Celebrating Our Anniversary at California’s Cliff House Inn
Our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary was coming up fast. We knew we didn’t want a party, large or small and we warned family and friends, under pain of death, not to give us a surprise party. Our wedding had been very modest and we wanted our anniversary to include just the two of us, Herb and Sandy, middle aged romantics.
We live in Pasadena and we knew we wanted some sort of ocean escape that wasn’t too expensive. At first we thought of Catalina but then realized our anniversary date was in the middle of Easter vacation and we were not crazy about spending it with a bunch of drunken college kids. Then I spotted a teeny, tiny ad in the Los Angeles Times. It advertised a place on the ocean called the Cliff House Inn. It was about five miles south of Santa Barbara, an easy drive from Pasadena. No one had ever heard of it but we thought, what the heck, let’s be wildly adventurous. We booked a room for two nights.
On a beautiful April day, we drove up the coast. As we got near to where we thought the Cliff House Inn should be, the freeway ended and turned into a four-lane road that could be exited from a center lane. We missed our exit and had to turn around at the next exit. This time we were successful. Our hearts went pitty pat as we saw a two story motel type building straight out of the thirties or forties; just the kind of place that both of us love. Through the lobby we saw the intense green, blue of the ocean. We checked in and went to our room.
We could not be more than 100 feet from the ocean and our room, and all the other rooms, had a beautiful ocean view. The crashing waves and blue, sparkling water, drove away all the work and urban tensions in about five minutes. There were tables set out around the swimming pool and people seemed to be eating. We were hungry and so we joined them. We both had an Ahi salad and it was delicious.
After lunch we sat outside on lounges at the edge of the ocean. Lazily we watched the Pelicans dive for fish. Suddenly a very large object came within about 100 yards of shore. It was a whale! And just as suddenly it was gone, to be replaced within a few minutes by five or six dolphins. The other guests and we were enchanted. For the first time, we noticed the other guests-they were all couples: old, young, thin, fat, all wrapped up in each other and in the nature around them. We began to feel the romance of the place and were soon cuddling on our lounges.
Much later, we were hungry again and headed for the dining room, called the Shoals. The menu was pricey but the food was again delicious. We shared a salad and then both had salmon with a mystery, but yummy, sauce.
We also had the usual terrific ocean view. The moon came out and its light cast a strip across the sea. The night was warm so we sat by the edge of the sea watching the moonlit waves. We slept like innocent newborns that night.
We were up bright and early the next morning and ready for our continental breakfast of fruits, bagels and cream cheese, many muffins and sweet breads. Then we explored the shoals around us. Herb found big rocks with fossils in them and hefted a large one up a steep path and into our car. It sits in front of our fireplace as a momento of our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
In the afternoon we took along some cheese, bread, and wine and walked along the beach to the north of the Cliff House Inn. Later on we had the luxury of an afternoon nap lulled by the ever- present sound of the sea.
As we had planned, we supped in our room on wine, cheeses, fruits, crackers, and sourdough bread. We had Snickers bars for dessert. We watched our last moonlit evening with a tinge of sadness; we didn’t want to leave this place.
But in the morning we faced reality and left. But some of the magic and romance of the Cliff House Inn is always with us and we have been back many times. The Cliff House is not for everyone. It is not a luxury hotel nor is it a resort in the usual sense. There is absolutely nothing to do which is either a plus or a minus. It is very much a couple’s place and not really somewhere to bring the kids.
Cliff House Inn
6602 West Pacific Highway
Mussel Shoals, Ca.
1800 892 5433
Rooms $120-$195 per room
