Big Sur

Kim and I continued our "Date Day" driving Highway One along the Big Sur Coastline in central California.

The early mist and drizzle of the day had cleared and we had a spectacular afternoon of sunshine and blue skies. It is not surprising that many car manufacturers film their commercials along this iconic stretch of coastline road.

This roughly 90 mile enclave of Highway One is a sanctuary for steep cliffs, ancient redwood forests, dramatic, rugged coastal panoramas and stunning secluded beaches. Its pristine wilderness and innate mystique makes it a haven for hikers, bohemian writers and poets, artists and adventurers, photographers and those seeking inspiration from the stunning beauty of the land and ocean crashing together in consummate bliss. 

It's a magical place.

The best part of the day was when we stopped for photos at a beautiful overlook. Totally unexpectedly and literally out of the blue, a humpback whale leaped out of the ocean in a full breach, making the most enormous splash as it broadsided the water in a loud smackdown. We then watched it move steadily northwards, it's fluked tail waving at us, misty sprays of breath snorting from its blowhole like steam from a kettle, and the delightful humping over of the giant leviathan as it dipped and rose in rhythmic waves as it leisurely moved away from us.

This is not my video, but it illustrates the big splash of a breaching humpback!

We stopped at Rocky Creek Bridge and then again at Bixby Bridge, the iconic bridge synonymous with Big Sur and one of the tallest single span concrete bridges in the world.  By now the cloudless light blue skies, the deep Monterey blue ocean and the impossibly turquoise shoreline allowed us to take some fab photos. The light was amazing.

Next we travelled on to McWay Falls nestled within Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. It is a coastal waterfall plunging about 80 feet in a single drop to the pristine, sandy, crescent shape beach below. The beach itself is inaccessible so we rambled out to the viewpoint on the Overlook Trail to watch the falls. We were spellbound by its beauty. The sound of the falls and the gentle lapping of the waves breaking on the shore was mesmerizing. The turquoise blue of the water reminded me a little of Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon. Very different energy though. Havasu Falls is inland and had a private, intimate, ancient ancestral feel to it, whereas the McWay Falls, tipping into the ocean had a wildly youthful, exhilarating, expansive vibe. One gently takes your breath away, one boldly whips your breath away. 

​Both breathtaking. 

As it was late in the day and the sun was nearly down, we skipped a visit to Nepenthe and headed back to the trailer to see Henry. When we got home, we flopped into bed at the end of the most memorable day of our Grand Adventure so far. We slept well, snuggling, sinking into faraway dreams of humpback whales singing lullabies, arched bridges in the sky that traversed the clouds, and water so clear and blue and deep that the simple truths of the entire universe seeped effortlessly in our bones. 

​What a day!