A Mini Adventure :: Big Sur, CA

We packed the girls up last weekend and drove to Big Sir to do some exploring my handsome husband and I were celebrating 6 years of marriage. SIX! There is something funny about time. As I get older it seems like each year goes by faster and faster. A lot has changed in the past six years, two kids and a new place to call home. There have been plenty of ups and downs. No marriage is easy no matter what anyone says. Behind the happy photographs, there are always arguments about things that matter and silly thing that don’t, like forgetting to buy milk..ha! It’s inevitable and we wouldn’t be who we are today without them. If anyone tells you there marriage is 100% perfect they are lying but I am pretty lucky when it comes to mine. It’s not perfect but it is pretty amazing. Pat and I meet in high school when I was 16 years old. We dated (with one break up we don’t really count) for 10 years before getting engaged. After a year of engagement, we got married and six years later are still going strong.

We’ve made a tradition of going back to Monterey every year to celebrate our anniversary. This year we did things a little bit different spending the day in Big Sir first.

Let me just tell you, the drive to Big Sur is insanely beautiful. We took Highway 1 down the coast. It’s a drive we’ve done before, the difference is I didn’t remember how amazing the views are. The ocean water is strikingly blue it seems to glow right before crashing against the massive rocks. Even if you don’t get out of the car I highly recommend taking a drive on the California coast.

We did stop to do some exploring. We went to the River Inn in Big Sir and had lunch at The Maiden Publick House, a cute little Irish pub with good food and a nice patio. The River Inn is a little community it has shops, a couple restaurants, a market, hotel rooms and a creek the kids can play in. The creek had big wooden chairs right in it where you can sit while watching the kids play in the water at your feet. We plan on going back soon to stay here soon!

After our stop at The River Inn we got back in the car and headed back North. We drove up Old Coast Rd, a long dirt road we heard from Trip Advisor has an amazing vista at the top. It’s right next to Bixby Bridge. Along the way there were some amazing views of the bridge and ocean we stopped to take photos of. We didn’t make it to the top… we had our kids and it was taking long time up a bumpy, windy, narrow dirt road. We made it about 5 miles  and turned around. The total distance is 11 miles which would take about 40 minutes one way to drive if we continued on. If the kids weren’t with us we would have kept going. It’s now on our list of things to do on a kid free date.

After our failed attempt to reach the vista we stopped and did a small hike down to the beach. It was a perfect walk with the girls. Pat and I had no problem taking turns holding Kenzie. Piper loved all the wild flowers on the trail that were in full bloom. The scenery was jaw droopingly beautiful. I’d love to spend every weekend on the coast! There is something about the water that is so entrancing.

 

Big Sur is a beautiful place to visit and explore. We thoroughly enjoyed our day there. We headed to Monterey next for dinner and to stay the night to continue our anniversary tradition. Read about our time in Monterey HERE.