Big Sur

 Holy Amazing

I have been lucky to see a lot of incredible sights, but Big Sur had a very last impression on me.  Rarely, do you see that much beauty stretched across that great of a distance.  From the morning fog, over the deep cliffs of San Simeon to the open panoramas of the coastline south of Carmel, Big Sur is simply breathtaking. The water is bluer than I ever imagined it to be.  There are many microclimates as the shoreline undulates out into peninsulas and recedes into coves.  One bay is snow covered in midmorning, and a cove is tropical turquoise water and waterfalls in mid afternoon.

For me the highlights were Salmon Trail, Jade Trail, Pfeiffer Beach, and driving up above into the hilltop road and overlooking Highway 1 from the clouds with small holes of ocean peeking through.  If I didn’t have a lot of great things left to see, this easily could have been the summer I lived in Big Sur instead of the Summer of the Road Trip.  I would like to go back and just explore the hiking trails for a week sometime.  I guess I didn’t realize how accessible but still remote all the hiking in this area is. 

If you have not visited Big Sur, please consider adding it to your bucket list.  In general, I would say I am underwhelmed by a lot of destinations, but this place was absolutely incredible.  It was one of the few places I really wish I had someone to share in my excitement.  I felt like I kept pinching myself to affirm this is real, it’s really that beautiful.