Relaxing at Avila Beach

For our 20th Wedding Anniversary, Inna reserved the Avila La Fonda Hotel, located on the beautiful Avila Beach, California, for the two-day weekend, from Friday, October 15 to Sunday, October 17. although we have stayed at Pismo Beach multiple times, we have never stayed at Avila Beach.

Friday, October 15, 2021

We started our drive to Avila Beach on Friday, October 15, at about 7:00pm, hoping to avoid all of the significant traffic. Our drive to Avila Beach (which should generally take 3 hours) took us about 3.5 hours.

After arriving at our Avila La Fonda Hotel, we checked into Room #207, and we were given two pies (for dessert) - a small apple pie and a miniature pecan pie. Along with hot tea, they were a lovely, welcoming surprise for our late arrival.

Saturday, October 16, 2021

I woke at 7:00am in the morning, quickly dressed, and drove to Pismo Beach for a morning surfing session. I parked at the Addie Street Surfing Parking Lot and walked to the beach overlook to observe the incoming waves more closely. The waves near the Pismo Pier were about 4-5 feet high, and I decided to use my Firewire Spitfire 6'6" surfboard. I applied some wax and dressed in my 4/3mm Promotion wetsuit. I was worried about the 56 Fahrenheit water, as it was late in the season, and I don't especially enjoy surfing in cold water.

After some time, I paddled out into the surf and joined the line-up. There were a few longboarders on Wavestorms and a few paddle surfers. The waves came flat and closed out quickly, so the surfing time was short. I couldn't catch the incoming waves at the right time. In about 30 minutes, the wave height and intensity diminished, and I switched to my 7' Wavestorm. Catching waves on the Wavestorm was much easier, but the waves were now relatively small. I surfed for another 30 minutes and then returned to the minivan. 

 

I drove back to our Avila La Fonda Hotel. Inna was already awake and dressed. She picked up the free croissants and Orange Juice from the lobby, but we were not really impressed with the croissants. We decided to eat breakfast somewhere else and walked to Avila Beach, where we stopped by Kraken Coffee. We joined the long line and eventually ordered the following(Inna wanted to try the breakfast burrito, but it was sold out):

• Boris: Mocha (with dark chocolate)
  
• Inna: Latte
• Share: Almond Croissant, Ham 'n' Cheese Croissant  

After breakfast, we decided to spend the day at Avila Beach. We picked up the free beach and chairs from our Avila La Honda Hotel and set up on the beach. I continued to read my Narnia 3 - The Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis on my Kindle while Inna read her Angles & Demons by Dan Brown. We were bothered by flies and eventually relocated to another spot with less seaweed to attract flies.

At around 2:00pm, we returned to our room and drove to Ventana Grill for lunch. Inna made reservations on OpenTable for 2:30pm. Our table was not yet ready when we arrived, so we sat outside, reading our books.

Eventually, we were seated indoors (no outdoor seating was available), and we ordered our favorites, including:

• Boris: Strawberry Limeade, Clam Chowder, Fish & Chips,
• Inna: Strawberry Limeade, Clam Chowder, Carne Asada Tacos

After breakfast, we returned to Pismo Beach and walked the beach for 4 miles.

We noticed many cars camped right on the beach.

We returned to Avila Beach in the evening and decided to eat dinner at the Blue Moon over Avila restaurant. Since outdoor seating was unavailable, we were seated indoors next to a live piano player, who played a medley of popular tunes, including Yesterday, etc.

 

We ordered the following items from the printed menu:

• Appetizer: Bubbling Brie with French baguette
  
• Boris: Allagash Beer, Glazed  Pomegranate Salmon
  
• Inna: Framboise, Fresh Wild Mushroom Ravioli
  
• Dessert: Macaroons

We really enjoyed our dinner, though the service was occasionally slow. I especially liked the Bubbling Brie and my Glazed Pomegranate Salmon.

Returning to our hotel, I continued reading Narnia 3 - The Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis but was so tired that I had difficulty staying awake. I kept falling asleep and decided to finally go to bed.

Sunday, October 17, 2021

I woke at 7:00am but was still exhausted and unprepared for another surfing session. I decided to skip today's surfing session.

After finally waking up at around 8:00am, I decided to shower and walk around Avila Beach in the early morning hours (while Inna was still sleeping). While I walked around, I noticed many dogs being taken for walks and a long line of coffee drinkers at the Kraken Coffee Company. In addition, two SUP boarders took their inflatable SUPs paddling near the Avila Pier.

When I returned at around 9:00am, Inna woke up, and we decided to eat the freshly baked croissants provided by Avila La Fonda Hotel and then head to Kraken Coffee for our breakfast. When we reached Kraken, we ordered our usual items:

• Boris: Mocha (with dark chocolate)
  
• Inna: Latte
• Share: Breakfast burrito, Almond Croissant

I enjoyed my dark chocolate Mocha but did not care much about the burrito. However, the Almond Croissant was outstanding!

We stayed at Kraken for a few hours as I continued to read my Narnia 3 - The Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis. Inna finally reached Alex, who had just returned to London from Scotland, where he had visited Edinburgh. We were anxious to hear the details of his trip there.

After breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and decided to hike the Bob Jones Trail, which is only a few minutes away from our hotel. We enjoyed the 4.5-mile roundtrip hike on a straightforward trail. We saw multiple dog walkers, bicyclists, and even skateboarders on this easy trail.

Before eating lunch, we decided to rest a bit at Pismo Beach. We drove to Pismo Beach and took our seats to sit on the sandy beach and enjoy the sound of the waves crashing on the beach.

 

At around 2:50pm, we returned to our Toyota Sienna and drove to the nearby Ventana Grill for our 3:00pm lunch reservation. After sitting down, we ordered the following items:

• Boris: Strawberry Limeade, Clam Chowder, Mahi-Mahi Sandwich
• Inna: Strawberry Limeade, Clam Chowder, Fish & Chips
• Dessert: Ventana Mud Pie

We really liked the Ventana Mud Pie ice cream.

 

After lunch, we resumed our drive home. Reaching San Jose took us about 3.5 hours (due to road construction and traffic).