Most of Monday was spent driving south along the coast to Big Sur. I’m not a huge fan of “going for a run in the car” as my parents would have described it, as I prefer to experience beautiful places by spending more time walking in them than driving past them, but this scenic coastal route was worth it, and the road was the only way to access it. And besides, we stopped several times for a short walk or a drink. The first place that we stopped was Garrapata State Park, which was a nature reserve where you can walk down to the beach past colourful banks of coastal shrubs and flowers. The turquoise blue ocean was breaking on the shore and bringing with it a delightful breeze. Later we walked a short trail to see the McWay waterfall crashing onto the beach at the Julia Pfeiffer Burns Park. The beach below us looked beautiful but strict warning signs and gates ensured that nobody was allowed to go down to it. I can understand that it needs to be protected from the hordes of tourists but it was a shame only to be able to look onto it from above. We turned round at a tiny place called Lucia and drove back towards Carmel, this time enjoying the views in the other direction. We visited the Hawthorne Gallery which had some really interesting pieces of art and then stopped for a bite to eat just across the road at the Nepenthe Restaurant, whose gorgeous terrace overlooks the deep blue sea far below.
Our final stop was at the famous Bixby Bridge (I was keen to see it because it features in the "Big Little Lies" opening credits) before heading back to relax at the cottage. The plan was to eat dinner at the Mission Ranch which is owned by Clint Eastwood but unfortunately I had one of my occasional gut cramps so we encouraged Jamie and Aisling to go ahead without us. They had a great time. Meanwhile my problem eventually passed if you know what I mean.
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