Today’s the day we finally do the Pacific Coast Highway! We’ve been talking about this drive since planning our trip over the summer. I woke up at 7:30 so we could leave around 8:15 to get dropped off at Timmy’s place in Van Nuys. After my uncle dropped me off Timmy and I left to meet Alex and his aunt Beth at Cici’s café. We waited a bit to get seated but it was worth it. I think their menu was 13 pages long, including 3 pages worth of pancakes. 3 pages of pancakes!! I ended up getting a make your own omelet (almost as good as the ones at Ms. Shirley’s in Baltimore) while Alex got skydiver pancakes (banana chocolate chip buttermilk pancakes with peanut butter – SOOOO good). His aunt Beth is really cool and it was great to have met 2^nd of his mom’s sisters. I think I’ve met the whole family!

Shortly after 11 am we left to drive the PCH. We got a little lost after diverting from a scenic route shortly into the drive but otherwise it was an easy, fun drive. The views over the ocean and the mountains were stunning. There was a stretch of about 90 miles (?) where we drove through a super windy road which was really fun. When Alex gets around to posting pictures (cough cough, Alex’s family please help me prompt him to put up pictures) you’ll be able to see how gorgeous it was.

The first big highlight was elephant seals in San Simeon, California. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do Hearst Castle, also in San Simeon, so this was the next best thing. There were at least 200 elephant seals on the beach and in the ocean in their natural habitat. It was so awesome seeing so many in such close proximity. Good karma, for sure. Also, we stopped in Lucia, California to use the bathroom. I couldn’t hold it anymore while Alex was in line to use the restroom at the general store, so I stormed across the street to the woods and did what I had to do. I got made fun of. Oh well – I had to go! There was also a forest section, which was incredible. There were some woodland hotels and stores and restaurants. So much contrast in terrain and scenery!

We stopped for dinner in Monterey around 7:45 pm. We drove down by the water and walked along the street back and forth before landing on Cooper’s Pub for dinner around 8. I had clam chowder which was pretty good, and we both had fish and chips which were decent. Alex’s buffalo wings were pretty good though. While dining we were trying to figure out places to stay. We originally planned on doing the PCH over 2 days, but we got further than expected so we asked the lovely Martha Peterson if we could stay that night, meaning an extra day than planned, at her place in San Francisco. Because she’s the best she said “of course!” To thank her and her roommates we went next door to the chocolate shop we eyed before dinner to pick up a treat for her and her lady roommates. Jason, the standout gentleman working there, gave us the rest of the chocolate covered strawberries for a discounted price, and dolled them up in a nice bag because I told him it was a gift. Good karma – thanks elephant seals!

After dinner we drove 2 hours straight to San Fran, arriving at Martha’s around 11. We chatted in the kitchen for a bit and she showed us around and where we’d be staying. We were all in bed around 12:30 am. San Fran explorations tomorrow!!!

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