SLO to Monterey

We got an early start on the day AGAIN. We stopped at a local McDonald's for a quick breakfast and were amazed to see they didn't have a drive-thru. (Later research revealed that they're against the law in the town. Interesting!) We then stopped at the Starbucks next door for coffees to take on the road with us. There was a homeless gentleman in line behind us and to the absolute warmth of my entire heart Jackson bought the man's coffee without me saying a word. Seriously, I love that guy. The man was really appreciative and managed to get a cheaper drink than I knew Starbucks even sold! 

We got on our way to Monterey, but saw a billboard for Morro Bay and had to stop to see their large rock. I'm not kidding, we love rock formations.

Morro Bay

It did not disappoint. What a cool little town!

Early morning light

We made our way up the coast to Elephant Seal Beach where we stopped to see the residents. They were awesome! There were so many of them just hanging out. No wonder this area is known for having a high population of great white sharks!

Seals as far as the eye can see

Mr. Bird enjoying a lovely beach day, too!

We kept twisting up the road to the Big Sur area. It was worth the, at times, harrowing drive.

Views.

This guy. LOVE!

Morning hike

How we got to our hike-- a random staircase over the fence!

Views on the drive

We stopped in at state park that we had heard good things about only to be aghast at how crowded it was. The national parks in the area were closed due to recent rain causing mudslide issues after forest fires so everyone was at this one. Bummer. We hung out for a bit and explored before deciding to get back on the road.

I never tire of these types of views

Hiked to a waterfall

We went down the road a bit to another trail that lead to a beach. It was simply stunning.

Happy hikers

We decided to get to Monterey for a late lunch. We stopped at a local seafood restaurant because all of the ocean time made us hungry for it!

Clam chowder! WOOT!

Fish-n-chips

Jackson got fish-n-chips and he (inexplicably in my mind) likes to use malt vinegar on his fish. He went to put some on his plate and about half of the bottle dumped out. It was terrible. He was going to eat it that way, but I was having none of that. Our waiter was super kind and replaced his meal free of charge due to their bottle malfunction. It was kind of funny once we knew he'd get a replacement.

We spent the next hour or so strolling around Monterey. We'd visited a few years ago so we didn't spend much time. It is a very touristy town with some lovely views.

Hanging at the Intercontinental Hotel in Monterey 

Monterey

We went to a place called Sunset Beach to watch the sunset. The moniker fit as it was a lovely place to end the evening.

Sunset Beach

The long day of driving, sightseeing and hiking around got to us so we're having a pretty low-key evening in the hotel here in Watsonville (a little north of Monterey). Tomorrow we are off to the San Jose area after spending the day at Big Basin State Park.