Dunno how much time you have there or how far you want to go, but a little more than an hour north in Mount Hermon/Henry Cowell State Park is a spot to commune with 250' tall redwoods. Park right next to Roaring Camp and hike the 1km loop and see some of the biggest fucking trees in existence and get in touch with your inner elf.
If you are driving Big Sur (and you should), there is a fantastic sea lion viewing beach at the south end right before you get to San Simeon at Piedras Blancas right along Highway 1. https://visitsansimeonca.com/what-to-do/elephant-seals-san-simeon/ It’s a boardwalk on a 12-15 foot beach cliff that separates animals from humans.
Adding it to the list. Odd that a lot of places are closed on Tuesday. We are at First Awakenings. Great breakfast.
my friend just got back from CDMX, ate at most of the street food vendors I recommended. He's on day 5 of insane diarrhea, has lost 17 pounds so far. Some folks can't handle the heat.
Big ass trees link: https://www.redwoodhikes.com/Cowell/Cowell.html Be advised that traffic can back up around Elkhorn Slough/Moss Landing, and again on Hwy1 through Aptos and Capitola/Soquel where CalTrans is doing a lot of work widening the freeway. Wilder Ranch on Santa Cruz Westside has nice hiking, but it's probably not much different than hiking that can be done closer to Monterey. Santa Cruz proper is OK if you want to go to the Boardwalk, but if you just want to walk a town then Carmel is a much better experience IMO
Thanks for the link. We flew into San Fran and were told to drive the “scenic route” and man it was kinda depressing. Moss Landing and some of that area just looked like a swamp. It stank. Lots of berry fields with a bunch of workers and cars everywhere. Tons of bike riders getting way too close to the actual driving lanes. Construction. I guess in our minds we were going to see the ocean or something else. I believe we discussed going to Carmel.
Moss Landing area is a natural saltwater slough and the Watsonville/Castroville area is big on berry and artichoke crops. Seeing the ocean from Hwy1 is something you get more of north of Santa Cruz and south of Monterey/Carmel. The whole area is bike friendly, and ebikes have made things more problematic since they're fast enough to be mopeds now
there are some cool artichoke farms on that stretch lol, you really dont see ocean until you get up to Aptos. you also should do the wine road up carmel, much better vino scene than beers generally.
Don't get down there often, but friends say that Garrapata has great hiking and the flowers on the hills are spectacular in the springtime
Plans are changing on the fly. Headed to Carmel for just casual walking around. Any brunch or lunch spots that we must try? Nole0515 Fran Tarkenton AptosDuck
Anybody experienced flat beer in the UK? First time I’ve been as an adult and now have been to 3 different pubs in London and Scotland and the beer has tasted extremely flat in every one. Bad luck or is this just a thing here? edit: just noticed another table get beer with bubbles so seems bad luck?
Not sure if any are must try spots, but we used to go to Il Fornaio in the Pine Inn whenever we would overnight there, but it wasn't the greatest last time we were there. Had a good meal at Casanova many years ago. Had a decent lunch at Yafa last year; the most memorable thing about the lunch was the white wine from the Bekaa Valley. Friends like getting an aperol spritz at Little Napoli, which seems to be across the street from La Bicyclette (neve been there). Friends also like going to the American Art Gallery on Dolores; they just bought a work there by a woman who paints nudes with her hands on old reclaimed barn doors and whatnot
I have been getting local ales mostly. Just got an IPA and it’s totally fine. Maybe that’s my problem? I don’t drink a ton of beer
La Bicyclette looks great but didn't open for another hour and everyone is hungry. Wondered around and followed the smells to Stationery.
I am/was a delta loyalist but I have a quick trip coming up with my son. How bad are frontier/spirit. I can get on Frontier $307 but I have to fly out of Miami Spirit for $372 American $742 (basic economy) Or delta for $811
If you go into it knowing what to expect and research their fees and know what to avoid, it's probably fine. It'll get you there and back.