We continued our drive down the Californian coast, through Santa Cruz and Carmel in Big Sur. Just before arriving in Santa Maria for the night we stopped off at the 'Madonna Inn' where we had dinner and took a slice of their 'world famous' Pink Champagne Cake which was delicious. The inn  itself was very kitsch with plush red leather wall coverings in the toilet and garish decor, reminiscent of the 60s.

https://www.madonnainn.com

 

We then spent the night in a family run AirBnB who made the most amazing 'smores' ice cream. It was so creamy, if you ever see their brand ' Crem De La Ice Cream', you must try it! 

https://cremedelaicecream.com

 

After breakfast we headed back up to Pasa Robles, where we met our friend Sue at an animal conservationists called 'Zoo To You''. Kindly, Sue took us to meet some animal friends which was a lovely experience. We held a Spider monkey called Maya, while being eyed up by another: “Crazy”, the aptly named. We gave a rub to a Bakari the Lemur who was very affectionate, saw a bear called Trouble and a beautiful tiger called Sima and then went and met a baby Kangaroo. The Zoo is a place for rescue animals who cannot be returned to their habitat due to human contact or injury, many of the bald Eagles for example do not required a netted cage as they are too injured to fly off.

https://www.conservationambassadors.org/programs/zoo-to-you 

 

The final part of our road trip, from Seattle to L.A, took us through Santa Monica and the gorgeous Malibu at sunset. Over the last two weeks we have travelled clocked up over 2000 miles in the car and have enjoyed cruising down the Californian coast.