The Big Sur coastline absolutely lived up to its reputation even on our drive in on the 1. Josh handled Charlie with Juanita in tow like a champ on the windy roads and we arrived at Big Sur Campgrounds and Cabins mid-day on a Monday and it was as remote as it gets.
At our campgrounds there was Z.E.R.O. cell service or getting internet… it was a blessing and a curse to be so far removed from technology and distractions, but also unable to communicate with anyone literally farther than a stone’s throw away.
We spent a few hours at a local tavern just long enough for me to field some online training client emails with their WiFi and Josh was kind enough to snag a beer and epic sweet potato fries to keep our server happy long enough for me to get my work done… Josh definitely took one for the team 😉
We took Big Sur by storm on Tuesday driving over an hour south on the 1 to get to Sand Dollar beach to walk around, enjoy the sunshine and the waves… and the wind for a while before traveling back north on the coast. Stop two was LimeKiln State Park where we actually sat and had lunch underneath a bridge holding up the 1…. Crazy! There we found a fun brief hike to some Kilns in the woods that used to be the largest producers of limestone for San Francisco and also a beautiful 100 ft waterfall we had all to ourselves, a rarity in such a beautiful and touristy area.
Still heading north after a stop at a local gallery/café to recharge with some cold brew and ice cream we made it to Pfeiffer State Park for a hike up Valley View Trail of a beautiful view overlooking the area… and we saw some sings for mountain lions at the trail head so no dilly dallying for us on this one!
We closed Big Sur exploratory day with a dinner outside by our campfire and some obligatory roasted marshmallows.
Wednesday, we ventured even further north into Monterey for the full aquarium experience that met all expectations. We saw everything from microscopic jellyfish to sea turtles, sharks to sun fish, eels to penguins, sea otters to sting rays and more. I even got taken out by a “bat ray” (looked just like a sting ray) in the touch pool when I was standing there innocently minding my own business and it swam by and splashed me like I was on fire. Well played bat ray…. Well played….
We ended our last night in Big Sur visiting an old friend from grad school where he and his wife opened their home to us for a lovely dinner and even let us feed some horses…. Who knew horses were SO into cookies?
To end our time in Big Sur we had to make one last trip down the coast from our campgrounds to the well-hidden Pfeiffer Beach to see a “key hole” in the rock formations where waves can crash through. Google Pfeiffer Beach Key Hole and you’ll see breathtaking pictures at sunset… ok ok so we were there first thing in the morning, but it was still a spectacular site… oh and again… did I mention how WINDY the coast was! Ha!
Welp, Big Sur it’s been fun…. But San Francisco is calling our names before we disappear into Yosemite so stay tuned for our next Blog post on our adventure!
Getting Lost and Eating Cake 