Explore: California Coast

My daytime 9-5 has been crazy busy and I’ve had little to no time to take a moment to breathe and recover. Luckily,  Monterey is less than an hour away and Big Sur is about 2 hours away. I’ve lived in Northern California all my life and this was my first trip to Big Sur. What I can say is that being there was magical and reinvigorating. It’s amazing to see how much being in nature change you for the better.

On a whim, we booked this awesome airstream via Hipcamp. I’ve heard so many good things about airstreams; the design alone got us excited because we’re big on midcentury modern. It was also really spacious and fit our needs perfectly. I’m having this moment where I want to buy one to take across country. I’ll keep all of you posted if it actually comes into fruition.

While we stayed a weekend on the coast, a trip through Big Sur, Carmel, and Monterey can be done in a day. PRO-TIP: get started early! Avoid the traffic on Highway 1 and be on the road by 7 AM. By 10 AM, it was packed and the rangers were telling folks to park in overfill lot a mile or so away from Pfeiffer Beach and take the shuttle down.

Since we were in Big Sur by 8 AM, we made a stop to a bucketlist place of mine: Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn. Opened in the 1930s, by a Norwegian immigrant, Deetjen’s chooses to maintain the ambiance of the early days in Big Sur. Being there was exactly what I needed especially since I’ve worked on having more hygge time in my life.

It also helps that the food was amazing. It was wonderfully simple. There’s something about food tasting better when you’re in nature.

We also stopped by Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant to get a few pastries and walk through their garden. I’ve heard amazing things about their dinner service, and we got a chance to check out Poppy Hall in Monterey which is their sister restaurant. If it’s anything like Poppy Hall, I highly recommend checking it out.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip that my body and soul needed. California is a place that will take you a lifetime to explore. I’m grateful to be so close to the mountains and the ocean. If you’re not from California, I highly highly recommend you taking a drive through the coast on Highway 1. Yes it can be overwhelming and a big scary, but take your time. Enjoy the ride and take in all the views. It’s unreal.