San Luis Obispo via Train car

As a Christmas gift, Travs brother gifted us two tickets on Amtrack Coast Starlight train up to San Luis Obispo. Our spring breaks landed on the same week, so we decided it would be a nice vacation for us to take between our school quarters. We took the train from Union station, in LA, to San Luis Obispo. The train continues on all the way up the Western coast to Oregon. Our stint was long enough for us to relax in our sleeper car, have some lunch and enjoy the sights.

First stop after we made it to SLO was of course, food. Firestone grill had rave reviews from friends and yelp alike, so we knew we had to check it out. It did not disappoint, and I'm not even a huge BBQ fan. We split a tri-tip sandwich with house made BBQ-sauce and a cajon chicken sandwich. Seriously delicious.

Highlight of our trip, if you ask Travis, is our trips to Batch. Ice cream sandwich shops seem to be popping up everywhere, and each place we have been too seems to put their own unique spin it. Batch, is probably the best one we have been to yet, but I won't mention how many ice cream sandwich shops we have tested. Their cookies are so fresh and warm, that we we back again just for a cookie. If Batch opened up near LA, I wouldn't complain.

The bed and breakfast we stayed in was absolutely adorable. Trav's brother, the one who got us the train tickets, recommended this place. House of Another Tyme is decorated in antique clocks and small jars full of sand from all around the globe, and is ran by the sweetest couple. Each morning we were greeted with a fresh bowl of fruit, hot tea and a nice breakfast. The last morning we were there, we were joined by two Swedish couples who asked if all American breakfasts were "heavy." Sadly, I think all typical "American" entrees are "heavy."

If we ever visit SLO for more than a day again, we will be booking our hotel reservations at The Madonna Inn. If you haven't heard of it before, it has no relationship to the superstar Madonna, and every room has a different theme. The entire hotel is over the top and worth a stop by if you are driving though. We stopped in for dessert one night at the Copper Cafe and split a slice of pink champagne cake and a piece of vanilla with raspberry filling. The portions were enough to feed a small party, so we ended up taking most of it back with us and enjoying it on our train ride home.

Dinner at Big Sky Cafe was the best meal of the entire trip. They pride their selves on sourcing local food, but don't seem to unpretentious. Other highlights of our trip include lunch at urbane cafe, and enjoying coffee (hot chocolate for Trav) at the local coffee joint: Scout Coffee.

We did manage to go on an amazing hike in between all the eating and sleeping we did. So amazing, that it's going to get it's own blog post tomorrow! Gotta balance out all the "unhealthy" food with some exercise-even on vacation!

It was definitely nice to get away for a couple days and not have to worry about a schedule or deadlines. Despite the conductor racing to get home and giving this girl motion sickness, the train ride was an amazing experience. We are already dreaming of the fun trips we can take on the train going up the coast.

Firestone Grill / Batch / Scout Coffee Co / Copper Cafe @ Madonna Inn / Urbane Cafe / Big Sky Cafe /