Since I first drove along Route 1 to Hearst Castle, the drive, along with the stops on the way, has become one of my favorite activities/destinations. So when the cousins' family and we were debating about where to go on Sunday, Route 1 was an easy choice (Oakland Zoo, Yosemite, San Francisco were all options but not for long). In order to keep the trip a bit relaxed, we picked three places in the northern side of Big Sur. Though all three were places we've visited before, they were just as exciting and fun as they were the first time around.
As always, the drive was dreamy with gorgeous views of the sparkling blue ocean and the waves crashing against the rocks. Naturally, there were quite a few spontaneous stops at turn-offs to drink in the view. As for the planned stops, we stopped at Point Lobos State Reserve first. Our itinerary inside the park was identical to what we did the last time. We first walked down to China Cove, a small but pretty beach surrounded by rocks and natural caves; and then we took the path that loops around Bird Rock, a rock outcropping serving as a resting place for a large number of birds(and a few seals too). After lunch, we went to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park after a quick stop at the scenic Bixby Bridge. There we walked the small trail to Big Sur River, where the kids spent some time wading in the water and playing among the rocks. From there we went to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and walked the short hike - which goes through a tunnel under Route 1 - for a view of the beautiful McWay Falls, which falls down to the beach. The original plan was to stop at a beach for the sunset but the one beach we stopped at was too windy and the sun was supposed to set only at 8.29, which was a bit too late for Sunday night. So we headed back home.
A few photos from the trip can be seen here.