Big Sur is not a town; it's a 90-mile stretch of land defined by the Santa Lucia Mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The suitably named Highway 1 is the only road that runs through it. It is an especially rugged stretch of oceanfront comprised of a rocky world of mountains, cliffs and beaches. There are NO words to adequately describe the sheer beauty of this drive. A mid-March storm sent several sections of the highway into the water. We had to drive through a few single lane repairs but for other than a short stretch around Gorda, which is still closed for repair, we traveled the entire magnificent stretch from San Simeon to Carmel. What a fantastic experience. Big Sur has long been a retreat of artists and writers and the ancient forests and rugged shoreline have, to a great extent, been protected from over-development. To use a well-worn expression: “IT IS AWESOME”!

One of the more iconic Big Sur landmarks is the Bixby Creek Bridge. It is one of the world's highest single-span concrete arch bridges at more than 280 feet high and 714 feet long. The bridge is quite identifiable because it is frequently featured in TV shows, movies and commercials. The Bixby Creek Bridge, which was opened on November 27, 1932, is important historically because it introduced automobile travel to Big Sur, connecting the remote coastal towns to each other. It was virtually impossible to select a few photographs, from the scores that we took, that will do this area justice, but we have selected some that, hopefully, will reflect the sheer beauty and magnificence of this stretch of coastline. The photos are included in the link below.
Some more of the highlights along the way were:
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park with some lovely hikes that culminated in incredible vistas. The view high above the beach, with the 80-foot McWay Waterfall that drops into the ocean was especially incredible. This was an astounding place to sit and contemplate nature.
Not enough can be said about Carmel, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove and Monterey. They are all stunningly beautiful and unique in their own personalities and charm. The 17-mile drive, which traverses a surf-pounded landscape, complete with cypress trees, sea lions, seals, HUGE estates and the infamous Pebble Beach Golf Links was just gorgeous. Also, all over the coastline, the vivid pink-purple ice plant groundcover is just stunningly beautiful as it cascades over and down the rocks to the shore below.
In Monterey, a visit to Cannery Row, which was made famous by John Steinbeck, was quite informative. Additionally, the campground where we are staying is near Salinas, California where Steinbeck was born and grew up.
Speaking of the campground where we are staying; it is filled with wildlife including a mother bobcat and her four cubs. We have had the thrill of watching them romp and play and gradually become more daring and frisky. Check out their pictures on the link below.
We also visited Point Lobos State Reserve for MORE incredible scenery and also enjoyed a trip to Point Pinos Lighthouse.
There was also a side trip to Asilomar Conference Grounds, touted as Monterey Peninsula's "Refuge by the Sea". Pat attended a conference here back in the ‘80s and she has always fondly recalled its 107 acres as a spot of breathtakingly gorgeous and ecologically diverse beachfront land, situated within the quaint and scenic town of Pacific Grove.
We continued to view more of the California missions with visits to Mission San Antonio de Padua, where we examined olive trees that have survived for more than 240 years and are still bearing fruit, and Mission San Carlos Boromeo del Rio Carmelo.
We also enjoyed a visit to Pinnacles National Monument, which is highlighted by the eroded leftovers of half of an extinct volcano. The rock formations provide for spectacular pinnacles which are not only breathtakingly colorful but are also a favorite of rock climbers AND the nesting habitat of the California condor and several breeds of falcons.
A visit to San Jose, the heart of the Silicon Valley, where Pat has spent considerable time in her working days, was capped by a visit to the INCREDIBLE Winchester Mystery House. It was the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester and was continuously under construction for 38 years. Deeply saddened by the deaths of her daughter Annie in 1866 and her young husband in 1881, Winchester consulted a medium on the advice of a psychic. The "Boston Medium" told Winchester that she believed there to be a curse upon the Winchester family because the guns they made had taken so many lives. The psychic told Winchester that "thousands of people have died because of it and their spirits are now seeking deep vengeance”. She also told Winchester that she had to leave her home in New Haven, CT and travel west, where she must "build a home for yourself and for the spirits who have fallen from this terrible weapon, too. You must never stop building the house. If you continue building, you will live forever. But if you stop, then you will die”. The medium continued that otherwise the spirits that killed her family members would come after her, too. After hearing this, Sara Winchester began construction on the maze-like house that is full of twists, turns, and dead ends, so that the spirits would get lost and never be able to find her. Under Winchester's day-to-day guidance, its "from-the-ground-up" construction proceeded around the clock, 24-hours a day, seven days a week, without interruption, from 1884 until her death on September 5, 1922, at which time work immediately ceased. The cost for such constant building has been estimated at about $5.5 million dollars which would be equivalent to over $80 million today. There are 160 rooms, including 40 bedrooms and two ballrooms, one completed and one unfinished. The house also has 47 fireplaces, 52 skylights, 10,000 window panes, 17 chimneys (with evidence of two others), two basements and three elevators. Winchester's property sat on 162 acres. There are gold and silver chandeliers and hand inlaid parquet floors and trim. There are doors and stairways that lead nowhere and a vast array of colors and materials. The house also has many conveniences that were rare at the time of its construction, including steam and forced-air heating, modern indoor toilets and plumbing, push-button gas lights, a hot shower from indoor plumbing, There are three elevators, including one with the only horizontal hydraulic elevator piston in the United States and a Séance Room where the spirits are said to have directly inspired her as to the way the house should be built. The number thirteen and spider web motifs, which had some sort of spiritual meaning to her, reappear around the house. For example, an expensive imported chandelier that originally had 12 candle-holders was altered to accommodate 13 candles, wall clothes hooks are in multiples of 13, and a spider web-patterned stained glass window contains 13 colored stones. The sink's drain covers also have 13 holes. This place was quite a remarkable sight and lays credence to the fact that there is a thin line between genius and insanity!
We have also been enthralled with the miles and miles of agricultural land which includes the BEST lettuce, strawberries, cherries and a plethora of other fruits and vegetables.
SO, this is an overview of some of the amazing sights that we’ve experienced and below is the link to some pictures for you to enjoy.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMq8
From here we head back southeast across the state to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks and then into Yosemite.
Take care and stay safe,
Pat & Judy