DAY TWENTY-THREE
By this point in the honeymoon we had been driving for three weeks so you would think that we might be tired of driving down the Pacific Coast but there was one place that could rejuvenate our roadtrip mojo… Big Sur!
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to stop in the picturesque towns of Carmel and Monterey (just another reason for another trip in the future, of course) as we wanted to spend as much time as possible in Big Sur itself. Thankfully as we arrived at the incredible coastline that so many writers from Henry Miller to Jack Kerouac have immortalised, we knew that we had made the right decision.
Here is a picture of Cai expressing her joy in that moment:
And here is a picture of Iain attempting a similar joyful pose but ultimately looking a little too ‘1990s metal band’ (I think it’s the shorts…)
While Big Sur is one of California’s most popular tourist destinations, many of the best sights are actually hidden away and fairly inaccessible. After taking an unsigned turnoff and travelling a few miles down a single track road, we arrived at one of the most beautiful Big Sur sites — Pfeiffer Beach.
This place is really idyllic. We set up our picnic blanket on the sand and lay back watching the waves coming in. It was one of the hottest days of the trip although the ocean was, of course, still freezing so we could only tentatively dip our toes in the water. Here is a short video of the waves lapping at our feet (listen out for Cai’s little whoop when the water reaches her):
After a few hours sunbathing we got back on the open road and drove to our room for the night at the local Best Western.
After all the amazing places we had stayed on our honeymoon, we were a little apprehensive about staying in a roadside chain hotel but luckily they had upgraded our room to one of their best oceanview suites so we ordered room service, heated up the wood burning stove, and relaxed in the unexpected luxury.
