Destination: New Brighton Beach State Park
Route: CA 1-N
Mileage: 162
We are on the road again! We take a leisurely morning to get underway, and we still break camp faster than the boy scouts and are impressed with ourselves. Today is a low mileage day but a long hours day. We are flogging Abby up the Pacific Coast highway and through Big Sur today.
Day starts out overcast and pretty gentle in regard to terrain. Only thing we have to content with are the elephant seal tourists. What are they you ask? Apparently it is the high season for viewing elephant seals. They come right out of the water and relax along the coast. The tourists do some crazy late braking to get into their ideal turn out for viewing. Makes driving behind them in Abby with the trailer quite interesting. The elephant seals are impressive. While we do not stop, we have plenty of opportunities to view them.
Once we reach Ragged Point, the road becomes more interesting. The grades increase and so do the twists and turns. To add to the challenge is what started out as a grey and overcast day has become rain. Nothing torrential, but enough to be increase the level of difficulty. We will keep our complaints to a minimum. California desperately needs the rain after a decade of below average winter rain totals and snow pack, with the last 4 years being especially devastating. It would be nice to see the view, but there will be other trips.
We stop for lunch at Nepenthe in Big Sur. Despite the weather, it was still a 30 minute wait for a table which Alex happily spent splashing in puddles on the viewing deck. The view was only of clouds and drizzle, but the puddle selection is extensive. Being original people, Dave and Jess both got the Ambrosiaburger and the ‘adult’ hot chocolate. Alex loved the fresh squeezed orange juice. Getting on the road after lunch, we look at the map and realize we are only halfway through our day. And it took 3 hours to achieve the half way point. Speedy we are not.
We arrive at New Brighton Beach State Park after the entrance station has closed. We find our spot and do a quick loop around the parking lot to discover that a spot on the bluff is available. We grab it and fall asleep that night to the Pacific and rain on Abby’s roof. The next morning we wake up to sun and discover the site we are in is only available for one night. Also, the state of California classifies out-of-state checks as ‘foreign’. We find out there are different bluff overlook spots available Monday night, so we cancel our inland spot and take the second spot on the waiting list. We have to be back at the entrance station at 2 pm for a chance at one of the premium spots. We head out and about into Santa Cruz.
The day is turning out quite nice, so we head down to the boardwalk. The rides have not opened for the day, but that is not our goal. We want to dip Alex’s toes into the Pacific. Alex seems to be a little bit overwhelmed, but with some coaxing, walks with Dave towards the ocean. He is less than impressed when the waves wash over his toes
and wants to be picked up. Beach fun over, we head back to Abby and the dogs to sort out lunch plans. We originally wanted to go to Sante Adarius, but the trip coordinator overlooked the fact that the brewery is closed on Mondays. Whoops. Nils, who used to live in the area, recommended Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing (SCMB). They do allow dogs in their outside beer garden, but our three fur beasts are too much to control with Alex. Back to Abby the pack goes.
SCMB makes fabulous beers. On the recommendation of Nils, we try the chocolate pumpkin beer and enjoy it immensely. We get a growler to go. SCMB partners with Kelly’s French Bakery for food service. And the food is absolutely delicious. We are very glad we stopped here for lunch. We look at the time and need to get to the park entrance station for the opportunity to get a new spot.
We arrive at the entrance station with about 5 minutes to spare. Promptly at 2 pm, the ranger does a roll call of the waiting list. The people at the top of the list selects their new spot – and it is not our preferred pick! We grab our preferred bluff spot and head off to our new site, which is larger a more private than our previous night’s spot. We wander down the trail to the beach with dogs and Alex. Chewie is rather unsure of the ocean and Penny is willing to get her feet wet. We spend the rest of the day relaxing.
Wandervogel with the McElvains 