October 24, 2015 – Sun, 70 degrees

Miles Today: 21

Miles to Date: 8,925

States to Date: 25

When you have an unavoidable day of administration work to set up travel plans for Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, it’s lucky to be in San Luis Obispo, where the Madonna Inn offers a midday diversion from reality. Although I visited Cal Poly’s campus and SLO’s vibrant downtown, the main event of this college town is the eclectic Madonna Inn, a three-dimensional confection that Alex Madonna constructed at the base of his very own mountain.

The urinal in the men’s room is so famous it’s impossible to use. Women are always barging in to take a peak.

The cakes are also noteworthy. I had a piece of Toffee Crunch for lunch – it was a complete meal, except perhaps for its nutritional content.

I didn’t get to see any of the 100+ unique rooms, but the lobbies and cafe were plenty garish for me. Besides, two hundred bucks a night and up is well beyond my taste. Instead, I stayed with a terrific friend-of-a-friend host whose house has a commanding view of the entire valley – including the Madonna Inn.