Edge of the Ocean

We left the aquarium and headed towards signs for the famous 17 mile drive that I had read about and our friends from the lighthouse had also recommended. The drive is pretty but not as spectacular as we were lead to believe. The road snakes it's way along the rocky coast between Monterey and Carmel, occasionally dipping into the wealthy development of homes that has sprung up adjacent to the water. There are several little stops along the way where you can see some rock formations or groves of trees that have been named along the course. The self proclaimed highlight of the drive is the Lone Cypress, a tree that is somehow clinging to life out on a rock suspended in the crashing surf of the Pacific Ocean. Most of the trees out here were twisted by the chaotic winds that batter the shoreline, and several were also visible from our vantage point.








This picture of Pri had to be included.


So we continued on our way. In the interest of time we exited the 17 mile drive a little early into the beautiful city of Carmel. A short jaunt up the main drag of the obviously opulent city sealed our fate and we quickly parked to peruse the artsy looking shops in search of the hidden treasures we have such a penchant for. I think we stopped at the second store we passed and spent the next hour browsing the many shelves. By the time we left, all of the other stores were closed. We pressed on seeing what we could see by the minimal lighting left on after hours. Eventually we decided that we were hungry and should eat at one of the awesome restaurants we had passed. After a nice dinner we found our car and got back on the road.

Soon we were on Rt 1 which also hugs the jagged coast. Unfortunately the sun had set so we couldn't see the ocean for most of the ride. We passed most of the attractions in Big Sur that we would be revisiting tomorrow, at which time we'd get to see the drive in daylight.

We finally arrived at our destination, a camping/yurting resort in Big Sur called Treebones, at approximately 1 AM. Luckily we had called ahead so we knew a map with directions to our campsite was taped to the door of the lodge. We retrieved the map, found the trail marked by a traffic cone and hastily set up our tent before piling in and passing out.

We arose the next morning to an amazing view of the ocean, as our site was positioned on a bluff a few hundred feet above the water.









We enjoyed a breakfast of waffles and tea in the lodge and perused the communal binder of day hikes in the area to confirm which we would be doing. We settled on a basic itinerary of seeing a place called Jade Cove, Sand Dollar Beach and a short hike in Julia Pfeiffer State Park that would give us views of a sheltered cove housing a waterfall which terminates on the sand a few dozen feet from the ocean. We figured that we could hit the Hearst Castle (a museum-like mansion built by turn of the century newspaper tycoon William Randolf Hearst) during the morning the next day. With our plans figured out we set off in search of Jade Cove.