Waves and wine; Trip of a lifetime; Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Valley, Big Sur: a Central Coast road trip makes a vintage romantic getaway

We drop down from the cliffs of Big Sur to the more open coastline of Point Piedras Blancas and San Simeon.

La Cuesta Encantada, better known as Hearst Castle, is the California dream writ large: a Mediterranean fantasy, created by the great Berkeley architect Julia Morgan, where Hollywood stars and the San Francisco elite were brought together by perhaps the only man colossal enough to stand astride both worlds.

Near the wharf where much of the treasures used to build Hearst Castle came ashore, we stop at another San Simeon landmark. The Sebastian Store dates back to 1852, when the whaling industry thrived along this coast. It's now run by Neil Hansen and has been owned by his family since 1914, when his great-grandparents bought the store from the lighthouse keeper at Point Piedras Blancas. But Hansen's roots run even deeper: He's a sixth-generation Californian and can date his father's side of the family back to mission days.

Hansen spent his summers exploring the grottoes and caves along the coastline, surfing its waves, and playing in the forests on San Simeon Point. He left California to work in Florida before returning to renovate and run the store. It's no longer the nuts-and-bolts general store that it once was, and Becky browses through its CDs and gifts. But Hansen also points out the vintage equipment that the last of San Simeon's whaling captains gave to his grandfather, and the old postboxes see a steady stream of locals from up and down the coast. Just as it always has.

Hansen is clearly thrilled to reconnect both to his family's history and the place he considers home. "For people who are native Californians, it's good to go away for a year or two to see how the rest of the world functions," says Hansen. "But there's always a piece of California that calls you back."

Unlike Hansen, we're basically newcomers to California, but I think we've heard the call of this coast too. It's a call where many parts harmonize: the wind, the waves, the high cries of seabirds, and the low moans of elephant seals. You never know. One day our question may change from "What if?" to "Why not?" and this gorgeous coastline of ragged bluffs, sea stacks, and mountains could become home. Or maybe not. But there's certainly no harm in dreaming, right?

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID ZAITZ

RELATED ARTICLE: Road food

* Cafe Quackenbush. Gourmet sandwiches and art gallery just off U.S. 101. $; lunch Tue-Sun, breakfast Sat-Sun. 458 Bell St., Los Alamos; 805/344-5181.

* Fiala's Gourmet Deli, Espresso Bar & Chocolatier. Italian deli with outstanding panini sandwiches in Edna Valley wine country. $; 8-5 daily. 1653 Old Price Canyon Rd., San Luis Obispo; 805/543-1313.

* Taco Temple. A great spot for fish tacos, hidden on a State 1 frontage road. $; lunch and dinner Wed-Mon. 2680 Main St., Morro Bay; 805/772-4965.

RELATED ARTICLE: The road trip

CONTACTS

* Monterey County visitors bureau