Otter Sight, Otter Mind

Story by Nicole

On Thursday, we explored Monterey County. We started by driving up the PCH. We drove through Carmel-by-the-Sea, decided we did not need to stop and hang out, and continued on to Monterey. In Monterey, we walked around the strangely empty but still adorable town. We walked out to the dock and spent several minutes watching the sea lions attempt to fit as many individuals as possible on a tiny rowboat. One of them had been curled up on the bow with another, and then decided it was too uncomfortable and bailed, and then wanted back on the boat, and this really upset the sea lion that had been on the bow the whole time. We were so entertained by the sea lions that we were late for kayaking.

Sea lions struggle for room on the boat (Photo/Jason Rafal)

A seagull takes off from Jason’s car as we approach (Photo/Jason Rafal)

We drove out to the Elkhorn Slough to meet Ron, Eric’s friend and old coworker. He spends a lot of time studying sea otters; we were very lucky to be kayaking with an enthusiastic expert. Ron helped us get situated in our kayaks, and then we headed out into the water.

There was marine wildlife everywhere. There were many types of birds, including cormorants, egrets, brown pelicans, and a massive white pelican. There were dozens of crabs in the mud, and they scuttled away as soon as they felt the water vibrations caused by our paddles. There were harbor seals, which poked their eyes and noses out of the water and followed us around, watching curiously. My favorite part, though, was seeing dozens of endangered sea otters.

There are around a hundred happy sea otters living in the slough, and we saw males, females, and even pups, which cried when their mothers stayed under the water longer than they did. We spent a couple of hours kayaking around with the animals and asking endless questions of Ron.

Students catch and measure sharks on their regular rounds (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Nicole watches a sea otter (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Ron watches as a flock of birds takes off (Photo/Jason Rafal)

For lunch, we all headed to Phil’s, a famous fish shop in Moss Landing. Phil’s is right on the beach in the midst of Monterey marine labs. The fish and the atmosphere were both great. After lunch, we drove back through Monterey and Pacific Grove, both of which are beautiful. Jason was disappointed that we weren’t able to visit the aquarium, but we decided that we had to save something for next time.

A view of the Big Sur coastline, including the Bixby bridge (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Is This Poison Oak?

Story by Nicole

The goal of Wednesday was to explore the Big Sur area. We began by visiting Andrew Molera State Park. The bridge over the creek at the beginning of the trail was washed out, so we removed our shoes and socks and waded across. Once on the other side, we re-donned shoes and walked to the Molera beach. Jason was not pleased about getting his feet wet.

Nicole and Eric wade across the creek (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Jason’s reaction to crossing the creek (Photo/Nicole Harrison)

The beach was, of course, stunning. We hung out for a few minutes and watched a sea otter.

Windblown flowers (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Eric celebrates successfully balancing small rocks (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Eric contemplates the ocean (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Nicole watches a sea otter (Photo/Jason Rafal)

For the next couple of hours, we hiked along the bluff, followed constantly by strong winds. Nicole’s grandfather, Eric, pointed out native and non-native plants along the trail. After he pointed out poison oak, Nicole was constantly concerned about accidentally touching it (pro tip for those who have not been trained to recognize poison oak: it has three leaves grouped together, like a berry, but it has smooth stems). We continued for a couple of miles before turning back toward the car.

A view of the ocean (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The hills above the Big Sur coastline (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Eric leads the way on the trail (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Next, we decided to return to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and walk the famed waterfall trail, which we had not had time to visit the previous day. It was very easy and touristy walk, but the view of a thin waterfall falling directly onto the sand in a turquoise bay surrounded by huge rocks was definitely beautiful and worth putting up with the tourists. We have been seeing a lot of selfie sticks, which we had first seen in Italy. It’s amusing how it seemed to follow us back to the states.

The waterfall view (it’s a located on the left side, and falls onto the beach near the ocean) (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Another coastal view from Julia Burns Pfeiffer State Park (Photo/Jason Rafal)

After the waterfall walk, we headed to Nepenthe for lunch. This restaurant has been in Big Sur for generations and is famous for the amazing views of Big Sur visible from its balcony. Since our day pass got us into all of the state parks in the area, we went to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park to wrap up the day, and then headed home.

Lack of internet and phone service means that I’ve been writing these blogs in bulk to post when I feel like going down to the check in and grocery cabin to use the wifi. It’s not the ideal way to blog, but it works.

Nicole types blog posts in the cabin (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The Pacific Coast Highway

Story by Nicole

The drive from Los Angeles to Big Sur was the shortest drive we’d had yet in the trip, so we were a little more leisurely in our schedule. From Venice Beach, we drove through Santa Monica and Malibu north to San Luis Obispo, where we had lunch at a local pizza and Mediterranean place. After eating more pizza than was strictly necessary, we began the classic Pacific Coast Highway drive.

Saying goodbye to our cottage (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Jason and his car were delightfully happy to be driving the PCH. We made a game of stopping to take pictures and then waiting for a decent stretch between cars before getting back on the road so that Jason could speed through the tight corners. No one really kept up, except for a very ambitious white Toyota Yaris that was probably driven by Mario Andretti. That tiny car actually passed us on a small straight stretch and sped away.

The Big Sur coastline (Photo/Jason Rafal)

A word about the central coast and Big Sur area, for those who have not been there: it’s stunning. There’s the Pacific Ocean, stretching out as far as the eye can see until it joins with the sky in a haze of blue. There are the jagged cliffs, which stretch out into the water in never-ending layers. There are the forests of redwoods and oak trees, which conceal beautiful creeks and surprisingly steep canyon trails. It all comes together in a very unusual and striking beauty.

On our way to the cabin we rented in Big Sur, we stopped at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to do the Ewolden hike, which was a 5-mile trek that included a steep trail up the creek within a redwood canopy, a gently meandering trail through an oak grove, and an impressive view of the ocean. After the hike, we drove the 20 minutes to our cabin, which was just beyond Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park (a lot of the park names here sound the same, mostly because there were only a few families who had key roles in developing the area).

Redwood canopy (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Nicole stands under a giant redwood (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Ocean views from the mountainside (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Our cabin is both very adorable and very large, with two bedrooms, a large living room, and a complete kitchen. It manages to be both rustic and easily livable, which is nice in a cabin. It’s very old-style Big Sur.