After Point Lobos, I continued south though Carmel and finally to Big Sur, where I got lunch and wandered in and out of some of the shops. Of course I had to stop and Nepenthe and it was actually clear enough to see out over the water.
I spent some time exploring Santa Cruz and then eventually I made it to Half Moon Bay where I set up my little camp and spent the evening watching the sunset overlooking another amazing beach.
After a few hours, I turned back north, making my way towards Monterey for an early dinner.
I'd seen pictures of the pink flowers blanketing the beaches in Monterey, but had never seen them in person until now...they definitely didn't disappoint
I continued driving up the coast towards Santa Cruz, and stopped off at this cool little spot on the way. I couldn't see anything from the road, just a trail heading down to the water, so I had to explore and see where it went. You have to cross some railroad tracks and crawl under a huge pipe (which I literally almost knocked myself unconscious with on my way back up to the car) and then hike down a treacherous path to the beach, but it was totally worth it.
I clearly wasn't the only one who enjoyed this little cove, judging from the amount of graffiti on the rocks :(
I spent some time exploring Santa Cruz and then eventually I made it to Half Moon Bay where I set up my little camp and spent the evening watching the sunset overlooking another amazing beach.
The following morning, I awoke bright eyed and bushy-tailed, eager to get back to Santa Cruz for my final day. A special someone surprised me with a hotel room in town, so I fully planned to grab breakfast and sit on the beach and play in the waves most of the day, followed by a much-needed shower and some sleazy reality television before what may have been the best night's sleep ever. The perfect ending to a pretty perfect vacation :)
