Day 3 - Morro Bay to Carmel

Yesterday was nice because we weren't in a hurry to leave Morro Bay. It was only about 150 miles, so we didn't expect a long driving day. We had breakfast at our hotel, which was also very nice because we didn't have to eat out, and left around 9:00.

Most of our trip has been cloudy/foggy/hazy and about 6oish degrees. The sun did come out in L.A. and Malibu, but other than that it we hadn't really had sunny weather until yesterday. It started out nasty and chilly, but by the time we got to Carmel it was very nice. We both really enjoyed the sunny/cool weather.

Anyway, we headed north on Hwy 1 yesterday morning...Yesterday was by far our most scenic and beautiful day. We were absolutely not expecting to see the views we did, and even Graham said that he "loved this day." I did too! It was definitely a "go God" kind of day, and we really enjoyed taking it all in.

Our first stop, just outside of Morro Bay, was Hearst Castle. We didn't plan to tour it, but just wanted to stop and see it. Unfortunately we couldn't see it from the bottom of the mountain where we had to park. I'm not sure if it was just too foggy, or if the castle was on the other side of the mountain.

After Heast Castle, we stopped at Elephant Seal Vista Point. On this particular beach, there were tons of Elephant Seals. They are huge!! And, they make strange noises! We really enjoyed watching them, and taking in the sights. I could not believe how big the things were, and I loved seeing them swimming in the water and coming on and off the beach. They also played with each other, and it was funny to watch them.

We headed on our way after that, but stopped a million times at different look out points just to take in the view and to take some pictures. We were both surprised at how beautiful the Pacific Ocean is. It is so clear and very pretty blue/green color. I think we both expected it to look more like the Atlantic. We both said so many times that we felt like we were going to fall of the edge of the Earth. It's funny that it doesn't feel that way on the East Coast. We were also surprised to be in the mountains, but on the water. The road twisted and turned like the mountains, and there were huge mountains on the eastern side, but we were still right on the coast.

There were very few places to stop for food/gas/bathroom, so when we came to this place called Rugged Point, we decided to stop. It was a great little place. There was a nice lodge there, gift shops, and places to eat. They also had a trail that walked around the edge of the cliff and showed the views. There was even a separate trail that actually walked down the cliff to the water. Graham decided to walk a little ways down that Death Trail, as I called it, and luckily made it back up safely! (He's on the Death Trail in this picture.) There were signs everywhere that said you walked at your own risk, etc. I decided that something like that was definitely not for me. Graham really enjoyed walking the little bit of it that he did though! We ate lunch outside there, walked through the shops, and then continued on our way. So far the day was turning out to take much longer than we expected, but it was well worth it!

After Rugged Point, we came up on what we thought was Bixby Bridge. It is the arched bridge that is used in advertisements, movies, etc. We got out and took lots of pictures, but it turned out we were just at some random bridge, haha. That was okay because it was a great spot anyway! And, we did end up seeing the real Bixby Bridge later.

Our next stop was a place where there was actually some beach you could walk out on to. I was so excited to stop there because I really wanted to say I had actually put my feet in the Pacific Ocean. It was gorgeous there, and the water was beautiful! It was a little too rocky and slippery for me to put my feet in, but I did sit and put my hands in. It was sooo cold! Graham loved this beach area, too. He enjoyed walking around on the rocks over the water, and picking up a bunch of these tiny, smooth, colorful rocks. They look like rocks you would buy at a store, or that would be in my Rock Kit at school. This is a picture of me standing on the cliff above the beach before we walked down. That was really our last stopping place. We mainly took in the views from the car, and really enjoyed trying to spot some of the random houses that were sitting on the side of the cliffs over the ocean and up in the mountains. I want to know who lives in those, where they go to the grocery store, and why in the world they aren't worried their house isn't going to just fall off the side!

Just before we got to Carmel, we drove through the town of Big Sir. We both really liked it there. I think Graham would enjoy spending time there and making use of the camping areas and hiking trails.

When we finally got to Carmel (it took 7 hours to go the short 150 miles), we checked in to our bed and breakfast, The Sea View Inn. It is such a cute house and from our attic room you can see the ocean. We can also hear it from here! We have to keep the windows open because there is no air conditioning. How nice not to need AC?! The weather is perfect here. It's in the 60's and sunny with no humidity. The inn served wine from 5 to 7, so before we went to dinner we had a couple of glasses and sat out on the porch and looked over menus of restaurants to decide where we wanted to eat.

We ended up walking to dinner. The "short" 10 blocks that it was were straight up hill, which was not great considering the 5 inch heels I decided to wear. Oops. Anyway, dinner was wonderful, and we really love the town here. I could definitely move here!

Today we are spending time in Carmel-by-the-Sea. We are going to go in all of the shops and then head on to San Francisco.