{weekend notes}

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Good Morning to you! I hope everyone of you had a nice relaxing weekend doing something you love. We enjoyed Big Sur, Carmel + Monterey to the fullest. Keep reading for a picture overload and highlights to our little weekend away.

“Big Sur” is derived from the Spanish language “el sur grande.” Meaning “the big south.” Big Sur’s Cone Peak is the highest coastal mountain in the contiguous 48 states. That’s impressive. I didn’t realize how spread out Big Sur is either. Luckily I printed out some directions before we left. When they say “off the grid” it’s no joke. I had NO service once we headed out of Carmel. I mean absolutely nothing. From Bixby Bridge to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is about an hour drive. So planning out your stops is imperative.

We hit the road early Saturday morning pumped for a road-trip just the two of us. Here’s a few of the many highlights.

Hwy 1 has got to be one of the most gorgeous drives. Every turnout I wanted to stop and snap another picture. We weren’t the only ones either. Every stop, there must have been 20 other peeps with the same idea. I downloaded 280 pictures from this weekend – yikes. And that doesn’t include Iphone pics.

Garrapata State Beach was our first stop. Coastal hiking trails that lead to a two miles beach front. The first stop is always the best, especially after a 3 hour drive.

I love him!

Say hello to my little friend. Can you spot the squirrel??

One of the most famous Hwy 1 landmarks, Bixby Bridge. If you take a left turn before the bridge on the dirt road, you end up behind the bridge with views of the Pacific Ocean. I can see why this bridge is highly photographed. There are also two built-in benches in the middle of this bridge….with No walkway to them. Ummm….no thank you. People were hanging off the sides of this bad boy for the perfect snap shot. All I could think was, they are definitely going to die.

The photo below is one of the ONLY photo’s I was able to upload all weekend. There is literally NO service for miles/hours once you pass Carmel. Big Sur River Inn is where we captured these photos. The Inn has little cabins along the Big Sur River. Major perk – wooden chairs setting in the river. I highly recommend staking out a couple of these seats and enjoying an adult beverage. Mine was clearly a Corona tall can. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl 🙂 I could have sat in the spot for hours.

We stopped by Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn for a quick second. Look how charming this place is. The restaurant looked like an antique itself.

I have my heart set on staying at this campground next time we venture to Big Sur. Ventana Campground is nestled in a 40 acre redwood canyon. Heading down Hwy 1, you see the ocean one minute then the next thing you are in the middle of redwoods. It’s unreal guys.

Talk about lunch with a view. Nepenthe is breathtaking. The restaurant is perched on a hill overlooking the ocean. There’s not a bad seat in the house. Other than the spectacular views, I was totally diggin the bohemian vibe. It was impossible to wipe the smile off my face. Wine + Cory + this view….it was perfection.

Bubbles at Andrew Molera State Beach was probably the highlight of my weekend. We sat and watched the surfers with our feet in the sand for a couple hours. One of the reasons for this trip was to celebrate that we’ve been dating for four years. Cheers to four years!! And what’s a celebration without champs?!?!

The hike in & out was interesting. Crossing bridges like this one below and tunnels of shrubs.

The grounds are filled with flowers, succulents and shrubs that looked as though it was out of a magazine. Epic beauty!!

Check out the adorable gas station. Why can’t they all look like this?

“Escargot, my car go, one sixty, swiftly” this song is still stuck in my head from last night. Probably because I tried escargot for the first time. It came highly recommended by the Rocky Point Restaurant bartender, so we thought, what the heck let’s give it a shot. And the verdict is – I loved it. I’m always up for trying anything new, at least once. We sat at the bar in the middle of the restaurant that was wrapped in windows with a panoramic view of the pacific ocean. Views of the sunrises and sunsets must be unreal.

We finished off our night chasing the sunset back up Hwy 1. The photo doesn’t do it any justice.

Sunday was a whole different story. We woke up to no power. Not just our hotel, but 57,000 people were effected. That means cold showers in the dark. Fun, fun. I didn’t require coffee to wake me up, that’s for sure. We made the best of it and hit 17 Mile Drive.

17 Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove along the pacific coastline. It passes famous golf courses, million dollar mansions, and many scenic attractions. The cypress trees are beyond amazing. We made our way, with many stops, at Pebble Beach Golf Course

I can’t even explain how beautifully manicured this place is. We stopped for a photo at the 18th hole. There is a women that sits at the 18th hole to take picture and answer any questions you may have. I think it’s brilliant, since my selfie game isn’t very tight yet.

The end of 17 mile drive dips you right into Carmel-by-the Sea. Carmel is famously known for the natural scenery. More importantly, it’s the home of Clint Eastwood. Due to the uneven pavement and cobblestone streets, there is an unusual law – wearing high-heel shoes without a permit is prohibited. So weird, but I liked that little tidbit of Carmel info that I read over the weekend.

Blue water, soft white sand with a view of pebble beach, Carmel Beach. I visited this beach for the first time earlier this year, it’s UH-MAZING. Only wish I had more time to set up my beach spot and hang out for the day.

Unfortunately, the power outage hit this destination of ours too. No powers means, No restaurants, No stores. “Sorry, we’re closed” signs hung in all the shop windows on Ocean Drive. So disappointing to end our trip that way. I guess after a rad Saturday we had, it was inevitable that something not so great was bound to happen. We decided it was time and headed to home-sweet-home.

I highly recommend you pack your weekender bag and head to Big Sur for your next adventure!!! Perfect spot for a weekend, really you only need 24 hours to experience it all.

It took me hours to pick what pictures to use for this post. So many to choose from – this post would be never-ending. To me, pictures are the best story tellers and reminders of adventures. Traveling to destinations like this open your eyes to all the beauty in adventure. I would be lying if I said that I’m not secretly planning in my head, another destination to explore.