A Brief Journey to Heaven and Back

making our way up North to Big Sur

After weeks of anticipation we finally made our way to Big Sur this weekend for an early birthday celebration and boy did it not disappoint. If you've driven the coast of California you know that this is truly one of the most majestic drives one can take. There is the lush, beachy Santa Barbara, to the rolling hills of wine country to the twists and turns through the cliffs of the central coast. I can't tell you how many moments we had where we both simply sat awestruck by the awesome beauty of this part of California.

This is the view from our little deck off of our room. Not bad right? The hotel we stayed at had a lovely little library where we were able to check out books and board games. There are no TVs in Big Sur. I must confess since I don't have a television in my room watching a movie in bed is always one of my favorite indulgences on a trip away but I didn't miss it for a second. 

How could you miss it with this to look at. Can you believe this view? It took my breath away again and again. 

The property was full of clever, well-placed benches and hammocks that required you to simply sit and be awestruck by your surroundings. 

The sunsets were unbelievable. We asked our waitress at the restaurant about the views and sunsets and she said that they change and have their own personality every night. I thought that was incredible. Everyone who worked here realized they worked in one of the most magical settings ever. 

We ventured off of the hotel property only once on Saturday morning to get breakfast at the Big Sur Bakery and hike to the beach at Andrew Molera State Park.  Our short hike took us over a river, through the woods and to the secluded beach. This was the perfect amount of exploration for such a quick trip.

 Here we are having a pre-dinner cocktail at the restaurant. I will confess that we spent most of Sunday in the car facing lots of traffic which made it difficult to cling to that post-vacation glow, but I swear I still have it. The best moment on a very long drive was when we pulled over at a quiet stretch of Route 1 teaming with people trying to catch a glimpse of these giant elephant seals. Seriously these animals are incredible. They weigh up to 5,000 tons and a hundred years ago there were only twenty or so left. Today there are 150,000 along the coast of California and all of them are descendants of those lone twenty. 

The place we stayed was breathtaking and luxurious but I've also stayed at Deetjans which has the same Big Sur loveliness without the hefty price tag in case you want to check out this magical stretch of the California coast.