Nepenthe

Carmel Beach

natural bridges Santa Cruz

The Tuck Carmel

Lots of English cottages in Carmel

Tasty breakfast

Big Sur

Pfieffer Beach

Bixby Bridge

artichokes near Monterrey

Some of the sand is purple

Find the crab

Nepenthe  Would be a beautiful view except for fog layer below

Everything otter

A man was blowing giant bubbles in Santa Cruz

bixby bridge from afar

Purple sands of Pfeiffer Beach

My favorite of Naomi

"Wretch" I cried, thy God hath lent thee
these angels he has sent thee
Respite-respite and nepenthe
from the memories of Lenore
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe
and forget this lost Lenore
Quoth the Raven "nevermore" 
Edgar Allen Poe

What Naomi wanted to see most of all in California is Big Sur. Weather report was for sun the entire week. It was always sunny where we were standing but sometimes we were above the fog, sometimes below it.

She had seen two scenes on line: Bixby Bridge and McWay falls. We saw both but were stymied that the bridge was in a construction zone (absolutely no stopping!!) On the way back, the construction guys were gone but the bridge was in dense fog

We stopped after an hour in Santa Cruz, home of the university of the same name and their banana slugs. The natural bridges were initially under dense fog and the water too calm for surfers but the bay was full of otters. They lay on their back while eating. As they have little body fat, they wrap themselves in kelp bladders to stay afloat so if kelp beds are bobbing up and down when it is calm, there are probably otters. Naomi took plenty of videos. Meanwhile a man was blowing huge bubbles. The sky was full of them but on my photos, barely visible. It cleared up and we could see the natural bridges along the beach.

On past the artichoke fields of Monterey to Carmel. Steve and I  had stayed on the peninsula 7 years ago but concentrated on Pacific Grove and Monterey. I probably was driven on the 17 mile stretch from Pacific Grove to Carmel remembering only the Lone Cypress when I was in my early teens. Carmel-by-the-Sea is the cutest town also very pricey. We ate breakfast in a little English cottage full of teapots. We then drove along the beachfront with its architectural wonder houses  and stunning landscapes.Turquoise water and very white powdery sand..considered one of the prettiest beaches in the country though Pfeiffer Beach is more beautiful in a very rugged way with its rocks and purple sand.

We ran into a construction site. Traffic was only one way for miles  leading to long waits. Worst, the Bixby Bridge was in the middle of it and they blocked off all the turnouts though Naomi got a photo from the car window. By the time we returned, no construction but very heavy fog. We went to those beautiful McWay Falls, the iconic shot of Big Sur. Still foggy but you could see the falls still. We had lunch at Nepenthe on their outdoor terrace high above the ocean. High above the clouds too so we couldn't see the ocean. Stellar blue jays flew around us though my brother has several in his yard. I assume in their bar above they had a drink called Nepenthe to make one forget the evils of the world After we finally found the unmarked entrance to Pfeiffer Beach and going down a three mile very rutted unpaved one lane road that is frequently flooded (that stymied an attempt 15 years ago)but for this day was bone dry

We spent severeal hours laying on the sand and exploring the coast. Very pretty.