PCH - Day 2 & 3 (San Luis Obispo to San Francisco)

This morning I got up and drove over to Montaña de Oro State Park and Morro Bay recommended by a friend who grew up in the area. It's so hard to capture the wild natural beauty of the area with pictures but it is so stunning. And smells AMAZING -- a combination of the ocean, pine trees, woodsmoke from campfires and the golden wildflowers that the park is named for. I'd like to try to find a way to bottle that scent. I followed Hwy 1 north along the coast, stopping at the Elephant Seal viewing areas around Cambria and San Simeon. This time of year, the young males are on the beach and starting to 'molt'. They were very cute playing in the harbour. I found out after the fact that I was extremely lucky -- the Big Sur section of Highway 1 had just opened THAT day following issues with rock slides and one of the main bridges being out for 14 months. There were plenty of posted signs saying it was open and there was still roadwork along certain stretches but I thought the drive was great. If you're someone who genuinely enjoys driving, not just someone who does it to get somewhere, all of California Hwy 1 is a joy. I made my way up the Big Sur coastline and stopped at the Henry Miller Library which was neat and at the Hwy 1 institution Nepenthe for lunch which was recommended by a friend. Nepenthe is one of those ultra-chill, been around since the 50s places where you instantly feel totally welcome and like you're part of some cool kids club that you'll never forget. I sat on the patio and had soup and a cheese plate and talked with a couple from Chattanooga TN and another couple from Turkey and Italy who were driving Hwy 1 in opposite directions. After lunch I continued up Hwy 1 and came down the other side of the mountains into the Carmel Valley and drove through Monterrey Bay up to Santa Cruz where I picked up 17 North and headed over to Jean and Skip's house in Menlo Park. It was great to see them and we had lots of fun. The first night we walked to downtown Menlo Park for dinner at a new sushi restaurant that Jean wanted to try. Skip's on a diet now that mostly means no carbs so sashimi is one thing he can eat. On Thursday morning, Jean and I went for breakfast at a French bakery in Menlo Park then came back to meet Skip and we all walked over the the Stanford University campus where they showed me a sculpture park with works from Papau New Guinea, the original university quad and Memorial Church, Cantor Art Museum and the Anderson modern art collection. On the way back to their house, we stopped for lunch at a place called True Foods and then picked up groceries at Trader Joe's so Jean could make a Persian dish that Skip liked in Iran for dinner, Lamb with Pomegranate Walnut Sauce which was delicious. While Jean was cooking the lamb, Skip showed me their slides from their Iran trip which was really interesting. Tomorrow, I'll head north through San Francisco into northern CA.

Montaña de Oro State Park in the morning haze

Elephant seals playing north of San Simeon

Big Sur coastline from the patio at Nepenthe