First stop on the long day was the famous Hearst Castle just 2 minutes from our hotel. Just as impressive as the castle itself is the huge chunk of land surrounding it. It was a bus ride up into the clouds to reach the castle and it got cooler as we ascended. The guided tour was informative although a little dull. Both Crimson and I had more fun walking around unguided after the segment. The pool was truly impressive and we couldn't help but wonder if the employees had a bash there once or twice a year.
Next stop was Piedras Blancas and the elephant seals. Crimson had been asking me for days when we would see them and this was our first shot with the exception of a lone seal on our kayaking trip in La Jolla. These were big beasts but fairly distant and not very active.
What stood between us and the next major city was Big Sur. A beautiful section of coastal California where mountains meet the ocean with only a small strip of road in between. It was tough to stay focused on the road with all the pretty sights before my eyes. There were numerous delays for one lane roads and some construction but there were also opportunities to pull aside and snap some pics.
We stopped to view California's only coastal waterfall and were underwhelmed by its size. It looked like a garden hose to me. I think I was spoiled by the hundreds of falls in Iceland.
We finally reached Monterey after 3PM quite hungry. So, before hitting the aquarium we stopped stop for food at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. We made quick work of the aquarium since both of us seen much of the same before.
We had more fun watching the seals in their somewhat natural environment under the pier in Santa Cruz. Crimson couldn't get enough of it and probably would have slept with seals if I let her.
When I though we were done with twisty turning roads, I got one more taste with Devil's Slide next to our hotel stop in Pacifica, very close to San Francisco. The hotel was brand new and pizza delivery to the room was a perfect end to a long day.
