Big Sur

Thomas and I have decided to take advantage of our last few free weekends to do a little local traveling. Last weekend, we jaunted off to Big Sur - a coastal area south of Santa Cruz (near Carmel-by-the-Sea) known for its beautiful wilderness and hippie Cali attitude. Even though Big Sur is only 2 1/2 hours from San Francisco, neither of us had ever visited!

We began the trip with a visit to Point Sur to visit a historic lighthouse atop a large volanic hill (a significant climb - but I made it!). It was the height of the whale migration, so we were able to watch the whales go by while we toured the lighthouse and surrounding area. Then we were off to a beautiful beach in Andrew Molera State Park. The weather was magnificently warm, and Thomas was crazy enough to hop in the ocean for a dip. All the surfers in their wetsuits were giving him a thumbs up for bravery.

We spent the night at a cute little hotel that consisted of a collection of wood cabins nestled by the Big Sur River. We crashed before 8 pm! The day of sun and hiking completely wore us out.

The next day, we began with a light breakfast on our porch by the river, quietly reading the paper. We then went to Deetjen's - a local restaurant - for the best lunch ever. Our waitress personified California hippie friendliness and gave us all sorts of tips.

We also visited Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and saw the famous coastal waterfall. Next, we were off to visit Partington Cove - a secret coastal area where bootleggers used to land and transport their illegal booze into the area. I was particularly proud of myself for toughing out the hike to visit it. Well worth it. We finished our afternoon at Pfeiffer Beach and then drove back to San Francisco. What a fantastic trip! We decided that we will definitely go back with Baby Harvey soon.