Big Sur

We've been talking about going to Big Sur since we came to Callie. It is just far enough away to not really be a great day trip and so many other adventures have taken precedence. Finally we've put it to the top of the list and scheduled three whole days! We just got back and it is spectacular, (but not for the faint of heart or those with serious acrophobia.)

It is a bit hard to describe the area and much like Yosemite exceeds all expectations. Geologically speaking Big Sur is a spot where the highlands of California are being eroded into the sea. For those in my family who remember the trip to Monaco it is a bit like that, twisting mountainous roads that are scant feet from a 500-800' plunge into the beautiful blue waters of the ocean (but no burned out cars this time.) I'd like to say that I was willing to stop at any of the vistas, but alas my white knuckles prevented me.


Great Tradition!

Honestly, one tradition I'm hoping to encourage is that Archil likes planning a three day trip to celebrate my birthday. This years was a bit delayed, but I'm trilled with the tradition. Last year was Yosemite and this year Big Sur. Couldn't be happier! (I'm starting to vie for either Hawaii next year or Death Valley! Yes, they are extreme opposites of the spectrum, I know.)

We camped out in these cute little tent cabins. A small fire pit made for perfect Sam'ores! We were nestled under Redwoods that were, on average, 2,000 years old! On Thursday morning we went on an hour and a half horseback ride through valleys up to the edge of the Redwood forest and then over to the beach. Awesome! Nye is really great riding on his own, but it didn't hurt that we had a couple of really great guides.

Another tradition is we spent some time building beach structures. Much of the best large driftwood on the beach had already been incorporated into large scale structures, but never to be deterred we adapted the dried forms of the kelp stalks to make a snake inspired art gallery. The "Reptilian Art Gallery" (as it was named) featured many fine beach discoveries. A couple of people even donated a plastic Stegasaurus to the collection. The fine lacy structure managed so survive several days. Who knows, it may still be there.

One of our days we lunched at Nepenthe, a place filled with folklore. It lives up to it's reputation. We trekked down to Hearst Castle but were too late for the tours. We're still kinda wondering if the zebra's we saw, were they a mirage? It appears not. Maybe we'll go on the tour someday. Loads of other exciting things to see! Like a beach full of elephant seals. Boy are they huge! Picture your very healthy sea lion male. Got an image from Pier 39? Now picture that x2 for a female or x3 for an adult male elephant seal. Wow!

Explorations

We stopped at one of the many "jade" beaches on our way north from San Simeon. The coastline on the south of Big Sur is dotted by rock formations that include deposits of jade. This washes up on the beach in cobblestones that can be collected. We found a jade pebble - does that count? Still the search was fun and the ocean and rocks are a site to behold.

On our trip back north we stopped at Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park a beautiful park whose forests were unfortunately ravaged by the forest fires a few years back so that many of it's trails are not accessible. One of the singular features of this spot is the view of the beach and it's waterfall. The water is pure turquoise and the view through the surrounding wildflowers quite spectacular but it's hard to get a photo that doesn't look like the postcards!

Wonderfully well spent and tired we headed north. From the relative safety (aka one lane's distance) we could look for whales and enjoy the Turkey Vultures cruising on the thermals. Ah, just blissfully enjoying the blue skies and blue ocean. It was rather hard not the crash when I spotted a California Condor soaring at road level in front of me! (Thank god for that little dusty turn off.) We followed the Condor around a bend or two in the road until we drove right under their soaring wings. Damn, but they are really big! By the time we found a good vantage point we realized we had two adults and probably a juvenile. They were enjoying the thermals and in the end landed in the pine trees of some lucky home owner. Whaahoo!

I was so happy that Arch and Nye got to spend some real time seeing these great birds. They were hanging around so long that we actually lent our binoculars to some bicyclists who stopped near us and were curious about what we were looking at. For us, a once in a life time experience to be sure.

To say that Big Sur is beautiful is rather an understatement. What struck me though is that it seems to be a place that unfolds. The more time you spend there and explore the more treasures you discover. It isn't an easy place. It is just what it seems, an charged intersection full of anticipation. It is a sublime place where the mountains meet the sea!

All our love,

Sara, Nye, and Archil