Big Sur, CA

Saturday was our trip to Big Sur, CA. Corinne had made reservations for a cabin at Riverside Campground, right in the heart of Big Sur. The trip was about 170 miles and we chose Rte 1 along the coastline, which was absolutely breathtaking! We took two cars because we brought Emma with us, but we stayed close behind Corinne and Patrick and stopped a couple of times along the way to take a few pictures. It was cloudy and slightly windy and the Pacific had lots of waves. Rte 1 climbs the hills along the coast and there are many curvy curves...I'm glad we didn't take the RV!

The entrance to Riverside is on a fairly steep hill and a tight squeeze between 2 large redwoods. At the bottom of the entrance, the river runs OVER the road and you have to drive through it to get to the campground...interesting!

The campground was very nice and the cabin was perfect for the 4 of us plus Emma...we even had a private bathroom so we didn't have to trek to the public bathrooms in the middle of the night! When we were settled in, we drove down to Pfeiffer Beach, which was situated in the cliffs...it was beautiful and Emma loved the sand and ocean!

After we got back to the campground, Corinne and Patrick went hiking for a few hours while Ed, Emma and I explored the campground and relaxed...ahhhh! When C and P were finished hiking, we drove 4 miles to a fabulous restaurant called Nepenthe. It sits on the side of a cliff with breathtaking views of the ocean (picture on left). The meal was delicious and it was a perfect ending to a wonderful day!

On Sunday morning we woke to rain and wind...ughh! We packed up and were on the road by 9:30 and stopped at another local restaurant called The Bakery, where we had a delicious brunch before we headed back to San Fran. The ride home wasn't nearly as nice as the ride up...the rain was brutal and the winds were up to 50 mph the entire trip. We took a little detour to stop at an artichoke farm and bought artichokes and strawberries...yum! We were all glad to get home safely!