Bernadus and Big Sur

Leslie and I recently had a chance to have a little parents' getaway. Her firm had some unused rooms at the Bernadus Lodge in Carmel Valley, California, which it made available to associates. So with the help of Grammy and Pop Pop (babysitting), we snapped one up and were able to get away for some mommy and daddy time.

We made a point of visiting Big Sur, which continues to be one of the best places in California. We drank a few beers and ate lunch at Nepenthe, the Big Sur restaurant perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. By luck we wound up with the best seats in the house, right on the rail outside facing southwest into the Pacific coastline. Here are a couple pictures from our lunch.

The hotel was just what the doctor ordered. We kept it pretty simple: sitting in their warming pool, playing tennis, hanging out in our room by the fireplace, and reading and eating crackers in bed. The highlight was breakfast in our room the following morning (eggs benedict, but of course).

On the way back we made a pitstop at the Gilroy Outlets for a little early holiday power shopping unencumbered by squirmy family members. It was a great success.

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.