California's Central Coast - the Undiscovered Treasure between Glitzy L.A. and Ritzy Carmel

We celebrated ourhoneymoon four years ago in a beach house in Cayucos, California andhave been back every January since. Our first trip, in 2004, was myfirst trip to California -- my husband grew up in Ontario -- and I amstill marveling over the quaint countryside and seaside treasures wediscovered along the Central Coast.

The secluded, remote beaches along Highway One between Morrow Bay and San Simeon seem a world away from glitzy Los Angeles and the ritzy Monterrey Bay / Carmel area.

Cayucos has several wonderful restaurants, a long pier, a great beach for beachcombing

andquaint antique and gift shops. The quilting shop is wonderful, too. A  local gas station right on the main drag is famous for itssticky  buns, but the thing we loved far more was their breakfastburritos. Delicious!

The little town of Harmony has aquaint  pottery shop filled with stained glass, unique jewelry,pottery,and other items, many of which are hand-crafted. You cantake  your photo beside the heart-shaped topiary whether you'rehoneymooning or not. The nearby Harmony Cellars vineyard is just one ofmany down Highway 46 on the way to Paso Robles.

Makesure you have your camera --the views along this hilly road arespectacular. Spend at least one afternoon tasting wines and enjoyingthe winding backroads, lush with vines,

trees, fences, and picturesque ranch houses.

Cambria is one of our favorite towns on earth. This eclectic artist's community is a haven of Victorian bungalows, stone houses and southwestern styles lined with flowers and rose bushes that have survived earthquakes, floods and storms and only grown more adorable. The town is filled with shops, art galleries,restaurants andbed and  breakfasts. While Linn's meat and fruit pies are good, some of our favorites places to eat are  The Sow's Ear(the  early bird specials are great), a French bakery, andMustache  Pete's, an Italian eatery with great pasta. Don'tmiss  Melanee Sylvester's Art Gallery (we have severaloriginals,  worth every penny), the needlepoint shop,and a uniqueCeltic shop --even the local drugstore has great gift items.

Moonstone Beach fascinated us the first time we visited -- each pebble along the beach was round and shiny, as  though each rock hadbeen  through a rock tumbler. A storm had changed the nature ofthe beach  when we returned for our fourth honeymoon in 2007, butlocals were kind  enough to point us to another beach, a littlefurther to the  north, where there were all kinds of unique rocksand sea  shells.

Thereare dozens of secluded beaches toexplore throughout the area --sea otters, sea  lions and whales,pelicans, vultures, and all kinds of  birds. We had a great timewatching a colony of sea elephants at  the beach at San Simeon. Wesaw a baby nursing, males trumpeting,  and all kind of interestingbehaviors.

Furthertothe south, the beach at Morro Bay is resplendent with ice  plant,(which flowers in January), white sand, and if you're  lucky, sanddollars, starfish, abalone. We've seen several rainbows stretching over imposing Morro Rock, and some lovely sunsets down at the harbor while eating seafood at the seafood shack or afancy  restaurant.

Morro Bay is a bird sanctuary and has lovely walking paths along its beaches.Shopping in Morro Bay is also a treat. The quilt shop at Morro Bay is amust see -- one of the most unique I've ever seen.There are severalgarden shops featuring indoor and outdoor  garden accessories. TheOld Paris store is very European and  has wonderfully unique itemswith a French flair. The secondhand  shops, British shoppe,seashell shops and art galleries are  all fun, too. A restoredmovie theatre with an open-raftered  ceiling  is a fun placeto see a movie on a big screen. We've  stumbled upon a wonderfulfarmer's market several times while  visiting, so it must be afrequent event.

If you care to go further south, San Luis Obispo has a glorious downtown with unique shops, trees, and a nice street plaza.

The weather in January ranges from a pleasant 60 degrees to days when thesun helps the temperatures climb into the 70's -- heavenly to  acouple of Midwesterners escaping winter. Sandals and a  sweaterare perfect for the beach even on chilly days. I'm told the weather ismoderate all year round -- the Central Coast isa great place to come toenjoy the cool, ocean breezes during  the heat of summer.

We'vebeen to Cayucos and the  surrounding California Central Coast fourtimes, and I feel like  I've just scratched the surface of thiscoastal treasure chest. I  can't wait to visit again!