After crashing for the night at Angela's aunt's apartment in Long Beach (so grateful to not have a 2 hour drive after that Disney day!), and breakfast at Denny's (the kids' first time!) we set off to the north on Highway One.
Day one included a number of quick stops in recommended locations that were supposed to give us a quntessential California experience. But between foggy conditions near the ocean and the sheer level of exhaustion among our group, we found a lot of that first day to be underwhelming.
Venice Beach was quirky and fun and also rather grubby and grey, and we could have gotten a contact high from the pot in the air...
Santa Monica Pier was festive and fun and also encased in fog.
This photo sums up what happens when you force two overtired teens to stop and sightsee...
The clouds finally lifted in the afternoon and we began to get a few nice vistas of clifs and shining water...
By the time we reached Santa Barbara for sunset by the pier, it finally looked and felt a bit more like summer...
What a gorgeous spot. Calm bay tucked into the mountains...
We headed inland to find our Airbnb in Atascadero. Suddenly we were up in the mountains, dry air and sage and brown grass and ranches everywhere.
Had a nice night's sleep and a morning of lovely views before starting off to Hearst Castle....
... with our Freedom Panels off, finally!
Early morning mountains and fog...
... and then a tour of a fantastic mansion on a hill.
This is one of the little "summer cottages" on the estate.
This is how the kids felt about touring a historic house first thing in the morning.
Here's Nat impressing people with his mustache everywhere he goes.
Just a magnificent, over-the-top place. I loved it.
Lunch stop on the roof the Wrangler... back in the fog...
We thought we saw a seal way out of one of the rocks and we were so excited.
Then we stopped at the seal viewing point and got to see about a hundred. Laying about on the beach, flopping sand up onto themselves with their flippers, lurching awkwardly towards the water... they were smelly and adorable.
From there to Big Sur, the sun stayed out and the narration for those three hours of driving could be summed up as "Oh wow, look at THAT!" on repeat. We couldn't keep from stopping at almost every pull off to gawk at the combination of cliff and surf and sky.
By the time we reached Big Sur, where we filled our almost empty tank with extremely overpriced gas, the sun was brilliant and hot in the sky.
We decided a beach trip was in order and drove down to Pfieffer State Park. It was an amazing spot, tucked in against the cliff face. It was also quite possibly the windiest place on earth. We decided to just embrace the exfoliating effect of the sand whipping against our skin and enjoy ourselves anyways.
Or at least as much as we could in the icy, leg- numbing water.
These two went all the way in a few times, brave souls. It was brutal and spectacular there.
Back on the road. More "Oh wow!"
Our second stay was in Pacific Grove. We were utterly charmed by our little pink hotel and by the rest of the town. It had such a chill and down to earth vibe there.
Not to mention this stunning rocky coast.
Just as soon as we win a big enough lottery to buy one of the 3 million dollar homes there, we are moving to Pacific Grove.
Morning walk in Monterey. One of the things I loved about the Pacific Grove area was the way the coastline went from rugged and rocky to smooth-calm bay in just a few miles.
Our last stretch up the coastal highway before San Francisco... and a stop at Shark Fin Cove. A treacherous climb down the cliff side and we got to play in this little treasure of rock formation and wild surf.
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