Highway 46 from Paso Robles, we came upon the cutest little town and gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean in Cambria. We found a kind-of-crappy-but-good-enough-for-one-night motel called Mariners Inn for about $80 — a price that couldn’t be beat considering the place practically sat right on the water. Listening to the waves crash at night was delightful.

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The view from Highway 46 from Paso Robles to Cambria

I’m back! Rory and I have returned from our honeymoon, which we split into two parts: the California central coast and Oahu, Hawaii. This post will focus on the first half of our trip.

While both of us had driven to and from Northern California many times, neither of us had spent much time on the central coast. And because Rory had a short film screening at the Santa Cruz Film Festival, we decided we would take our time — a whole week — to drive ourselves up there, stopping along the way to enjoy our beautiful state. And what a beauty she is. The cute towns, the gorgeous coastline — I would do this drive again in a heartbeat.

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Milkshake in an Alice cup at Max Brenner

Yes, I’m writing this post a month and a half late. But I wanted to document my bachelorette party on this blog in some way, so I’m going to tell you about my meal at chocolate heaven-on-earth Max Brenner in The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. This may not have been the best meal in terms of food, but it was definitely the most fun.

The best part of the menu was the variety of drinks. My friends and I ordered the Mexican Spicy Hot Chocolate (red chili, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper), the Melting Marshmallow Hot Chocolate (hot chocolate with tons of mini marshmallows on top), what I think was the Hazelnut Cream Chocolate Milkshake (vanilla bourbon ice cream, dark chocolate truffle and whipped cream) and the Chocolate Chai (chai spice blend infused with white chocolate). All were very good, but my favorite was the chai, which was enhanced by the white chocolate, not overpowered as I had feared. The presentation of the drinks is noteworthy, too, as Max Brenner has created his own cups for different drinks (the Hug Mug for hot chocolates, the Alice for milkshakes, a tea pot that dispenses when you place it on top of your cup).

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Courtesy of ASSOULINE Publishing

To promote its new book, “In the Spirit of St. Barths” by Pamela Fiori, ASSOULINE Publishing, which specializes in fancy coffee table books focused on fashion, travel, lifestyle and art, is holding an online contest via its Facebook page by answering the question, “What are your three essential getaway pieces?” The first-prize winner will receive a trip to St. Barths with round-trip airfare and ferry travel from St. Maarten for two; a three-night stay at Le Sereno (featured in the book), including breakfast for the duration of the stay and dinner for two guests; and a complimentary Mini Cooper for use throughout the vacation. The second-prize winner will be awarded The Ultimate Getaway Bag, packed by luxury goods from retailer Vivre.com. The third-prize winner will be given a collection of ASSOULINE’s “In the Spirit of” series. The contest will run through Monday, April 4, 2011, at 12:00 p.m., and all winners will be announced on Monday, April 11, 2011.

Junior Drake Shina bag

Junior Drake warehouse sale: The purveyor of handbags is at it again. Seems like JD has this sale every other week, but no matter. From Dec. 17 through Dec. 19, get bags at prices as low as $14.95 and even a three pack of leather bags for $99. Can’t make it to the sample sale? Get 60 percent off online purchases plus a free leather coin purse (discount is taken at checkout).

740 E. 60th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90001
Dec. 17 and 18: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Dec. 19: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Oliverio‘s Choco-Sutra: Avalon Hotel’s tasty restaurant just got tastier: now there’s an unlimited chocolate buffet. Every Friday and Saturday, indulge in everything from triple chocolate truffle pizzettas made with Nutella, dark and milk chocolate, and topped with white chocolate shavings, to a dark chocolate, cinnamon and red chili pot de crème.

9400 W. Olympic Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
$28 per person ($17 with dinner) or $50 per couple

Hilton HHonors Any weekend, Anywhere sale: Hilton HHonors members who book stays between now and Jan. 31, 2011, at the Hilton family of hotels can save from 20 percent to 50 percent on a future weekend stay any weekend in 2011. Current HHonors members will also receive double base points on completion of their stay.

This is what awaits you when you fly into the Kapalua-West Maui Airport:

The view from the Kapalua-West Maui Airport

I wish I could show you a panoramic view of what surrounds the airport: ocean on one side, lush green hills on the other. So even though we waited a while for our ride to Enterprise Rent-A-Car (which isn’t actually at the airport but is housed in the Sheraton in Ka’anapali about 5 miles away), the view kept us company. My mother and I were visiting Maui the week before Thanksgiving for my cousin’s wedding, and we chose to fly into the smaller, one-runway airport on the Western side of the island (with a connection in Honolulu) even though it was more expensive than flying into Maui’s main airport in Kahului because it was more convenient to where we were staying in Kapalua, whereas Kahului is about an hour’s drive away.

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From S/V Rapture

The Marina del Rey Convention & Visitors Bureau is holding a digital photo scavenger hunt called Hit Me With Your Best Shot. Cute, huh?

Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know much about MDR other than it’s a beach town, so I think doing a scavenger hunt would be a good way to explore and learn more about the area. And the visitors bureau is giving away some great prizes to the winners, too.

To participate, you’ll have to take photos of yourself in front of or next to the “iconic, unique and quirky” items listed in certain categories representative of the MDR community — family, foodie and wedding. You’ll need to collect at least five photos to qualify for prizes; if you collect all 10 photos in a category, you’ll be entered to win grand-level prizes.

Each category has prizes with values up to $2,200, including:

To enter, upload photos either to Facebook, Twitter or by email to marinadelreycvb@gmail.com. The deadline to submit all photos is Oct. 27, 2010. The grand prize and runner up winners will be announced via Facebook, Twitter and the Visit Marina del Rey Blog on Nov. 10, 2010.

Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. From Shell Vacations Hospitality.

Fewer things make me happier than a long weekend. The time off is reward in itself, but going on a trip is even nicer. For those of you who have the time (and money), here are a few travel deals to keep you sane…at least until Tuesday rolls around.

Terranea: Looking for a staycation in the L.A. area? Terranea in Rancho Palos Verdes is offering its Sunset Package, which includes the daily resort fee (I *hate* these things!) and a $75 dining credit, for $375 per night. Use your dining credit toward one of their special meals this weekend, which include a barbecue and a luau.

Las Vegas: Willing to drive a bit farther? Head on over to Las Vegas, where you can find some great deals. Expedia has the Sahara going for as low as $74 per night, which could be great if you don’t plan on spending a lot of time in your room.

Arizona: Want to go even farther? Shell Vacations Hospitality‘s Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix has rooms starting at $59 per night, with one-bedroom suites at $79 per night and two-bedrooms suites at $129 per night. Each suite has a full kitchen or kitchenette, living area, and either a balcony or patio overlooking the courtyards and golf course. And there are no resort fees!

I don’t know what your idea of resort food is, but mine is that it’s mediocre at best. But Sirocco and CAVA at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells turned that idea on its head, as I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food and service at both eateries. (Read Part 1 on the resort property here.)

When we arrived at the hotel, it was just in time for the United States vs. United Kingdom World Cup match, so we hunkered down in our room and ordered room service for lunch. I got a tuna salad sandwich, which came on rye bread and potato chips and a salad on the side, and a creamy mushroom soup that was to die for. The menu wasn’t kidding when it said “A House Favorite.” Rory got a standard club sandwich, which he enjoyed. Our Arnold Palmer drinks were nicely mixed, too. The meal was rounded out with extra glasses of water and oatmeal raisin cookies for dessert, which I actually didn’t eat because I don’t like raisins.

Tuna sandwich (that's a side of avocado way in the back)

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Going to the desert usually isn’t my idea of a good time. I don’t like long drives, and heat doesn’t sit well with me. So I hesitated at first when the opportunity to spend a weekend in Indian Wells, Calif., presented itself because that’s, like, past Palm Springs.

You see, I was invited by the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa, a Marriott property, to stay a night and experience its restaurants, Sirocco and CAVA. I wasn’t sure about the desert location as I knew very little about Indian Wells other than a big tennis tournament happens there every year, but then I saw this on the hotel’s website

and immediately changed my mind. Indian Wells, here I come!

In this post I’ll discuss the hotel property, and in a subsequent post I’ll feature the resort’s food, so stay tuned.

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