Cambria 2012- Day 1
May 7 2012
May 7 2012
We drove to Half Moon Bay on Sunday night to get a head start on our trip and allow more time to stop along the Big Sur coast on our drive to Cambria. We stayed at the America's Best Value Inn on Hwy 1 in Half Moon Bay. Arriving around 11 pm, we unpacked and took a walk to the beach to stretch our legs. We had a great nights sleep and enjoyed a really nice free breakfast. We got on the road at about 11 and headed south on Hwy 1 towards Big Sur.
Our first stop of the day was at San Grerorio State Beach. There was a bunch of driftwood on the beach and some cool shelters had been built on the shoreline. We also enjoyed the wild flowers and scenery.
Shortly down the road we came to Pescadero State Beach. We pulled over and went for a short walk along the beach. The weather was perfect!!
Since this was a car trip, I decided to enjoy some cigars along the road. I started the day with a Nub
One of our favorite stops of the day was the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. There is a Hostel on the Lighthouse grounds, it would be an amazing place to stay. We walked around and enjoyed the coastline and historic buildings. A portion of the California Coastal Trail passes the Lighthouse, for information on this up and coming trail go to:
California Coastal Trail
California Coastal Trail
We made a quick stop at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk since I had never been there. We found some free parking along the street about a half mile from the park and walked over. It was interesting but a bit disappointing. Perhaps it gets better later in the summer..
The Carmel Mission is just a few miles off Hwy 1. The Mission is beautiful and well worth the stop. There is an awesome gift shop and it costs $7 to enter and tour the grounds.
We stopped at the Bixby Bridge, the official start of Big Sur. The Bixby Bridge, completed in 1932, is a marvel of engineering and one of the top ten highest single span bridges in the world.
Our final stop of the day was at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. The biggest draw in the park and our destination was the hike to McWay Falls.
McWay Falls is an 80 foot waterfall and is one of only two in the region that are close enough to the ocean to be referred to as "tidefalls". It is located on McWay Creek and is one of the few waterfalls that empty directly into the ocean.