California Day 3

Waking up with the sun bouncing off gold sequin wallpaper isn't the most peaceful way to rise. But the weather in SLO is beautiful and the Madonna Inn supposedly has a killer breakfast, so we adjust. Coffee, breakfast, a quick shower and we're off down Highway 1 - the Pacific Coast Highway. The reason for our trip.

If you ever have some time to kill and are looking for an amazing vacation, I can not stress enough how thrilling a drive from San Simeon National Park through Big Sur to Carmel actually is. Author, Henry Miller said about the Big Sur Drive, "This is the California that men dreamed of years ago...this is the face of the Earth as the Creator intended it to look." No more true words have been spoken. It is like visiting the Grand Canyon - impossible to describe, you just have to see it to understand. But I will try - and fair warning to those of you who have been so complimentary of my humor the past few days: it is entirely too magical of a drive for me to be sarcastic.

San Simeon is home to the famous Hearst Castle. Now, I understand the magnitude of the Hearst Castle. It is an enormous mansion built at the very top of a mountain at a time when there were no roads leading up and no front loading backhoes to get the job done. Simply thousands of underpaid laborers who moved the Earth up a mountain in wheel barrells to satisfy W.R. Hearst's dream. And Kevin and I didn't really care. Again, I get it. But it wasn't a highlight on the trip. We pulled into the Visitor's Center at the foot of the mountain, perused the gift shop, watched the DVD of the making of the Castle and decided that we really didn't need to take the 2 hour tour through the house. That and the tour we wanted to take which was of the gothic master bedroom, kitchen and master bathroom wasn't for another 2 hours to begin with. So we left. Those of you reading who have been to Hearst Castle can rant and rave and tell me how much we missed all you want. A full week as passed and we do not regret our decision. Here is the castle with Kevin's telescopic lens from very very very far away.

Neat.

Almost immediately after leaving the San Simeon area the topography of the land begins to change. It morphs from rolling grassy hills and mountains to a deeper green and thicker forrests. I am amazed at how it feels and looks like you are driving through a mountain town with giant pine-esque trees and redwoods, but on the west side of the highway (closest to the ocean) the trees are palm trees.

A little further down the highway there is a turnout where you can stop and watch the elephant seals.

We actually thought this one was dead...but that's how they hang out.

Elephant seal pup playing in the water.

Can you see the flipper perched up on the back of the other seal? He'd take it up and down. It looked like he was waving - or telling us to bug off.

Little pup barking for our attention - or a warning that he would sick his Big Daddy on us.

Just beyond the elephant seals the drive changes again. No longer are we winding through small mountain towns with curio shops on both sides of the highway. All of a sudden, the temperature drops 20 degrees, the fog rolls in and then, the entire west side of the Earth literally falls into the ocean.

We land in Carmel. Literally...LAND. The thrill of driving with the top down and hearing the waves crash below you is the most exhilarating experience I have had. Had I known what was in store for me in Day 4, I would have stayed in bed. But that's a story for another day.