-----> Plan your RV trip with our NEW State By State Guide To State And National Park Campgrounds. <-----

Monday, November 13, 2023

Coastal California - Big Sur, Carmel-By-The-Sea And The Pacific Coast Highway

Have you ever had the opportunity to behold the stunning views of coastal California, including Big Sur, Carmel-By-The-Sea and The Pacific Coast Highway?

Before you go on your amazing journey to this absolutely gorgeous stretch of California click here to make sure your car is ready for the road trip.


2022 Cross Country Road Trip Stop 15

When we first started planning our cross country road trip, one of the top things on Sandie's bucket list was traveling on the Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1). I thought it sounded fun and a little scary knowing that the road is very narrow in spots and has lots of sharp curves around high cliffs with no guard rails. But taking it slow is all you have to do to be safe and we definitely wanted to take it slow and enjoy the beautiful sights.


We drove this picturesque road to get to Big Sur Campground & Cabins. This would be our home for the next four days. We were more than happy when we got to our campsite in the middle of the giant Redwoods.


We grilled pizza for a quick dinner.


Then went to Saturday evening mass at St. Francis of the Redwoods. We were early so there was no one else around. We started to wonder if we were in the right place on the right day.


We looked around the grounds of the tiny church as we waited to see if anyone was going to show up. We wondered who the talented sculptor was that carved these beautiful wood statues.



Finally the priest and a handful of parishioners showed up. There were only about 20 parishioners who were probably the same people that come to this church on the first and third Saturday of each month. We stuck out like sore thumbs in this Spanish-speaking community. The pastor realized that we didn't understand a word of Spanish and  it was so nice and thoughful of him to translate his homily in English for us.

The church was unlike any we have ever been in and the whole experience was wonderful and will be one of our favorite memories of this road trip.


Our plan for our first full day of this stop was Point Lobos State Natural Preserve located off of Hwy 1 in Carmel.


We combined several different trails to make a loop.


We made sure our hike included the trail with the incredible views of the coast along the Pacific Ocean.



We hiked the South Plateau Trail to get to Bird Island. 


We would find Pelican Point on Bird Island. We never saw pelicans in the wild before. And to see so many was incredible!


And we also made sure to we hiked Sea Lion Point Trail to possibly see dolphins, sea lions and otters. We saw sea lions but we couldn't get a good picture of them. They were too far away. Sandie took a video which showed movement but you would only know they were sea lions if she told you. But the scenery was incredible so worth the hike here.


After our hike in Point Lobos we made our way to the city of Carmel-By-The-Sea which was only 4 miles north of us. We parked on Torres St. where three of the over 20 Fairy-Tale Cottages are. This one is the Hansel Cottage.


GOOD TO KNOW: Be sure to pick up the guide to the Fairy-Tale Cottages at the Visitor Center. Inside the guide you will find a map to use on your cottage tour.

Then we walked around the city.


We shopped in a few stores before heading back to the campground and calling it a day, a really beautiful day!


The plan for day three was to find a beach to relax at. The beach closest to our campground was at Andrew Molera State Park. .


The beach was a little disappointing because it wasn't as beautiful as we thought it would be after everything else we saw on this stop so far. We were intrigued, though, by the wooden huts people made for shade and for hanging their clothes and other things on. 


The bathrooms were at the parking lot which was about a mile hike away from the beach, so we weren't able to stay on the beach for long. But everyone, except me, wanted to get back to the campground to do some tubing. I volunteered to take their pictures.


After dinner we went on a search down Hwy 1 to find the best spot to see the sunset. We parked where we saw the largest crowd. We noticed that a lot of people were taking pictures where we parked. We turned around to see the Bixby Creek Bridge, one of the most photographed locations in California.


Then we followed them across the highway and waited for the sunset. It was beautiful!



We took care of laundry and cleaning the trailer on our last morning in Big Sur. After lunch we sat in front of the County Library for about an hour and used their wi-fi to catch up with email and messages. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the river and sitting around a campfire. It was nice to have an easy day before we hit the road again in the morning.


The little bird we made friends with at the campground came by to say good-bye. This little guy visited us every day. Even though we were not feeding him we must have left enough crumbs around us after every meal for him to keep coming back!


2022 Cross Country Road Trip Stop 16

We started off on the Pacific Coast Highway as we made our way to our hotel stop in Santa Maria, CA.


We made a couple of stops on our way there. The first stop was Point Piedras Blancas off Hwy 1. We stopped to see the elephant seals, we were not at all expecting to see this many!


The next stop was Hearst Castle.


We decided we were fine with just seeing it from a distance when we found out that it would cost us $30 each to go on a tour.


By that time we were starting to get anxious to get to the hotel where we planned to swim in the pool, relax in the hot tub and use the hotel wi-fi!


And that's exactly how we spent our short stop-over in Santa Maria.

Read about our Stop 15.




This post was featured:


Have you taken a drive down the Pacific Coast Highway and enjoyed all the sights of Coastal California? We would love to hear where you stopped to take pictures!











33 comments:

  1. Beautiful images! I would love to be able to get my husband to travel like this. Looking at your images is wonderful. Sort of like I was with you on the trip! Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you can convince your husband to do this road trip! We had a fantastic time on this adventure and have so many amazing memories now! Thank you for taking the virtual trip with us!

      Delete
  2. Great post! The California coast including Monterrey, Carmel, and Hearst Castle is my favorite vacation destination. I've spent most of my life in Florida and love marine life, but California takes it to another level. Whale spouts from the road, seals, and especially otters steal my heart!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh wow, beautiful! What a great experience.
    Visiting today from Will Blog For Comments 15 #26&27

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really was amazing. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
    2. Ps: Thanks bunches for sharing your trip with Sweet Tea & Friends November Link up.

      Delete
    3. Thank you so much for hosting your party!

      Delete
  4. What an amazing trip. We were actually considering a Carmel-Big Sur trip this year but opted for San Diego. I love the whole PCH! The scenery is just stunning. Thank you for sharing this post at the Will Blog for Comments #15 linkup. Hope to see you there next week, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope that you will make it to this area one day. It was beautiful! Thanks for visiting with us and thanks for hosting your nice party!

      Delete
    2. I do, too! It's my favorite kind of scenery. :) I'm stopping by again to let you know that this post was one of the most-visited at the Will Blog for Comments #15 linkup! Congratulations. It will be spotlighted during linkup #16 (which will last almost 2 weeks due to the Thanksgiving holiday). You're welcome to save the "This post was a featured favorite" image there to add to your post here and celebrate with your readers, if you like. See you next week!

      Delete
    3. Oh thank you for this exciting news! I will definitely want to add your image to the end of my post!

      Delete
  5. Wow! That sure was an amazing trip. You have captured it beautifully. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for coming to check out our post and for your nice comments.

      Delete
  6. I've never been to the Pacific Coast Highway area but I certainly enjoyed seeing the photos and hearing about your adventures. Not ever have done camping, I was amazed at "grilling a pizza"- didn't know that could be done. Loved the story about the church and all the beautiful carvings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed your virtual trip to Coastal California. The church was definitely unique and one of the highlights of our cross country trip!

      Delete
  7. What a lovely photo essay of the northern coastal CA highway sites. Love the crisp colors, flora and fauna, fun adventures, and RV-ing delights. Saw it at Wonderful Wed. My shares the is week are #56,57, and 58. Enjoy this beautiful season and Happy Thanksgiving. Warm regards, Nancy Andres @ Colors 4 Health

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy Thanksgiving to you! Thank you for stopping by and for your nice comments.

      Delete
  8. A most beautiful experience!
    I was so lucky to go there many years ago. Memories!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you so much for visiting and sharing your links with us at SSPS #287. We would love to have you on board as a co-host, so please get in touch with us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the invitation. I will definitely considered it!

      Delete
  10. Looks like an amazing trip. As I will never get there, thankyou for taking us there. I have never thought to grill pizza over a campfire. Delicious. Happy travels. I am joining you at Randomosity linkup.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The pizza was delicious! Thank you for coming on a virtual trip with us.

      Delete
  11. Wow! What a nice trip! Thx for sharing! :)

    Greetings from Germany,
    Christopher

    ReplyDelete
  12. This place is just beautiful. Good job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes it is beautiful! Thank you so much for stopping by!

      Delete
  13. Such beautiful ocean views on that hike! It sounds like another couple of wonderful days.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I loved looking through your photos. It looks like you all had a wonderful time and that is always so nice. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us at the Crazy Little Love Birds link party #14. I hope that you will join us again. Happy Thanksgiving!
    -Stephanie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for stopping by and for hosting your Crazy Little Love Birds party!

      Delete
  15. So much to see in San Diego. I've heard of the San Diego Zoo and I see you have a koala there. Living in Australia we have visited the US several times but never San Diego. I should add it to my list. Thanks for sharing. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would love to see a koala in the wild in Austrailia. Have you ever?

      Delete