GREETINGS FROM MORRO BAY,
California (CA), USA
San Francisco to Morro Bay
Today’s drive headed down the Pacific Coast – Highway 1 – and for a large part of the day we couldn’t have got much closer to it unless we were actually in it.
Having reached San Francisco, we were now on familiar territory from our very first trip in 2005. On that trip we had driven in the opposite direction, from Los Angeles, however bad weather had pushed us to the inland roads for much of the way.
As a result, we had missed another “iconic drive” – up Highway 1 and along the “Big Sur” coast. And so now we got the chance to try again, this time north to south. The weather looked good so we were on our way. Saturday morning traffic in San Francisco gave us a pretty simple exit from the big smoke and so we were quickly heading to the coast at Santa Cruz. There was a little bit of fog/haze about and knowing how things changed yesterday we were a bit apprehensive but so far so good.
Monterey Bay from Fisherman’s Wharf
From Santa Cruz we then spent most of the day literally “on the coast”. And as we headed further south, we realised that a lovely warm and sunny Saturday also meant a lot of traffic around with all those out for the weekend ! We arrived at Monterey about 11am and decided to have an early lunch there.
On our 2005 trip we had spent our time on Cannery Row so this time we went to the Fisherman’s Wharf area. We managed a pretty good parking spot then started to walk along the boat moorings toward the pier. In the water just in front of us we spotted 2 otters casually floating on their backs, one looking like it was snoozing and the other casually grooming himself !
The wharf is pretty much restaurants and souvenir stores. There was a pretty large cruise ship anchored not far off the wharf which was sending in tenders full of passengers to the wharf also. We managed to find a little store selling bread rolls and fresh fruit so we took these and sat at a picnic table at the back of the wharf overlooking the bay toward Cannery Row. As we had lunch we noticed a number of seals swimming around in the bay.
Part of the long, rugged California Coast
Refreshed and refuelled, we started off on the iconic “Big Sur” drive. We first had to deal with a traffic jam around Carmel – where Adrienne managed to navigate us through the tiny back streets past the mess and on our way. At the start of the drive, the scene was set as we passed the first of the state park recreation areas – the first of many that form part of the drive – and found parked cars lining the road in both directions in every nook and cranny available. When we got to the entrance to the park and actual parking area, the “Car Park Full” sign was front and centre !
We also found that many of the scenic overlooks were often full so it was often stop and park when possible as we went. One of the major highlights of the drive is the Bixby Bridge. It was built in the early 1930’s and was the largest span bridge of its kind when built. It was a squeeze for a spot to stop when we got there but I had read about a spot off the main road so we managed to pull in there quite easily for this one.
The drive is certainly amazing – with the road often along the edge of steep cliffs running up from the ocean – but it is a drive where it is hard to see anything when driving other than the road and view ahead unless you can stop at a pullout. But what you can see is pretty cool ! We did manage to get a few stops and toward the end stopped for coffee after quite a drive.
Bixby Bridge – Big Sur
Just when we thought most of it had passed and the elevation of the drive had dropped, we then found ourselves quite close to the beach and this particular area was home to hundreds of elephant seals basking on the beach. Otters, seals, elephant seals…. we cant believe all the different types of animals we have seen in the wild on this trip !
Morro Rock
It was another long but enjoyable day and around 4.30pm we arrived in Morro Bay. It’s claim to fame is Morro Rock – an old volcanic plug – that sits just at the edge of its little harbour.
We could see it from about 10 miles away as we drove in ! Our hotel is right on the edge of the docks so we have a fantastic view – of the rock and harbour. (though you really can’t miss the rock from anywhere !).
Should have phoned ahead for a booking !
For dinner we decided we needed something spicy and with the lack of Indian restaurants in the US we managed to find a Thai one – the Thai Bounty. It was excellent – spring rolls for starters and then a Massaman curry and a Panang Shrimp curry to share.
We walked back to the hotel (across the road) and settled in to take in the beautiful sunset.
Sun setting at Morro Bay