California Coast Adventure

For Valentine's Day, Gary planned a trip for us along the California coast. We drove down Highway 1 from Monterey to San Simeon. We had lovely weather and saw all kinds of wonderful wildlife: sea otters, harbor seals, elephant seals, monarch butterflies and even zebras in the wild! We started our trip at the Monterey Bay Aquarium which was wonderful. We especially liked the sea otters because they are such playful and fascinating creatures. Later in the trip, we were lucky enough to see one in the wild!
On our first full day, we drove through the lovely Carmel-by-the-Sea and stopped at the Point Pinos lighthouse and the Monarch butterfly refuge. We then took the scenic drive through ritzy Pebble Beach. I stopped at the Golf resort to use the restroom. I wanted to get baby a tony Pebble Beach onesie but Gary wasn't having it. Here is a photo from the butterfly refuge:


We then spent a night in Big Sur and then headed to Hearst Castle in San Simeon. What a fascinating place! Hearst must have loved to entertain! The views were spectacular. We stopped several times along Hwy 1 to look at wildlife. The elephant seals were ashore for mating and eating. I couldn't believe how close we got! The picture above is of a male elephant seal who kept trying to sneak back into the group. We spent the night at Ragged Point and then headed to Point Lobos for a few short wildlife hikes where we saw harbor seals and a sea otter! Now, we can't wait to go back with baby and Grandma!