Royal Oaks Activities Director Janice Moist had this report to share from a recent trip up the coast by residents from Regents Point, Royal Oaks and White Sands La Jolla.

We headed out early Monday morning for our four-day excursion. Who would have thought that November could offer up such a clear and sunny day for our drive north? We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather.

Several residents specifically requested our driver Don, who looks just like Santa Claus with his white beard and twinkling blue eyes. Besides his resemblances to old St. Nick, Don is quite knowledgeable about California history and shared many interesting tidbits about the places we passed through on our journey north.  (And he’s an excellent driver.)

Our first stop was the Arts & Letters Café, a small, beautiful gallery with a garden restaurant. We enjoyed a nice lunch and a gallery of fine artwork by various contemporary American artists. Another highlight of our road trip was passing through the tiny town of Harmony. The town, with a total population of a whopping 11, has just a restaurant and shop that advertises wine tasting and hand-blown glass.

We arrived in Cambria by late afternoon to begin our excursion. On the next day, many of us were up early to see the morning sunrise. I tried to capture the beauty of the sunrise, expansive Pacific Ocean and rugged coastline, but my photography skills and camera were limited.

Later, we headed out for a tour of historic Hearst Castle, where we took in a day of many sights. We watched a documentary on William Randolph Hearst and his castle; some of us had a chance to go on a walking tour of the castle while the rest of us headed to Ragged Point. We also got a chance to see the enormous elephant seals at Piedras Blancas. According to our docent, the young seals we observed on the beach will grow to be 6,000 pounds.

During our final two days, we took in a lot of glorious sights and tours. We marveled at the long stretches of grand old oaks trees along the California hills. We enjoyed wine tasting at Castoro Cellars, a certified organic vintner in Templeton. We visited Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo for a quick tour (narrated by yours truly, a Cal Poly grad). In Solvang, some of us wandered through quaint Danish-themed shops and bakeries while the rest traveled to a nearby casino.  A few won more than $100, but all had a good time.

The final highlight of our trip was meeting Monty Roberts, the original Horse

Whisperer and horse trainer to the Queen of England. He owns the Flag Is Up Horse Training Facility  in Solvang. His daughter and one of their top trainers gave us a terrific tour of the ranch and even demonstrated some of Roberts’ unique, non-violent techniques with a handsome Palomino horse named Trigger.

It was a great way to bring our trip to a close as we headed home.…