That time we "hiked" in California.

After a wonderful night in Monterey, we hit the road with intentions to make our way to Big Sur.  Of course, we made numerous stops along the way.

I just won't bore you with all of my out-the-window shots as well.  Ashley gave me a few tips about Big Sur (one of her favorite places ever AND she's so cool she got married there!).  She mentioned McWay Falls, and that was at the top of my list.  While the trail was a bit lackluster (I was imagining getting to walk out on to the beach), the views were still gorgeous!  We didn't walk all the way down to the Waterfall House though.

[That's a little waterfall that falls on to the beach]

We hiked up the other side of Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park to see some of the redwoods.

We didn't venture too far since we didn't want to be on the road all night.  This was probably the most fun time of our trip though.  Traveling the 1 through the mountains with the coast on your side is amazing.  The road was not near as terrifying as everyone had mentioned (um, hello...I've been in Georgia and NC mountains that are way more terrifying and have zero guardrails).  I will admit that you feel like you've driven miles and miles, but you've only driven two since the road is so windy.  We were lucky enough to see a slew of sea lions too!

We wanted to stop into San Luis Obispo for some lunch.  We ended up at Eureka Burger, and I was thoroughly impressed!

[Jalapeño Egg Burger, no bacon sub avocado, sub veggie burger]  

I have to say, that was another favorite meal.  I'm not a huge burger person, but they had an amazing veggie burger that was done right!  After SLO, we were planning to hit the road to Santa Barbara.  Unfortunately, we couldn't find any legit, decent priced hotels there (something about the Summer Solstice...), so we compromised for Carpinteria.  It's actually a quaint town right outside Santa Barbara.

Of course since every town in California has a local microbrewery, we discovered Island Brewing Company.   It's a little place but had a great atmosphere!  We enjoyed the beers (myself, probably a bit too much) and struck up a lively conversation with some other tourists.  We didn't do much else exciting in Carpinteria, but it was better than I would have imagined.  Then...on to San Diego!

Ps. The Shabby Apple winner was announced!  Congrats and thanks for participating!

Ocean views, the boardwalk, and a snazzy hotel.

You know the deal, we left wine country and headed back down through San Francisco to hop on the PCH and drive down the beautiful coast of California!

Obviously, I can not even begin to describe the true beauty that is the California coast line.

[And seriously, this is just the beginning when things were still foggy and before hitting SF]

D took the first leg of the driving to get us back through SF.  I had big hopes of stopping and getting some typical touristy pictures in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.

[Seemed like those touristy pics weren't meant to be]

And so we kept trucking through San Fran.  I did research while D drove.  Hopping on the Pacific Coast Highway/Hwy 1, there are just a million things to see.  

We stopped two, maybe three times along the way.  We decided to make our first stop for some food in Santa Cruz.  Since D was on a hunt for a brew pub in every city we visited, we decided on Seabright Brewery.

The beers were pretty good here.  Nothing stellar, but they do have beers that have won awards at the Great American Beer Festival.  The food was actually pretty good here!  We got the nachos (which aren't on their online menu but were really amazing) and the salmon fish and chips.

After filling our bellies, we trekked (and dealt with parking issues) over to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.  I can't remember ever going to a boardwalk before, so it was a must-see for me!

 [It was a Saturday, so it was a bit heavy with people]

 [No big deal, we rode the sky buckets]

D picked himself up some classic "fair" foods (ice cream and chocolate sauce covered waffle), and we were back on the road.  I took over driving (and of course was unluckily stuck in traffic for a while), and D took to Priceline to search for a hotel.  He hit the jackpot and got us a spa hotel in Monterey.

[Portola Hotel & Spa]

Monterey ended up being probably my favorite city of the trip (side note: while I say I want to live in a big city, my favorite cities to travel are by far the little, quaint places).  The hotel was obviously wonderful and right on the Fisherman's Wharf.  

 [View from Fisherman's Wharf]

 [Window view of seals from our dinner restaurant]

We had an amazing dinner that I honestly did not want to end even when I was stuffed to the brim: clam chowder in a bread bowl, seafood fettucini alfredo with house made sauce, steamed fish platter, local beers.  We walked and explored the wharf.  I wish we would have made it to Cannery Row.  It would have been ideal to have a second, full day in Monterey.  I'd love to go back, rent bikes to ride around town and explore the aquarium.  We left fairly early the next morning to get back on the road towards Big Sur.