Welcoming at The Madonna Inn

We already knew, from the beginning, that we would have the time of our lives at our wedding.  With family and friends like ours, how could we not?

We wanted to make sure the “high” from the celebration continued through to a honeymoon where we could enjoy each others company as newlyweds.  However, we are not scheduled until June to go on our trip to Tanzania. Why so late? Because that is the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the great wildebeest migration.  We thought that too much time between our wedding and honeymoon might make it feel just a bit less of a honeymoon and more of just another vacation.

So we decided to take a “Mini-Moon“!

Bixby Bridge

Nothing extravagant, just a short trip down the central coast of our beautiful state of California, and a return drive home up the scenic CA Highway 1.  Sometimes, it’s easy to forget the fun and touristy things that one can do, right in one’s own backyard.  This was the perfect opportunity for us to be tourists in our own state.

We set out the evening of November 21, 2011, the day after our wedding, to San Luis Obispo to stay a night at the cheesiest, most retro-stereotypical-hollywood-honeymoon hotel we could find, The Madonna Inn.  We got the Caveman Room with real stone walls, animal print furniture, water fall shower, sink, and urinal, and a stained-glass caveman window.  The room even came with clubs for hitting your wife over the head with, and dragging her by her hair to the leopard print bed!  Awesome.  The staff gifted a bottle of champagne with a pink balloon tied to it printed with “Happy Honeymoon”.

The next morning we had an All-American breakfast at highly decorative Copper Cafe (part of the Madonna Inn).  All the Christmas Decor was up, giving us a nice jump on the holiday spirit (even though it wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet).

Solvang, CA

We continued on to Solvang for some danish treats and wine in the Santa Ynes wine country.  We stayed overnight at the Hadsten House, where we had a Presidential suite with an large jacuzzi tub (a special treat for the wife).  The area had a few nice surprise spots that we had to include in our day:  A trip to the Firestone Brewery for some brew house exclusives, and all you can eat Pea Soup and a Milkshake at the world famous Anderson’s Pea House. Growing up, Malaya and I had always seen advertisements for Andersen’s Split Pea Soup on freeways, but never had eaten there. That’s a check on the mental bucket list.

The next morning, we started our day off with a couple’s massage a the Hadsten House Spa, then headed north to the Bay via CA Highway 1.  The coastal highway is quite a beautiful tour to take, we highly recommend it.  Go for the gorgeous sea cliffs, the bridges, the deep blue waters, and the coastal life.  We got a chance to observe some elephant seals flop around the beach with their flabby bodies.  It’s quite entertaining to see their blubber jiggle.

Our final stop before heading home was in Moss Landing for the Famous “Phil’s Fish Market“, as seen on Bobby Flay’s Throwdown, where Mr. Flay got his ass handed to him in a bowl of cioppino.  We are proud to say that we have tasted the heaven that is Phil’s Family Recipe Cioppino, and it is everything that it is cracked up to be.  But the cioppino isn’t the only good thing on the menu!  We ALSO pigged out on a large bowl of creamy clam chowder and a combo plate of Fried Fish and Fried Shrimp and Chips, each item instantly making our top fives in each category of clam chowder and fried seafood. So Fresh. So delicious.  I pronounce ourselves loyal customers of Phil’s Fish Market.

Phil's Fish Market

A short but meaningful trip to commemorate the celebration of Our Love on November 20, 2010.  It was an amazing feeling to let loose, relax and enjoy each other companionship as Husband and Wife for the first time.  We eagerly look forward to our REAL Honeymoon.

NEXT STOP… Tanzania!

Would you like to see more photos of our Mini-Moon, CLICK HERE