I took the risk and brought the DSLR with me (in baggies none the less) and before we knew it the seals found us, posing for pictures! The harbour seals, sea lions, and sea otters all hang out together on a peninsula near the wharfs and the kayakers definitely pique their curiosity. We had shadows for most of the trip, but took care not to get too close a we didn’t want that huge fine for interacting with them. (but that didn’t stop the critters from checking us out)

We worked our way towards the aquarium where there is a nice kelp forest. The water was a spectacular deep green, and the kelp flowed with the currents in hypnotic waves. We took some time to enjoy the view, the fresh air, and give our muscles a break from working our way out against the wind.

Eventually the breeze started to chill us so we made our way back, with no spills and cameras still dry.

Fisherman’s wharf was calling (Chowder, chowder, chowder! come eat me!) and so we did. After a few tastings we decided to get a bread bowl and warm up on a couch with its own fireplace. After exploring the wharf a bit more we determined we didn’t have enough time for both the aquarium and Point Lobos, so we decided to hit the point… those jellies are coming to chicago so i wasn’t too disappointed.

After a short drive and parking scuffle, we were hiking out to the beautiful points of Point Lobos. Once again the water is just a beautiful deep blue, crashing into the cliffs.

The famous cyprus trees surrounded us… taking our time we walked the loop stopping so many times to enjoy the views.

I found some paintbrush wildflowers (orange!) and enjoyed snapping pics as i saw them. On our way back the light was shining just wonderfully through the trees and it felt almost like Middle Earth… the trees weren’t talking to me, but with a bit of imagination the ents would have said, sit down and stay… don’t rush!

After a fun afternoon of hiking we decided to try to drive the 17 mile drive, but then detoured when we realized you had to pay and realized the houses in the area were awesome anyways… there were some crazy roofs (wavy!) and just some cute rock homes, very gingerbready…

We made our way home, fixed some yummy food, and finished the night watching a movie all cuddling together on the couch.

Time to head home

So my last day of my trip we decided to head back to San Fran/Oakland after a leisurely breakfast. We made good time and stopped in to grab Mariana’s ID, as it was the Peruvian voting day. We made our way downtown and realized there are a LOT of peruvians in San Fran! We dropped her off to get in line to vote and went off to try to find parking… after much circling we realized there were too many voters and opted to head a bit more west and found a great ramen place. YUM!

We were just heading back when we heard voting had been completed, and Mariana had a plan… crazy ice cream at Humphry Slocombe. And when i say crazy, i mean crazy… Salt & Pepper? yep. Foie Gras? Yep (but not that day), honey thyme, jesus juice, corn… it goes on.. You can taste any of them and they ran out quickly of the best flavors (salt and pepper wasn’t one of them) but i ended up getting Secret Breakfast… corn flakes and bourbon! WTF? oddly good, even though i’m not a bourbon fan!

a perfect end to my trip, a fun city day with basically no pictures haha! Thanks to both Geoff and mariana for a wonderful finale!

One thing that was ideal during my stay was that all the road work (due to mudslides) was south of where I was staying in Lucia (and it closed off the area after 7pm). In addition the road was also closed semi-permanently to the north of Bixby Bridge due to the slip out (aka the road fell into the ocean), which meant absolutely no traffic from 7pm to 7am. We were kind of trapped, which was actually pretty cool. On my drive out I had to document all the construction… (1 stoplight, and 2 stop signs)

I learned that the road i’d taken in Nacimiento-Ferguson had a nickname.. the Nasty-Ferg or something like that which i found kind of funny but also indicates some not so nice accidents had happened on that road. I was reminded of that even more as i was enjoying the crazy roads when i happened upon 2 fedex trucks and the big UPS Van in the middle of a tight curve each time. Note to Heidi, don’t be a moron and drive safely. With fewer stops on my way back i made fairly good time back to King City.

I had to make 1 pitstop in King City… this is where Bela and our friend Geoff lived for a while over 10+ years ago. Bela had worked at the Denny’s right off the highway and I felt it was only fitting to make an obligatory driveby, which worked out well as i got gas literally right next door. I was meeting Geoff and Mariana in a few short hours so i didn’t stay to explore their old town.

After returning my rental in San Jose, i found Geoff and Mariana and we headed back out to the coast, only this time to the north a bit into Santa Cruz, another fun coastal city known for its surfing. I was amazed at how many surfers would be out at one time fighting for the waves. At one spot i swear i saw possibly 100 surfers. It was a bit chilly so we didn’t stay to watch them long.

After a quick stop at Bridges SP we decided it was time for some food and to retire for the night. A friend of theirs has a house nearby that we were very lucky to be able to use. We had a great home cooked meal and i cuddled up in a down comforter on the couch to veggie and turn in early for the night. After all these long crazy days I think I’m almost ready to head home… well almost 1 more full day to go!

With a bit more sleep i was ready for my day to begin, so i started working my way up the coast yet again. I noticed a nice little waterfall just a few miles to the north and did a quick stop, but after McWay it didn’t really compare so I didn’t stay long. With the weird weather (some rain, some sun) I was glad I’d made all my stops the day before and quickly made my way to Pfeiffer Beach.

Now I’ve read over and over how hard it was to find the access to this beach, but honestly I don’t get what all the fuss is about. So it doesn’t scream BEACH ACCESS HERE! off of Rt 1, but if you have a vague idea of where it should be its super easy, and even better it has a huge yellow sign saying “windy road, no trailers”… AND they give the exact mile marker. If you can’t find it, great! you probably shouldn’t be there if you can’t follow any of those instructions

The drive down to the beach definitely keeps you on your toes. It is mostly a 1 lane very windy road with some pretty blind corners. It reminded me a lot of JDC roads, but more fun. I got a little too excited and had to remind myself i wasn’t back home and did need to pay attention so I didn’t get into any nasty accidents. And the grand finale of the drive is crossing a small stream, which in my little economy car was only slightly concerning… I have to admit it was a bit fun splashing through it!

So there are 2 things about Pfeiffer Beach that i wanted to see… the most widely known draw is the “Window to the World” rock… It has a pretty big, fairly square hole in the center of this massive rock right off the beach. On certain days of the year when the timing is right and the sun/clouds play friendly rays of light will shine through making an intense ray of light and it’s a sight to see. (Today was not that day).

The second thing about the beach is that it has purple sand, yes that’s right purple. While the whole beach isn’t purple you can see some pretty cool designs where the purple meets up with the normal sand. My morning visit had to do with trying to catch the cool designs in the sand before too many people trampled it. I lucked out and with the rainy random weather, and it being mid-week, I got some really cool designs with no tracks anywhere near them.

It had started raining a bit harder so I decided that would be a great time to go explore Big Sur State Park nearby, thinking the dreary weather might actually be an advantage. But by the time i got there and started my hike it got wonderfully sunny and warm, oddly not want i wanted. But i was there and was looking forward to doing a light hike and made my way up to Pfeiffer falls. The light wasn’t great but i enjoyed a snack, hung out with the family of a photographer who was off trying to get the perfect shot (not sure if he got anything worth bushwhacking for) and just took in the huge redwoods near the base of the falls. I love the wonderfully tall trees, so majestic…reminds you how small you are when you see them.

After my hike back I couldn’t decide what to do, more hiking or check out Nepenthe? I voted for food, its a bad habit but Lupper was calling and i’d heard great things… while this was one of my most expensive luppers ever, it was also one of the most tasty. I couldn’t break my habit Barb and I had started of wine and dessert with each meal … tho this time i didn’t have anyone to share it haha! I opted for a nice glass of local Lucia wine, the wonderful ambrosia burger, and a triple berry pie while enjoying my view of the ocean yet again. awesome.

I’d passed enough time to start thinking about sunset again, so i opted to head back to the beach just in case that ray of light might happen… I spent some time just enjoying the waves crashing and wonderful fresh sea air and then got to work trying to capture some cool images. There were just a few others on the beach with me- it seems everyone knew the ray of light wasn’t going to happen. To top it off the weather got even stranger and it even hailed at one point! I waited it out and got some fairly good color in the clouds, but mostly i wanted to enjoy my last sunset in big sur right on the ocean. another great day!

We finally packed up an started our way back to LA, nothing grabbed our attention from the road so we made it in good time. We were gabbing so much on the way that we totally missed our exit, BUT as things turn out that worked out better for us. After a quick iPhone confirmation we determined we were even closer to her son’s new house and we’d wanted to do a driveby anyways… couldn’t have planned it much better So after checking out his cute new home we grabbed a nice little lunch near her son’s current house then continued on so i could meet the whole fam.

They all seemed so sweet, friendly, and a little bit nutty – just like Barb haha! I had a lovely time visiting and getting to know them all a bit better. Barb’s grandson was so full of energy and wit, reminding me a little of tom cruise when he jumped on the couch hehe… her granddaughter was a bit more shy but adorable and on the move as well… that family has their hands full

I knew i needed to get on the road to attempt to miss traffic, so i got on my way even though i probably could have just hung out most of the afternoon… I was glad i left when i did as i did hit some traffic, but nothing too overwhelming on my way to San Clemente to visit my boss Holly (and now friend) and her son. Her other son unfortunately had just gotten sick and was spending some time at the grandparents.

I arrived to her cute house that resides just a few blocks from the beach and got to meet her sister who doubles as the nanny/tutor for her little ones… just as nice as Holly

Just as i was getting my new credit card (yay!) her son comes in… a bit shy, but curious to see who was there… I was a little surprised as i thought he’d be in “face down” time (he recently incurred an eye injury, coupled with being sick which re-injured the eye a bit, means no running and attempting to let the eye heal which means – you guessed it lying face down a majority of the time). I remembered he does get breaks, thankfully, i can’t imagine trying to keep a 5-6 yr old face down 24/7, what a feat!

We decided to join him in FD time and headed back to his massage table to hang out… he watched some wiley coyote while Holly and I caught up a bit… eventually we decided to play some games and boy can that kid whoop my butt in mario cart! On the flip side i found out they had just gotten World of Goo and i got to flip the tables a bit and show him a few things about that game… but i’m sure in a few weeks he’ll have figured that out too

It was getting close to dinner time so we decided to give M a longer break to grab some pizza and check out SC’s beachfront real quickly. We timed it perfectly for sunset… M wanted to show me the mariner’s memorial, but really i think he wanted to show me his ” Sour Flower” I’m not sure how they found it, but it is sour and it is yummy! After enjoying a few of those we took in the lovely sunset right on the beach, then headed off to grab some artichoke pizza, YUM!

We finished off the night with some more racing once Holly’s hubby got home, yep i lost bigtime yet again. It was getting late so I got on the road yet again. I stayed near LAX for a very short night’s sleep to catch my early morning flight.

Another great day, this time meeting such great people and wonderful little ones that are living life to its fullest despite what life is throwing at them!

Most of the tour we were too busy snapping photos to get most of the details, but i did really love the pools… the grecian pool is just spectacular with its view and overall layout and the roman pool’s 3m diving platform that basically floats and which also has gold all throughout the floor and thruout the room sparkled and the reflections of the works of art made it hard to imagine living in a place like this let alone designing it… such extravegance…

Many of the rooms had amazing ceilings and intricate carvings and just works of art everywhere… the sculptures were my favorite.. they were in the pool, in the gardens, and just everywhere throughout the house. We got yelled at a few times for taking too long, but were were in a big group and we weren’t the only photogs there… after the tour we decided to check out San Simeon as we’d both heard about it.. and were both very suprised to find the tiniest little town ever (for those elizabethians think woodbine but possibly smaller but with bigger homes).

After our morning of walking and touring we had built up an appetite and decided this was the right time to snag some yummy fish back in Morro Bay… i got some excellent fish, chips, and chowder while barb had some halibut… we both were extremely happy with our meal and our view out of the bay. With our tummies full we decided to say we were done for the day and decided to head home with no more stops for photos…. 4 hours later we were back in our old hotel in lancaster and it felt like home… we’re happily snuggling up for a good night’s rest and gearing up for a few more rounds of poppies. Overall it was a nice change from our past couple of days and made for a fun overnight on the coast.