planning a 3 month trip is so exciting.
..but it doesn’t come without it’s misfortunes & mistakes.
reading endless online hotel reviews, scouring through multiple lonely planet guides, checking/double checking/re-checking bookings & confirmations, befriending the google machine like no other time in life -it’s so overwhelming.
so overwhelming that one solo traveler may actually forget about a nights accommodation entirely!
forget or fate?
reading endless online hotel reviews, scouring through multiple lonely planet guides, checking/double checking/re-checking bookings & confirmations, befriending the google machine like no other time in life -it’s so overwhelming.
so overwhelming that one solo traveler may actually forget about a nights accommodation entirely!
forget or fate?
upon checking my confirmations for the millionth time i realized that i was a night short in san fran ---eiiikk!
visions of me sleeping in my car... fears of paying triple for an extra night... but never did it enter my mind that this mistake would in fact lead me to 3 of the most amazing nights on the california coast!
as much as i loved san fran (& still cannot wait to go back!), i decided this amazing window of opportunity could miraculously get me extra time back on heavanly highway 1!
i quickly found myself 2 new towns to stop in that would allow me 3 full days to slowly cruise the windy cliffs for the trip back down south.
stop 1 / 2 nights = big sur.
a hotel with no address, no real pictures available, very few (& mixed) reviews online & a bitchy receptionist -this place was the best i could find that wouldn’t involve me pitching a tent or paying $500+ a night!
(who cares about the hotel - i just wanna be driving again!).
back in the car for the first time in 6 days with the most important road rules filtering through my mind
--- “curb to the right”, “right turn on RED OK”, “never attempt merging”, “first car to the intersection has right of way”,
& thanking the road gods that it was the first partially rainy day in my whole stay here.
the partial rain & grey skies made for a much less exciting journey south. much less exciting & MUCH MORE FRIGHTENING! seriously saw myself skidding off the road & down a cliff to my naive travelers death & only ever being heard of again in the news months later when my shitbox chevy was recovered!
..life threatening turns & frightening visions aside, it was still a treasured drive. crossed the bixby creek bridge (& stopped to take another million photos from millions of different angles) & safely made it to my hotel (thank you gps creators for not making it vital to have an addressed destination!!).
this is when fate reared it’s sweet head once again -
& thanking the road gods that it was the first partially rainy day in my whole stay here.
the partial rain & grey skies made for a much less exciting journey south. much less exciting & MUCH MORE FRIGHTENING! seriously saw myself skidding off the road & down a cliff to my naive travelers death & only ever being heard of again in the news months later when my shitbox chevy was recovered!
..life threatening turns & frightening visions aside, it was still a treasured drive. crossed the bixby creek bridge (& stopped to take another million photos from millions of different angles) & safely made it to my hotel (thank you gps creators for not making it vital to have an addressed destination!!).
this is when fate reared it’s sweet head once again -
the hotel = amazing!!!! isolated little cabin, buried amongst the tall redwoods, gas fireplace & the best bathroom i had seen the entire trip!! no tv, but JENGA!! & most importantly super fast wifi.
the rain settled just long enough for me to lug my cases from the car, set up & walk to the convenience store to pick up supplies (wine, doritos, chocolate, did i mention wine..).
spent the night on my porch gazing up at the stars, munching on doritos & chocolate, abusing the super wifi & drinking more wine than i had in a month! t’was a good nights sleep that night...
the rain settled just long enough for me to lug my cases from the car, set up & walk to the convenience store to pick up supplies (wine, doritos, chocolate, did i mention wine..).
spent the night on my porch gazing up at the stars, munching on doritos & chocolate, abusing the super wifi & drinking more wine than i had in a month! t’was a good nights sleep that night...
oh no! almost forgot about the midnight freak out!!!
“what was that noise??” “is that a bear?????” “OMG are there bears in big sur park????” “shit shit shit there is a bear outside my cabin!!!!!” “oh hang on.. it stopped, & it talks..... it’s being told to roll over... hmm couple in the cabin next to mine battling with snoring..”
no bears. safe to pass out again.
divinely there is nothing much to do in big sur but hike! so no travelers guilt felt when my only full day there was a very hung over one... treated myself to a monster breakfast (at 2pm), guzzled 10 cups of refilled drip coffee & braved a drive to a hidden beach that supposedly had purple sand. (YES PURPLE!!!).
lonely planet said you had to dig to find the purple goodness... DIG?!?!? i don’t dig on a fresh day, let alone a dusty one.
well lucky for hung over me - it was swooshed all over the place, no such digging required. goodness all around.
goodness did come at a few other small prices though... ever wondered if chevy sedans float in creeks? stop wondering, they do. turns out lonely planet needs to update it’s tips in more place than one.
no bears. safe to pass out again.
divinely there is nothing much to do in big sur but hike! so no travelers guilt felt when my only full day there was a very hung over one... treated myself to a monster breakfast (at 2pm), guzzled 10 cups of refilled drip coffee & braved a drive to a hidden beach that supposedly had purple sand. (YES PURPLE!!!).
lonely planet said you had to dig to find the purple goodness... DIG?!?!? i don’t dig on a fresh day, let alone a dusty one.
well lucky for hung over me - it was swooshed all over the place, no such digging required. goodness all around.
goodness did come at a few other small prices though... ever wondered if chevy sedans float in creeks? stop wondering, they do. turns out lonely planet needs to update it’s tips in more place than one.
FLOWING CREEK TO BE DRIVEN ACROSS TO GET TO BEACH WITH PURPLE SAND!!
beach with purple sand also happens to be the coldest place on earth!
saw the sand, saw the seals, saw waves crash on rocks -got the hell out of the cold. back to the convenience store (more wine, more doritos, more chocolate & oh dear -more wine..), back to my porch for star gazing, wifi & solo JENGA!! solo jenga is actually so totally awesome, as there’s no one to see your amazing tower crash & tumble to pieces! ..but sadly no one to blame when it all goes wrong. blamed the wine for lack of any other company.
blissfully awoke the next day to a clear blue sky!!!
stopped at every single “vista point” & semi dug out corner along the way. got very well practiced in the fine art of the self timing continuous shooting function on my camera. & even saw a migrating pod of WHALES!!!
hoorah!!! the road gods were on fire for my final day on the heavenly highway.
saw the sand, saw the seals, saw waves crash on rocks -got the hell out of the cold. back to the convenience store (more wine, more doritos, more chocolate & oh dear -more wine..), back to my porch for star gazing, wifi & solo JENGA!! solo jenga is actually so totally awesome, as there’s no one to see your amazing tower crash & tumble to pieces! ..but sadly no one to blame when it all goes wrong. blamed the wine for lack of any other company.
blissfully awoke the next day to a clear blue sky!!!
stopped at every single “vista point” & semi dug out corner along the way. got very well practiced in the fine art of the self timing continuous shooting function on my camera. & even saw a migrating pod of WHALES!!!
hoorah!!! the road gods were on fire for my final day on the heavenly highway.
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| best bbq location i have ever seen! |
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| whales!!!!! |
to have to leave such a place is a sin in itself.
still brings a smile to my face :)
stop 2 / 1 night = pismo beach. coming soon...
