CA 1 Road Trip: The Big Picture

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

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After arriving in Monterey our virst stop in the morning was Carmel-by-the-Sea. We went down to the beach and then decided to check out a local mission.
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Next we headed down the coast and stopped at different view points to take a look at the coast. This stop is Bixby Bridge.
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Next we drove through Big Sur, the redwood groves that dot the coast. The elevation jumps and we stopped at Nepenthe, a beautiful indoor outdoor restaurant where we had hot apple cider and breakfast at 3:00 in the afternoon. Being on a mountain, in the forest, on the edge of the ocean eating breakfast might just be as good as it gets.
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Alden had heard of this place, McWay falls, and had wanted to go for YEARS. Lucky for us it was part of the drive. Talk about BEAUTIFUL. Can you see the waterfall coming out of the rock? The only down side is there is no accesses to the beach, at least no legal/safe access. Alden was pretty disappointed but in the end we decided it wouldn't be nearly as beautiful if there were a million tourists down there.
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Sunset kisses...
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The next day we got up and went to Pismo beach to see the Monarch butterflies. It wasn't what I expected (the butterflies were hanging in the trees about 20 feet up) but it was still really neat.
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We ended our trip eating Mexican at Morro Bay. That giant rock is actually the pit of an old volcano. Can you believe it?

When doing our research for the trip we came across an article by National Geographic about driving the CA 1. It had lots of great stops, I only wish we could have hit them all. Click here to check out the article.

4 comments:

  1. Lovely. I can't wait to go sometime. Dale told me he wanted to go next summer with the babe. I told him he's crazy.

    Love the pictures. As always, you are awesome. Also, now I am craving some hot struesal (wassail). Dang you.

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  2. ash! wow that looks like the most beautiful place ever!! I am so glad that you two got to get away and spend time together!! it looks so lovely!... you need to call me and tell me about it all in details! love you and Happy Birthday Alden!

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  3. WOW! Did you know that Pismo is where Jen Banfield taught me how to surf? She's from Morrow Bay! We also surfed a little bit just below Morrow rock, it's right in front of her grandma's house!

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  4. I didn't know Jen is from Morrow Bay! That is too funny. It is a quaint little town, I liked it!

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