Coastal Highway + Big Sur

Just wanted to post some photos and catch up on the last adventure we had before the holidays!  During Steve's December weekend off, we spent Friday relaxing and letting Steve catch up on sleep (as per usual) and then were off on Saturday down the coastal highway.  It takes us about an hour and a half to get to the coast, then I found some hikes in Big Sur that we could do, which were about 45 minutes to an hour further South.

For those who want a visual, here is a map of Big Sur and it shows where in California it is.

Anyway, the drive down was just breathtaking!  It's winding and narrow and right on the cliff's edge much of the time!  I had to resist sticking my whole body out the car window the whole time to take photos.

Here a few from the drive:

In the last one above, that bridge (which you can't even fully appreciate in this photo) was built in the 1930s.  So impressive that we drove past and then had to turn around so we could drive back over to a lookout point to snap a photo.

When we got to the park we did a little 2.2 mile hike through the redwoods to a waterfall and then up to a lookout over the valley below.  We brought some subs up and ate lunch on the way and then spent about an hour hiking around and appreciating the scenery.  Let me tell you, those are some tall trees!

The next hike was a few miles further down the road and was more of a stroll.  It was right along the highway, and there are some neat things about the history of the place.  First of all, the waterfall below used to pour right into the ocean, but in the 80s there was a massive mudslide a little bit up the coast that resulted in the creation of this beach.

Looks like Steve's trying to figure out how to get down there!  (Believe me, he did ponder it!)  While we were there, I noticed a lot of people ooh-ing and aah-ing and taking photos, but not of the waterfall.  It turns out there was a gray whale spouting just off the coast right beyond the waterfall!   How cool!

Hello, Mr. (or Mrs?) Whale!

If you keep walking on the path where the waterfall lookout is, you will get to a big, flat, patio-like area.  In fact, I think it was a patio at one time!  There had been a house on the site at one time, built and lived in by one of the early settlers to the area.  Can you imagine this view from your house?!

 It was the most perfect place to watch the sunset that evening! A great end to a great day :)