Big Sur, Carmel, & Monterey California | June 2016

I have been dreaming of going to Big Sur forever so when planning our vacation to San Francisco I really wanted to work this into our trip. And as it turns out there are some truly beautiful hotels and rentals in Carmel and Monterey California! We chose to stay at the Hyatt Carmel Highlands and it was AMAZING … gorgeous views overlooking the water and a wood burning fireplace in your room was just what we needed after spending the previous few days in San Francisco!

So we rested up after our drive and planned our road trip to Big Sur the next day!! Big Sur gets pretty busy pretty fast so we decided to get on the road early. The road to Big Sur on Highway 1 was like an attraction all by itself! There were so many breathtaking views and pull-offs I was starting to think we should have left even earlier because we just wanted to stop at all of them and soak in the beauty. Not to mention … being photographers it was pretty much a dream to photograph! And wait till you see the Bixby Bridge, if you love bridges like me this one is just stunning! When we finally reached Big Sur it was nothing short of amazing, a place that just seemed pretty magical. I feel blessed and thankful to have been there and urge anyone considering a trip here to go.

And because we wanted to see as much as possible while in Carmel we spent the second half of our day exploring 17-Mile Drive Pebble Beach, California. The drive is kind of touristy … but I guess since we are tourist its fine lol. It was a fun way to see some neat lookouts and landmarks such as the Lone Cypress, Spanish Bay, Bird Rock and of course world-renowned golf courses! Neither of us are golfers so we spent more time walking the beaches, watching seals and sea lions and admiring the coastal views! And we wrapped up our day with a seafood dinner in Fisherman’s Wharf Monterey where we saw more seals and sea lions as well as our first otter (not in an aquarium), so CUTE!

Before heading to the last stop on our trip and my next blog post Napa California, we spent some time hiking at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve in Carmel where we saw gorgeous coastal views along the cliffs, stunning cypress trees, harbor seals and a Killer Whale! And on the way to Napa we stopped at one of the other main reason for this trip, the Muir Woods Redwood Forest! Truly incredible to see in person and the smell … nature never smelled so good lol! So I am going to stop now because I feel like I could write about this amazing trip forever but enjoy a little bit of Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey and Muir Woods through our lens!

So many beautiful lookout points on the way to Big Sur!

Big Sur did not disappoint!

The Bixby Bridge!

One of my favorite shots of the Bixby Bridge!

17-Mile Drive

All the little dots on the rock below are actually seals and sea lions with the exception of some birds! And all the white is massive amounts of bird poop lol.

The Lone Cypress

Fisherman’s Wharf Monterey California!

The seagulls here are just plain GIANT from what I am use to on the East Coast!

Point Lobos Carmel California!

Cuteness overload!!

Muir Woods Redwood Forrest!

TO VIEW OUR SAN FRANCISCO VACATION: CLICK HERE!

TO VIEW OUR TRAVELS TO NAPA & SONOMA VALLEY CALIFORNIA: CLICK HERE!

TO VIEW MORE FROM OUR TRAVELS: CLICK HERE!