Got up early to pack the car as we were leaving San Francisco today. I found this. Seems some thieves busted my window to take a panda neck pillow and a bag filled with coupons and grocery store loyalty cards. There was surveillance video of some hooded figure at 5am July 5 doing a smash and grab. Good thing I don’t leave valuables in the car.
I went to lunch at my fav seafood restaurant to cheer myself up.
They bake Boudin sourdough bread hourly so it’s hot and fresh when it arrives at your table. The top has a nice crunch while the inside is fluffy and has that delicious sourdough flavor.
Relax and enjoy the view of the bay while waiting for the main course to arrive.
I ordered the fried cod and shrimp combo. Beer battered Alaskan cod had a good crunchy batter and delicate, juicy cod underneath. Salty beer batter enhanced the mild flavor of the cod. Shrimp was plump and juicy. French fries were crunchy and had a nice potato flavor.
The nicest guy at the restaurant, Bob came by to say hi. Staff and management were excellent but Bob goes above and beyond. He commented on a yelp review I wrote years ago. 🙂
Creme brûlée had a hard crunchy top and sweet vanilla custard underneath. It’s my fav creme brûlée but Ruth Chris’s and Flemings are a close second.
Back on the road driving back to San Diego we noticed this cool living wall.
Driving on the 101 was great as I enjoyed seeing all the farming being down and trying to figure out what was growing roadside.
We stopped by San Martin to get gas. Looked like a cool small sleepy town. Nice looking taco stand.
Going back on the 101 towards San Diego.
Goodbye San Martin.
Near the town of Gilroy I spotted a cherry stand!
Finally my chance to buy fresh picked cherries!
I bought a 2 lb bag of bing cherries. They were firm and had a sweet delicious cherry flavor.
The guy at the stand said the cherry trees were on the other side of the freeway.
We arrived at the Candlewood Suites in Santa Maria to spend the night. Place is awesome for ice cream lovers. There is a full sized freezer to keep your ice cream frozen. Fridge was so cold my bottled water started to freeze in the fridge section. 🙂 They don’t provide a scoop though so I brought my own fancy one. Full kitchen is great if you are going to stay awhile and like cooking.
I was put in the accessible room which has a cool walk in shower which made it easy to wash out my ice cream cooler. TV had hdmi input in case you want to stream stuff from your laptop. There was also a dvd player and coffee maker. Bed was firm and comfy. Didn’t notice neighbor noise except in mid morning I heard a radio.
There is a busy road outside the window. While there is an innovative dual window setup muffling the noise I was still woken by traffic in the morning. I do appreciate they tried to mitigate the sound as there were 4 panes of glass and big air gaps. It was a bit quieter than at home where I live by a noisy street and I tried to to mitigate the noise with dual paned windows with a pane of laminated glass.
I’d stay here again if I was passing through or visiting Santa Maria. Staff was friendly and helpful.
For years I heard about Santa Maria bbq. I was excited to plan a stop in Santa Maria on my San Francisco road trip.
Scent of red oak filled the parking lot.
Sweet smoky scent I cannot resist.
I ordered the full rack baby back rib dinner. Onion rings were crunchy and had rich onion flavor. Baby back ribs had a smoky aroma and covered in a delicious dry rub. Bbq sauce had a unique sweet and sour flavor. Found out it was a The Pepper Plant bbq sauce.
I’m hooked. Must return for more Santa Maria bbq. 🙂
Fog Harbor Fish House
PIER 39
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 421-2442
Candlewood Suites
2079 Roemer Ct
Santa Maria, CA 93454
(805) 928-4155
The Swiss Restaurant & Bar
516 N Broadway
Santa Maria, CA 93454
805-347-7800
Road trip San Diego to San Francisco Day One
Road trip San Diego to San Francisco Day 2
| Road trip San Diego to San Francisco Day 3 |
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Road trip San Diego to San Francisco Day 5
Road trip San Diego to San Francisco Day 6
| Road trip San Diego to San Francisco Day 7 |
Your car got broken into?! That’s so unfortunate. Is this the same lot that had the nice owner and the dog? The fried seafood looks good especially the baked sourdough bread. Fish Market bakes a similar bread and it’s amazing if it’s hot outta the oven and served to table. I hope you get the window fixed with no complications 🙁
Yes. Sadly the owner and the dog are only there 8am – 8pm. I got a new window from safelite.com after I got back. I forgot to take photos of my cardboard window. Made it myself.
I’ll have visit Fish Market again. It’s been awhile. You ever go to Boudin?
Stupid vandals….did not do their homework! The sourdough bread picture looks good enough to eat! Creme brulee’ is so beautiful with all the garnishments! The gigantic wall plant picture at Jasper came out so nicely! Wonder if they give the residents wall plants as a move in gift maybe? The sky is so blue alongside the Cherry Stand! Thanks for showing me your favorite places again! Now I gotta have more of that sourdough bread and barbecue! :>)
I don’t think wall plants would do as good inside.
Welcome! It’s only a 4 hour drive to get bbq!
Man, that’s terrible Soo……crazy what vandals do these days….. Glad you didn’t lose anything that couldn’t be replaced.
Thanks Kirk! Gonna keep my valuables with me and the car in the garage when I’m not out somewhere…