(MONEY Magazine) – The best food I had on this trip down Highway 1 was from a makeshift barbecue stand on the east side of the main drag in tiny Guadalupe, 30 miles south of San Luis Obispo. I'm still kicking myself for not getting more of the beef ribs, which ranked among the best meals of my life. The operation looked itinerant, so it may not be there all the time, but it's worth an excursion to find out.

Other good eats: Duarte's Tavern (202 Stage Rd., Pescadero; 650-879-0464) has fine sandwiches and excellent fries. Near Monterey, Fishwife (1996 1/2 Sunset Dr.; 831-375-7107) has surprisingly inexpensive seafood and a nice view. The vista at Nepenthe (Hwy. 1, Big Sur; 831-667-2345) will leave you groping for words, and the food ranges from simple to sophisticated (I had a great swordfish sandwich). If you can't find that barbecue stand in Guadalupe, the Far Western Tavern (899 Guadalupe St.; 805-343-2211) serves steak dinners, steak-sandwich lunches and steak-and-egg breakfasts, all featuring dynamite beef cooked over an oak fire.

The motel chains have outposts up and down the coast. Rooms can get scarce in the summer, especially on weekends, so reserve when possible. The worst price-gouging appears to be in Monterey, but the neighboring town of Seaside offers some bargains--I got a two-bedroom at a Howard Johnson Express (1893 Fremont Blvd.; 831-394-8566), with high-speed Internet access, for only $59.

The oddest lodging option is the famously kitschy Madonna Inn (100 Madonna Rd., San Luis Obispo; 805-543-3000; www.madonnainn.com)--no relation to the pop star but a pop-culture icon in its own right. Each of its 108 rooms has a different theme, some incorporating waterfalls, spiral staircases and rock walls. My travel partner, Karen Eng, is Chinese, so we chose the Oriental Fantasy room, which featured Asian-themed wall hangings and light fixtures, Far Eastern stained glass and dragon-embossed faucet handles. (Jackie Chan was on the cover of our in-room TV listings, but I think that was a coincidence.) It was all pretty cheesy--and at $195, pricey--but it was also fun. And the soap smells like coffee cake! (It's a cake of soap, get it?)