Let me start by saying: I hope you like pictures! This blog has LOTS!
Here's a rundown of our second week of summer vacation... well, MY second week. Mike had to work a bit on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings. Our weather was a little unstable and stormy on Monday and Tuesday so I did some things around the house to prepare for our road trip to So Cal (aka Southern California).
Wednesday afternoon we hit the road, with dog in tow. Our only plans were to make it to Big Sur before sunset. We drove South on the Pacific Coast Highway from Monterey to Big Sur and that drive is BEAUTIFUL!
MY HUSBAND'S EYES MATCH THE OCEAN.
CURVY ROADS AHEAD? THE WHOLE THING IS A CURVY ROAD!
MORE ARCHES
So, when we started this trip, we really had almost nothing planned. All I really knew for sure was that 1) I wanted to see Big Sur and 2) I had a work conference in San Juan Capistrano Friday and Saturday... so I knew we had to be there by then.
Wednesday night we rolled into Big Sur just as the sun was starting to set. It was the most beautiful and perfect time of day. We couldn't have possibly planned it any better.
JULIA PFIEFFER BURNS STATE PARK
MCWAY WATERFALL!
THE PICTURES DON'T DO IT JUSTICE! IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!
INSANELY BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!
So, after a little sightseeing, it was time to find a place to park for the night because the sun was setting rapidly. Before we left, we had done a little research of the area and we read about a couple of forest service roads, etc that had free, dispersed camping. So, we drove until we found the first road, and we scored big time! There were lots of spaces available... and totally free. We drove up the road until we were high above the coast with an amazing view of the ocean!
YEP, THIS WILL BE PERFECT FOR THE NIGHT!
PLENTY OF SPACE TO SPREAD OUT.
It was pretty late when we got there so we quickly fixed a pot of spaghetti and ate our dinner under the stars. There was no light pollution and we saw lots of shooting stars.
The next morning... we woke up to this beautiful view:
We made our breakfast of coffee, grits, hard boiled eggs, and fruit. Then we packed up and headed back to the Pacific Coast Highway which we would take south to San Juan Capistrano.
YUMMY BREAKFAST AFTER A GREAT NIGHT'S SLEEP!
Thursday, we stopped periodically and "saw the sights" but for the most part, we spent all day in the truck. We did stretch our legs a little at an Elephant Seal beach...
The next stop was Morro Bay which is an area I would love to visit again... next time with more time to spend there! It was so quaint and cute. There were tons of paddleboarders everywhere. We saw lots of wildlife. It was just beautiful!
A SEA OTTER HAVING FUN IN MORRO BAY
HAD TO TAKE THIS ONE FOR MY MOM
Continuing south, we came into Malibu. Suddenly we were surrounded by expensive cars and even more expensive homes! It was a beautiful area. I see why the rich and famous want to live there.
LA was interesting. There's just always so much traffic. It's exhausting! But, apparently you can get topless maids for $99 in LA if that's something you're interested in!!!
REALLY? I MEAN... REALLY?
Finally, we made it to Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano. So, this was the only part of the trip we "planned." We booked a campsite up in the mountains for the 2 nights of my conference. Yep, I was gonna camp during a continuing education conference.
So, we drive several minutes OUT OF THE WAY to the campground. We pull in... give the guy our name... he finds our reservation... and meanwhile I read on the entrance sign that "NO PETS ALLOWED IN THE PARK." Ummmm... what???
So we beg the guy to let us in, telling him our sweet old dog is friendly and quiet.... and he says no. We get a refund and head back to town. By this point, it's 7pm, the night before my conference starts. Panic started to set in for me. I started looking up hotels in the area but the only pet friendly hotels were greater than $250/night. HA! That's not happening.
I was starting to get hungry (which is never a good thing during a moment of stress). And I truly felt like crying. But, instead, I told myself repeatedly not to freak out. This was going to be ok. I just knew that it would be fine. It HAD to be.
So we stopped for Chipotle. I ate an ENTIRE burrito... a feat that could only be accomplished by stress induced eating. Then, we headed for the nearest campground we could find on the map.
Well, as it turned out, this campground was right on the ocean. It was WAY closer to my conference. We pulled up to the gate only to see a "CAMPGROUND FULL" sign. Which we knew it would be! No surprise there! Mike begins talking to the ranger at the gate... we started with a story that our friends were inside camping and we were just going to go hang out for a bit... then we would drive into the campground and literally BEG for someone to allow us to park on their site for one night!
Well, they wouldn't let us in. So, my amazing husband opted for the truth. ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA KIDS! We explained that we were supposed to camp up the hill and we couldn't because we have our dog, etc. We desperately need a place to stay for 2 nights, but even just for the first night would be helpful. That's when the ranger says, "we have 1 spot left for tonight." It was a MULTI DAY CANCELLATION!!!! HALLELUJAH! PRAISE JESUS!!!
Are you kidding me? We could not have gotten more lucky!
I will say, this campground isn't the nicest or most private we've ever stayed at, but I was ecstatic to have a legal place to sleep... and they had hot showers! Huge bonus!
I slept like a baby that night. After sitting around a campfire and taking a hot shower, I crawled into the back of the truck, we set up the fan to circulate the air and I was OUT!
The conference I attended was all day Friday and Saturday. It was very informative and I'm super glad I went. The best part was that we still had plenty of sunlight in the evenings to walk around Dana Point... a truly beautiful area!
ME: "I WANT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE SKATEBOARDER STATUE."
MIKE: "UMMM... I THINK THAT'S A MARINER. NOT A SKATEBOARDER."
MY BOYS IN THEIR OTHER HAPPY PLACE BESIDES THE MOUNTAINS.
WATCHING PADDLE BOARD RACES IN A BEAUTIFUL HARBOR.
SUNSET VIEW FROM THE BEACH
Saturday night we left right after the conference and headed north on 395 to Lone Pine.
LOTS OF JOSHUA TREES ALONG THE WAY
AND LOTS OF POWERLINES!
BUT THE SUNSETS ARE STILL BEAUTIFUL!
We arrived to a campsite that Mike found just by playing on google maps. It had lots of open sites. We picked one, and settled down for the night. We knew the mountains around us were BIG but it was hard to tell just how big until the sun came up the next morning...
MT. WHITNEY... THE HIGHEST PEAK IN THE LOWER 48.
IT'S THE CRAGGY ONE IN THE CENTER OF THE PICTURE.
We decided to drive up Whitney Portal Rd. which is how you access the trail to hike to the highest peak in the lower 48 states. It's a beautiful area with lots and lots and LOTS of granite mountains. Of course, there are also beautiful trees and waterfalls.
You have to apply for a permit to climb Mt. Whitney. It's a lottery system and TONS of people apply each year. I applied this year for myself, Mike, and my brother. Long story short, we didn't win the lottery. So this morning was a little bittersweet for me. It was neat to see the trailhead but it made me realize how badly I want to climb this mountain! Maybe next year.
LUCKY PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY WON THE LOTTERY!
YOU START THE HIKE BY PASSING THROUGH THIS WOODEN STRUCTURE WITH
SIGNS WARNING YOU THAT YOU COULD DIE ON MT. WHITNEY!
THE GREEN AREA WITH THE CARS IS WHERE WE CAMPED LAST NIGHT.
WHITNEY AGAIN FROM A DIFFERENT VIEW
LOTS OF WEIRD ROCK COLORS! SO BEAUTIFUL THOUGH!
Mike took a little detour a short way up Tioga Pass. I was napping and when I woke up, this is what I saw:
A BEAUTIFUL RUSHING WATERFALL!
We stopped for a quick bite to eat at the BEST GAS STATION IN THE WORLD! It's on the corner of hwy 395 and Tioga pass and their fish tacos and carnitas tacos are amazing!
I snapped a few pictures of Mono Lake while we were waiting in construction traffic.
IT'S A SALT LAKE.
We decided to make one final stop before heading home... at Travertine hot springs. We had heard a lot about them. They were pretty... crowded. We walked around and stuck our feet in one of the pools, but didn't stay long because it was the middle of the day... it was hot outside... too hot for sitting in hot tubs of water!
It was SO much driving, but in the end, I really think it was worth it. I loved being able to see everything. The coastline is absolutely beautiful! The conference was informative. The camping situation could not have possibly been any better!!! It was a wonderful trip! And now... Zater is exhausted... and so are we.
