Big Sur

To celebrate our first anniversary, Mike and I jumped on a plane out to Monterey, and then made our way down the coast of Big Sur, finally ending in Paso Robles, CA. I had never been to the central coast before, and gosh, I want to go back already. Rocks and water have historically been my favorite nature duo, so obviously I fell in love with the rugged coastline immediately.

Before you get caught up in the gorgeous landscapes though, I have to tell you something. We were sick almost this entire trip, and most of our time was spent in our AirBnB’s blowing our noses and sitting on the pot. Yes, that kind of sick. It started off with colds, and just when we were getting better, we stayed at a place where the well water was contaminated and we got Montezuma’s Revenge. We felt like crap! Literally. Our trip could very well have been ruined if it weren’t for our sense of humor about it :p

My favorite things:

Hiking. Sadly we only went once due to feeling like poo, but it was amazing! We hiked a trail in Carmel Valley, and only saw two other people in 3 hours. The views were breathtaking, and I didn’t get bitten by a snake (which was my biggest fear).
Carmel-by-the-sea. This is a tiny town just north of Big Sur, and it was perfect for walking around! The beach is unassuming but gorgeous. Super quaint town.
Bixby Bridge. I thought because it’s so overly-photographed that I wouldn’t be that impressed in person. I was wrong and a half. It’s impressive. We got there at sunset and I convinced a stranger to take pics of us which have turned into my favs from the whole trip!
Route One. Drive it. The entire time you are winding along the edge of cliffs, with mountains on one side and the sea on the other. Mike had to keep us on the road, but I got to enjoy it from the passenger seat :)
Pull-offs. There are hundreds of little spots to pull off the highway, and whenever we did we would find these gorgeous outlooks and beaches where we were the only people. The coast never gets crowded because it’s HUGE. This was my favorite part, just stopping the car to explore.