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Days 7-8 – Big Sur, 17 Mile Drive, Travel // Monterey 2024

Isaac Church — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 03:30:19 +0000

Today is our final full day in Monterey. Faith and I decided to take the morning to return to Big Sur and finish up exploring that area, and then return to Monterey after lunch to spend some time with the family.

Alta Bakery

As a final breakfast treat, I decided to return to Alta Bakery and get pastries for everyone. I picked up a croissant, a ham and cheese croissant, a cinnamon bloom, a raspberry pastry, and yet another cup of “light roast” coffee that wasn’t actually a light roast.

Alta Bakery

We all sampled some of each pastry, and supplemented our breakfast with eggs and some other healthier breakfast items.

Alta Bakery

Alta Bakery and Cafe

Monterey, CA

Excellent pastries and cafe menu. Pricey, but high quality.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Captain + Stoker

Faith, Walker, and I loaded up and headed again to Captain + Stoker for coffee before starting our adventures for the day. Faith got an iced latte, and I got two pour overs, Guatemalan and Costa Rican, for us to split (don’t judge me, I was really tired). It was just as excellent as our previous visits.

PCH

Faith, Walker, and I drove back down the PCH, retracing our steps from yesterday, but this time without being stuck in a car parade. Our first pullout was by Carmel Highlands, an exorbitantly-priced community popular with artists and celebrities. Celebrities such as Ansel Adams, John Denver, Edward Henry Weston, Jack London, Brad Pitt, Joan Fontaine, John Madden, Clint Eastwood, Betty White, and many more have lived there over the years. For the peasants, there is just a small pullout affording a narrow view of the bay below. If you want a better view, I guess you have to fork out $50M for a house, or something like that.

Carmel Highlands

Continuing south, we soon arrived at Garrapata State Park, where we pulled over for a view down the coastline towards the Bixby Bridge. Garrapata is Spanish for “tick”, but those pesky little creatures have apparently long been eradicated from this area.

Pacific Coast Highway - Big Sur

We pulled over a few times to take some pictures and take in the breathtaking view of the Pacific.

Hurricane Point Vista Point

Point Sur Lighthouse

Hurricane Point Vista Point

We made another semi-lengthy stop at Hurricane Point to hike around some; however, the wind was blowing so hard it forced us to get back in the car before long.

Big Sur Center

Before we knew it, it was time for lunch, so we started to assess our options. We stopped at Big Sur Station, the region’s visitor center, to grab a couple maps, and then made our first attempt at lunch, at the Restaurant at Big Sur River Inn. Their cafe didn’t have a great selection, and the restaurant was somewhat expensive with a long wait, so we decided to look for other options.

Driving south, we stopped at Cafe Kevah and Nepenthe, probably the most famous of all the Pacific Coast Highway restaurants. I took one glance at the menu and saw it was $32 for a grilled cheese, and immediately headed back to the car. The view was really nice, though. We briefly stuck our heads in the Phoenix Shop, a gift store below the restaurant, but were too hungry to spend much time there even though it was an intriguing establishment.

Finally, we settled on eating at Big Sur Taphouse, per the recommendation of our guidebook (once again, it paid off to have a paper copy of a guidebook with us!). This place was much more reasonably priced, and offered footlong burritos. Faith got barbacoa, and I got carnitas. The accompanying salsa was extremely spicy, but the burritos themselves were outstanding, and packed full of meat. The ambiance of the place was very interesting – it definitely had a unique wild-western feel.

Big Sur Center

Big Sur Taphouse

Finishing up our lunch, we decided to start gradually making our way back north.

Big Sur Taphouse

Big Sur, CA

The food was fantastic, and it was a really neat building. Also considerably cheaper than everything else around here.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

Per the recommendation of the attendant at Big Sur Station, we decided to visit Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park to find a hike. It was extremely hot on this southern stretch of coastline, so we decided to forego the longer hikes that go up into the hills of Big Sur, and instead take a shaded trail through the giant redwoods next to the Big Sur river. We took the River Path trailhead to the Redwood Deck, and then arrived at the Big Sur Lodge, a rustic hotel reminiscent of a National Park inn.

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

After perusing the inside of the Lodge’s gift shop and refilling our water bottles, we trekked back to the car and headed continued our drive. I now realize I never took a picture of the lodge, but it’s worth stopping by if you’re in the area.

Andrew Molera State Park

Pulling in to the parking area for Andrew Molera State Park, we debating doing the one mile hike down to the beach and its famous driftwood shelters. We decided it was simply too hot, especially for Faith and Walker, and we would find something else to do instead.

17 Mile Drive

Instead of going for a hike on the beach, we decided we’d find a different activity with two distinct advantages: 1) it was further north, where it was significantly cooler outside, and 2) it was a scenic drive that we could enjoy without further wear and tear on our already worn-out legs. So, we decided we’d pay the entrance fee and try the famous 17 Mile Drive around the Monterey Peninsula through Carmel, Pebble Beach, and several other ritzy oceanfront communities.

We made it through the entrance gate, and initially attempted to visit the gift shop at Pebble Beach Golf Links to get a memento, but because of the car show, you had to ride a shuttle (30 minutes each way) from a parking lot somewhere inland. Skipping the souvenirs, we instead began the well-marked drive around the peninsula, following a brochure the gate attendant gave us.

First, we saw some of the inland side of the front nine of Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Pebble Beach Golf Links

We quickly neared the ocean again, stopping at a few landmarks such as Spanish Bay Beach, “The Restless Sea”, Point Joe, China Rock, Bird Rock, Sea Rock, Fanshell Beach, and Cypress Point Lookout. I didn’t take pictures of every location, and mostly just tried to enjoy the leisurely drive and the scenery. It was easy to do, since it was the perfect temperature to have the windows down so we could feel the sea breeze.

Cypress Point

Pescadero Point

Cypress Point

Ghost Trees at Pescadero Point

Pescadero Point

After driving through Crocker Grove, we came to Pebble’s signature landmark and logo inspiration: The Lone Cypress. Then, we drove past the sun-bleached Ghost Trees at Pescadero Point.

The Lone Cypress

Continuing along the shoreline, we drove past more of the peninsula’s famous golf courses, including Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Dunes Course, and The Links at Spanish Bay.

Monterey Peninsula Country Club

Fanshell Beach

Monterey Peninsula Country Club

The 14th hole of MPCC is especially picturesque, so we stopped by the tee box of the par 3 and enjoyed the view for a while

Monterey Peninsula Country Club

Winding back inland and uphill past Poppy Hills Golf Course, we finally emerged back on the main highway, and drove the rest of the way into Monterey.

Goodbye to Pinkertons

Back at the house, we joined the weekly Friday afternoon frisbee game at the park, and played for well over an hour. Afterwards, Faith and Anna fed the kids dinner while I started packing up our suitcases. We gave all the Pinkerton kids and Walker one last chance to say goodbye to each other, and then it was bedtime for everyone. Walker wasn’t quite old enough to know what was going on, but his cousins were very sad to bid him farewell.

Dos Victorias

William and I drove downtown to pick up dinner for the four of us from their favorite local Mexi-Cal joint, Dos Victorias Mexican Food. We ordered four California-style shrimp burritos; they didn’t actually have beans in them, but had rice, chipotle mayo, pico, slaw, and a few other toppings. It was exceptionally crowded in that part of town, but after some creative maneuvering around all the crazy traffic, we managed to secure the burritos and head back to the house.

Monterey, CA

The burritos were insanely good, and generously sized. Four burritos weighed almost five pounds. It was probably the best Mexican meal I’ve ever had, even though it was just a single burrito with no sides. The tortillas were also from the local torilleria, Rosa’s, like many of the other places we’d been.

Dos Victorias

Monterey, CA

Incredible shrimp burritos. They have truly perfected them. I’ll be thinking about this place for a long time.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

After dinner, we ate a little bit of leftover ice cream and sat out on the patio visiting for a few hours. Finally, we finished packing up and got in bed right at midnight.

Travel Home

The next morning was a painfully early start; we rolled out of bed at 03:57. After feeding Walker a small breakfast, we left for the airpot at 04:45, after one small mishap when we realized we’d left Walker’s water bottle sitting on the kitchen counter and had to turn around.

We successfully checked in at the airport, and used their outdoor seating while waiting on our flight, which allowed Walker to move around some. We all slept most of the first flight, which took us back to Phoenix.

Monterey airport

Taking off from Monterey

In PHX, we found out our flight back to CLT was delayed by an hour, which thankfully gave us time to find some food. We chose our airport staple, Panda Express, and found an empty gate where we could sit down and eat, because apparently the Phoenix airport doesn’t believe in having tables.

PHX Airport

Panda Express

PHX Airport

I picked up a box of See’s Candies to take back to Mom and Dad, and then we boarded our flight back to NC, which went fairly smoothly. We were all ready to be done traveling at that point.

Our flight landed at 17:00; Mom and Dad picked us up at the airport. We picked up dinner from Chick-fil-A in Lincolnton, and took it back to Granite Falls to eat, along with a few of the chocolates from See’s. After letting Walker play for a while, we drove back up the mountain, arriving back in Boone right at 20:00.

See's Candies

Back in the NC mountains

We unpacked a little, headed straight to bed, and all slept straight through until 11:45 the next morning. I got up and picked up some Stick Boy pastries from Hatchet Coffee for breakfast, and we attempted to settle back into our normal routine after a summer full of travel and time zone changes.

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “17 Mile Drive and all the golf courses”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the shrimp burrito”.

Faith

The best thing I saw today was… “the giant redwoods”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the shrimp burrito”.

Conclusion

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Thanks for following our travels! Stay tuned for more trips in the future…currently, we don’t have anything planned for a while, but you never know what might pop up.

– Isaac, Faith, and Walker

Trip Reflection

This was a fantastic trip, even though it was ill-planned and very last minute. It is hard to pick favorites for most trips, but especially this one. If we had to pick just one activity highlight, I think it would be the whale-watching tour. For food, it would definitely be all the California-style Mexican food.

I don’t think we’ll get to visit the Pinkerton’s out in California again (they’re moving soon), so we’re extremely glad we made the trip while we could! It’s a beautiful area, and honestly one of my favorite places I’ve visited.

Pacific Coast Highway - Big Sur

The post Days 7-8 – Big Sur, 17 Mile Drive, Travel // Monterey 2024 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Day 6 – Big Sur, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park // Monterey 2024

Isaac Church — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:39:00 +0000

Today, we headed down on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH, or Highway One) towards Big Sur and the cluster of state parks south of Monterey. William had to work, so it was the three of us, plus Anna and the Pinkerton kids.

Breakfast

First thing in the morning, I made a run to ACME Coffee Roasting in Seaside. This was a very strategic stop, because I got to conduct a triple food review! ACME also sells some baked goods from two Monterey businesses: Parker-Lusseau (French pastries) and Red’s Donuts. The coffee was very good, but roasted a little dark for my taste. If you like slightly darker roasts, you’ll probably love it; it was very good as far as that style goes. I got a pour over of their lightest roast, a Mexican that was on the darkest side of medium-roasted. Points deducted for spelling my name wrong…

ACME Coffee

Red's Donuts

Parker-Lusseau

The donuts were very good, although the maple was much better than the old-fashioned. I’ve yet to consume a better old-fashioned than Daylight Donuts. The ham and cheese croissant from Parker-Lusseau was outstanding.

Red's Donuts

Monterey, CA

Very good donuts with all the classics

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Parker-Lusseau

Monterey, CA

This is a quintessential French patisserie, with excellent croissants. I regret I didn’t get too try more of their selection.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Loading up the car (and the trailer-hitch cargo carrier) to the brim with five kids, three adults, several bags of picnic food, two strollers, and several backpacks, we started the drive south. Little did we know, the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance car parade was making its way down Highway One, and we were right in the middle of it. It was somewhat comical to see hundreds (maybe thousands) of people lined up on the side of the road taking photos of all the cars. We decided to just play along and wave to everyone as we drove by.

Finally clearing the persistent morning fog and the slow cruising traffic, we arrive at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and after some confusion as to where the trailhead was, we started the short hike to the viewpoint.

Pacific Coast Highway

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

After emerging from the tunnel, we were greeted with an unbelievable view of the beach below, where a waterfall dropped straight onto the sand next to turquoise water.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Lunch

Back in the parking lot, we decided to go ahead and eat lunch, and had a picnic in the shade. It was a lot of fun, and it was a nice stopover after being in the car for a while.

Pfeiffer Beach

Leaving lunch and driving back north, we stopped at Pfeiffer Beach, a semi-private area that required driving an extremely steep, winding road to gain access. This beach is famous for Keyhole Rock and for having patches of purple sand, which were not particularly visible today. Speaking of sand, the wind was blowing so hard it was constantly pounding sand into your face/eyes, and stung terribly.

Pfeiffer Beach

Finding refuge from the wind in an alcove by the creek, the kids spend a while building dams and playing in the sand. It was a lot of fun, but a long drive home awaited us, so we decided to hit the road after a couple hours.

Pacific Coast Highway

Continuing north on the PCH, we saw some more beautiful views, including Point Sur Lighthouse, and and Naval Facility Point Sur, a decommissioned Cold War era listening station.

Pacific Coast Highway

Point Sur Lighthouse

Bixby Bridge

We arrived back at the famous Bixby Bridge, this time in full daylight with no fog. The dirt road that winds behind the bridge was open, so we pulled off and snapped a few photos.

Bixby Bridge

The bridge has an iconic arch structure, and was completed in 1932 at a cost of just $200,000.

Bixby Bridge

After fighting more traffic in Carmel, we finally made it back to Monterey, and immediately headed to the park for some more outdoor fun.

Chowder

As soon as William got home from work, he and I headed back to Old Fisherman’s Wharf to pick up a half-gallon of chowder for dinner. Anna had made homemade sourdough bread and a salad to accompany it. It was a wonderful dinner. The chowder was just as good as when Faith and I had it yesterday, and best of all, we didn’t have to split a single portion this time!

Sourdough bread

Old Fisherman's Grotto

Monterey, CA

The best clam chowder I’ve ever had.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Evening

After dinner, I took Walker on a stroll around the neighborhood, and then continued the walk myself for a while once he was in bed.

Neighborhood walk

After all the kids were in bed, we decided to break into the Revival ice cream, and split the two flavors: dark chocolate and Bee’s Knees (caramelized honey, beeswax and house-made “honeycomb” candy). Both were outstanding.

Revival Ice Cream

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “driving down the Pacific Coast Highway”.

The best thing I ate today was… “chowder with homemade sourdough”.

Faith

The best thing I saw today was… “Pfeiffer beach”.

The best thing I ate today was… “clam chowder and homemade bread”.

Conclusion

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Tomorrow, we’re headed back to Big Sur to continue exploring some spots we didn’t have time for today.

– Isaac, Faith, and Walker

The post Day 6 – Big Sur, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park // Monterey 2024 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.