A Weekend on the PCH

Our starting point for this trip was home, Alameda! We made our way out around 8:00 am and drove toward the coast.

On our way up Highway One, we stopped at Johnny's Half Moon Bay for breakfast. Michelle got Tweety’s Breakfast Bowl and Sumedh got the Old Town Scramble. Sumedh also got coffee and Michelle got a latte. The ambiance was diner meets modern and the food was delicious. Michelle especially loved the 'orange' themed bathroom wallpaper! Also a cute touch, the check came in a book!

We got to the Monterey Bay Aquarium around 11:30 am. We parked a few blocks away to avoid metered parking. When we got there, there was no line to enter. Pro tip, if you can make it during the week and early in the morning, you can avoid the massive crowds we saw lined up outside the aquarium a couple days later. Michelle's favorite exhibits were the jellies, giant pacific octopus, and the aviary. Sumedh's favorite exhibits were the sea otters, the giant pacific octopus, and the jellies. While there were quite a few people there and lots of kids, it never felt too stuffed as it's such a huge place! If there were any moments of feeling too packed, we just stepped outside on the patio that overlooks the ocean for a breather before going back in. Sadly, the penguin exhibit was under renovation; a perfect excuse to go back!

After the aquarium we walked over to Curry Journey for a quick bite before getting back on Highway One. We split The Curry Journey curry so that we arrived at Alila hungry and ready to gorge. Curry Journey easily exceeded our expectations!

It was time to drive down to Alila Ventana Big Sur! Today was a cloudy and overcast day which is definitely it's own beauty on the coastline. We drove through Bixby Bridge, where there is usually a ton of traffic, but luckily, we managed to avoid the brunt of it by coming down on a Thursday afternoon. We got to Alila, self-parked, and checked in. The staff is always so kind and lovely and we were excited to settle in. As soon as we opened the balcony door in our room we were greeted to the sounds of some very enthusiastic birds. Michelle brought out her Merlin ID app and it turns out we were hearing the competing sounds of a Peregrine Falcon and an American Kestrel. We put on our bathing suits and made our way to the main pool where we ordered some pool side snacks, lounged, and soaked in the infinity hot tub. After some serious relaxing, we got ready for dinner.

We made our way to The Sur House for our dinner reservation by taking a path through the redwood trees. Once we arrived we were seated at a table by the water with a heater above our table. We order way too many appetizers, an entree each, and two desserts, and some tea. All in all I think we were there for about two hours taking our time.

Day number two and those black out curtains really did a number on us. We slept in later than we have in months, which was clearly needed. We both woke up feeling so rested. Michelle ran a bath with some rosemary, lavender, and chamomile bath salts while Sumedh got the record player going. We then treated ourselves to some tea on the balcony. We checked out, loaded up the car, but we still had more adventuring to do at Alila.

We, again, made our way to The Sur House through the redwood path and yet again, ate our weight in food. We ordered several appetizers, mains, desserts, coffees, and teas. We spent about three hours here with the most beautiful views eating, drinking, reading, and a little knitting for Michelle. Here we spotted hummingbirds and some California Scrub-Jays.

For our last Alila Ventana adventure of the day, we picked up the pre-rented complimentary Sony Alpha a7R V Mirrorless Digital Camera. We swapped the memory card for our own and went off on the Coastal Ridge Hike from the resort. We hiked for about two and a half hours. The hike alternated between redwoods and insane pacific views. For part of the hike we were sharing the road with the occasional car, however, this didn't bother us as it only happened twice throughout. On this hike we saw several Stellar's Jays and a woodpecker. Once we made it down, we swapped the memory cards and returned the camera. We hopped back in the car and were ready to make the drive back to Alameda, our home base, when we looked at each other and decided we weren't quite ready to go home yet. Here is where we decided to add another night to our trip! We decided to stay in Monterey and began the journey back up the coast.

We picked up some solid Vietnamese fare from Rice & Roots and brought it back to our hotel room. We got in our jammies, ate a clean and wholesome meal, and watched a movie from bed (which we never do; truly vacation mode!!)

Getting to breakfast was an adventure! We managed to find free parking a few blocks away from the crowded area and meandered down to the Wave Street Cafe. We checked in with the host and she let us know that there was a bit of a wait. We decided to wander around the area while we waited for our table and stumbled upon a beautiful view where we could see right through the incredibly clear water. Once we finally sat down to eat, it was clear that the wait was well worth it. We were sat outside and got to enjoy the beautiful ocean breeze along our very yummy and filling brunch.

Easily the most exciting part of our day. We decided on a city "hike" this time around and made our way from our breakfast spot along the the coast. We ended up walking about 7 miles total there and back. Along the way we came across a major pupping area located just to the left of Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove. Dozens of seal pups were sleeping along the beach. We also saw some sea otters and got SO lucky to spot a whale! While on the hike we took a couple detours to some shops and then made our way back to our car to head home.

Our first detour from our walk was this cute coffee shop meets bookstore. It was pretty busy while we were there so the stop was brief but the people were lovely, the coffee was tasty, and the bookstore had a great selection. Overall the vibes were very cozy!

Our second detour from the walk was Monarch Knitting. What a gem this was! If you are a fiber artist this is a must stop. The energy in the story was buzzing in the coziest and calmest way. There were several areas where people were quietly knitting either by themselves or with others. There were also some great notions and knitting/crochet related accessories spread out throughout the store and the yarn selection was too good. There were several brands there that Michelle has only ever seen online and finally got to do the touch test! Nearby there was also a sewing/quilting store but it was closed. We will definitely check that one out next time we are in the area.

We made our way back to the car and started the journey home. We took Highway One until we reached the Santa Cruz area where we navigated inland for the rest of our journey. We made it home to our sweet kitties relaxed and ready to be home after an amazing vacation!