Step 11: from San Francisco into Big Sur

San Francisco: headed South through Big Sur:


We all woke up early and got the car packed. Today Mom and I would begin our road trip after dropping Kathy off at the airport. Once packed we headed back to the alteration shop to pick up my dress and also went into Mojo bicycle café for some breakfast.    http://mojobicyclecafe.com/cafe.html
I love that Kathy and my mom made the road trip out to San Francisco together. They’ve known each other since they were about 10 years old and I guess in a way what I love most about it is my hope that perhaps someday I will be close with my grade school friends when I’m in my 50’s and that perhaps we will do a road trip together to pick up somebody’s kid. I just think it’s so cool.

Kathy and I haven’t always been the best of friends. In fact, for my part, I used to be pretty awful to her. I guess it was a jealousy thing most of all. When I was a kid, I hated my mom hanging out with her. But now I am just so glad that Kathy has been in my mom’s and my family’s lives all these years. She’s been a good friend to all of us.

Kathy and Mom- hugs at the airport

We dropped her off and said our goodbyes. I think those two girls had quite a lot of fun being naughty together! From there Mom and I started to head south on 101. When we first starting planning our road trip home, my mom had suggested we go through Yosemite…but after a long winter in Japan I was determined to avoid snow as much as possible. The first Jack Kerouac book I’d ever read was my senior year of high school and it was “Big Sur.” Ever since then, I’d wanted to go to, what had become in my mind, that sacred place. And so, that’s where we were headed.

We got off of the 101 and onto the old Hwy 1 in Monterey, which was where Jack was living during his escapes down into Big Sur. We were looking for historicalesq sightings on our drive through Monterey…but instead the first thing to grab our attention was the “Trader Joe’s” grocery store. Mom swerved the car through traffic to get there and we both sprinted in. For those who don’t know, Trader Joe’s is a natural grocery store similar to Whole Foods but much smaller—though with some products that are far superior to Whole Foods. For now at least, it is in only a few states so every time we are in one of those states we’ve got to stock up!  http://www.traderjoes.com/

After our shopping we got back on the road and started to head south. Along the way there were beautiful views as well as several places to stop for California fresh produce: artichokes, cherries, avocados, and more. Oh my god how I miss all of this stuff! They do not have artichokes in Japan.

Rt. 1 heading into Big Sur

The views were so gorgeous there were several times I had my mom pull over. At one point she pulled off into what was clearly a very high end neighborhood and just went with her insanely good directional senses though the neighborhood until she found a tiny little beach access path. We parked the car on the curb and headed down the trail where we arrived at this little isolated beach; we were alone besides two others. It was windy, the sand was white, and the water was crashing against the cliffs. This was the California coastline Jack had been talking about.

The Little private beach Mom found

After some time taking it in, we got back on the road and officially made our way into Big Sur. It was around 2pm and we hadn’t made a plan for the night. Initially I was going to make a reservation at a hotel, but the prices seemed unreasonable. When we saw that hotel on the side of the road we pulled over and it looked as beautiful as the website had shown. Mom went in and worked her magic. 10 minutes later we were in a lovely room at the Big Sur River Inn. http://bigsurriverinn.com/
Compared to our hotel room at the Bayside on the Wharf, this room seemed gigantic! It was sparse in a very tasteful way. No TV, nothing lavish, just a few nice framed photographs, and a feeling of peace. The hotel also has it’s own general store, a collection of eclectic shops, a restaurant, pool, and is right on a peaceful river. In the restaurant they have a nice fireplace to rest by and connect to wireless internet.
Since it was still early we decided to make the most of the rest of our day. We got back in the car and headed into Andrew Molera State Park. When we told the cute parks man at the gate that we wanted to do a hike he gave us lots of info…and since it was so late in the day (and entrance to the park cost $20) he suggested that we do a free hike outside of the park and gave us directions to the closest one.

And so, after finding the hidden trail head and parking, we headed out on Buzzard’s Roost hike. We first made our way into what we both assumed to be a scouting camp ground and realized we’d gone the wrong way, but then found the trail and headed up. Before the hike, Mom had smeared the reddest lipstick in the world on both of our lips and I swear we looked like we were straight out of Texas.

Inside a redwood with Red Lipstick

It was a lovely hike, nice and shaded. There were tons of wild orchids along the trail as well as spray painted marijuana leaves on various rocks along the way. And, per Heidi’s advice, we were careful to watch out for poison oak.

We didn’t see many people along the trail besides one couple up at the top who took a picture for us.

top of the Buzzard's Roost hike sporting our red lipstick

It was a bit hazy so our view from the top wasn’t entirely clear; we could just see the coastline in the distance. More in focus was the spray painting job that was done on a utility box at the top.

Just Passing Through

We headed back down with just enough light. Back at the hotel we showered and headed over to the restaurant for dinner. The restaurant definitely had a bbq inspired menu but lucky for me they also had a few well picked out vegetarian dishes and my mom and I both headed to bed full and happy.

The people were friendly, the feeling was relaxed, the coastline was epic; I could tell why so many artists, writers, and creators had found inspiration in Big Sur. It is a place to experience.