PCH Day 2
We woke up early and had breakfast and packed our bags to start our PCH trip. We headed off on a foggy morning through the wooded hills from San Jose. We had planned to stop at the Monterey aquarium but since we weren’t sure what was happening with the Covid Virus we decided not to go to any crowded places.
The first stop was Monterey Bay –
Next stop was Point Lobos state park, which was absolutely beautiful. It was an overcast day but the sun peeked out for a good portion of the 6 mile hike. We parked in the Whalers Cove lot and took the trail that hugged the coast for almost the whole hike. There were stunning views all the way around.
Point Lobos State Park
Point Lobos State Park
Point Lobos State Park
Point Lobos State Park
As we were walking along the rocks above the beach we smelled a very fishy smell, and then as we were looking out across the water we saw 2 gray whales. They were pretty far away but we saw several spouts and saw them break the surface a few times.
Gray Whale Spout
Gray Whale
A little while after we saw the whales we came upon a beach where there were a number of harbor seals sunning.
Harbor Seals
Baby Harbor Seal
After Point Lobos we headed south down the PCH. We pulled into a little restaurant on the side of a cliff and had some lunch. We took picture from there of the Rock Creek Bridge, which is smaller and newer than the Bixby Bridge. After lunch we kept traveling down the PCH and stopped at the Bixby Bridge. There were beautiful views around every corner.
Rock Creek Bridge
Bixby Bridge
View from a pull-off
We eventually made our way into Big Sur and Pfeiffer Beach which was down a very long windy, bumpy dirt road. It was very isolated but there were lots of people there.
Pfeiffer Beach
Pfeiffer Beach
After leaving Pfeiffer Beach we continued towards our hotel for the night but first we stopped at McWay Falls, a waterfall that falls onto the beach
McWay Falls
We then headed to our hotel – Ragged Point Inn which is the only hotel anywhere within miles, along the highway going through Big Sur. It was right on the cliff on the side of the road. Our room was in a small building of rooms facing the cliff and the ocean. It was really beautiful. The restaurant was open for dinner but had a strange menu so we went to the little onsite convenience store and got sandwiches and wine and ate them in our room.
The view from our room
View from the walkway near our room
A wooden “donut” where you can take pictures on the property of Ragged Point Inn