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.