California Coast Vol. 1

Listening to The Beach Boys Hits seemed like a nice way to get our ramble up the Pacific Coast highway underway. Appropriately then, we stopped at Surf Beach in Lompoc, CA. The waves weren’t terribly impressive, but enthusiastic surfers of all ages were managing well enough.

Villages nestled into a tapestry of rolling, green hills made for pleasant driving. It had started to rain, and the surf picked up and began battering the cliffs.

A spectacular treat was observing the elephant seals that when not at sea make their home on the sand near San Simeon, CA. We were mesmerized standing not ten yards from these giant comedians as they were play-fighting and keeping each other warm. Immobilized by the obscene levels of cuteness, I was staring and snapping pictures long after Jared had returned to the car.

The drive continued to astound; once the weather cleared we were able to hike to a beach and play amongst the rocks and cliffs as they protruded about the shoreline.

Crossing this spooky bridge brought us to Seventeen Mile Drive which houses the Pebble Beach Golf Course. The drive itself featured large, distinctive homes and brilliant views of the water.

The morning was spent stopping into the cozy shops along Cannery Row in Monterrey. We then walked around the marinas and to a lighthouse that jutted off of the coast in Santa Cruz.

Our final stop before reaching San Francisco was in Castroville, “The Artichoke Center of the World.” They did have delicious-looking artichokes, and we picked up two, large, spiky ones. Jared pulled off of the road to get me close to the plants and we became stuck in the black mud that bordered the fields. Between his pushing and some carefully-placed cardboard he managed to get us moving without using one of our Triple A tows.