Pacific Coast Hwy Continued: Beautiful Santa Barbara

After a cozy night in Santa Maria, we started the next morning for Santa Barbara. The first place we stopped was UC Santa Barbara. We have visited a bunch of the UC campuses so far, so we had to add this one to our list. I have to say, it is probably the prettiest one yet. I think I would be okay if we had to move down to Santa Barbara for Sam's postdoc :-) I loved that the campus is practically on the beach!

I took this panorama picture from the parking lot. The gate is the edge of campus. To the right is the beach, and to the left are campus buildings. So awesome. Even at 10am, there were plenty of families and dogs already at the beach surfing and playing in the sand.

I thought this sign was rather funny. I don't think the little guy is going to make it.

We took a stroll along the beach after driving through campus a bit. The weather was so perfect, but the water was still freezing! Even in a wet suit, I'm not sure how all of those surfers could stand it.

After milling around there for a bit, we headed to downtown Santa Barbara. We visited the quaint little Stearns Warf. I thought it was the perfect blend of tourism and pier-ness. It wasn't quite as over the top as Santa Monica Pier near LA, but it definitely had more to offer than Berkeley's pier.

At the end of the pier they had wooden benches that you could sit on and gaze out at the water. It was so relaxing to have the sun on your face and a slight breeze to cool you off.

I thought this little pigeon was funny drinking out of the faucet. You can only somewhat tell from this picture, but there is no railing going along the edge of the pier. It you aren't careful, you could definitely fall right off the edge.

After our little walk down the pier, we grabbed a quick snack of more hummus on the beach while reading/sleeping and enjoying the weather. Again, SO RELAXING!

We finished up the day at Old Mission Santa Barbara. It was founded in the late 1700's by Spanish Franciscans. The church has been rebuilt and added on to since then, but it still holds a great deal of history. We decided to take the self guided tour through the grounds. It isn't the most elaborate tour, but the grounds are beautiful and the museum at the end is interesting.

Behind the church is a sweet little courtyard surrounded by facilities that are now used for retreats. On the other side is another side yard/cemetery. I loved the huge tree in the middle.

That night we opted for Mexican food to continue with the Spanish theme. We stopped at this delicious restaurant called Los Agaves and ate way too much.

The next day we set out back home, but not before visiting the Monarch Butterfly Grove in Pismo Beach. We had a difficult time finding the grove and had actually given up when we drove right past it trying to get back to the highway. Our pictures don't do a great job capturing the number of butterflies fluttering around, but there were tons of them! One of the volunteers there explained that the butterflies need to warm up a bit before they begin flying around (it was still sort of early in the day and only in the low 60's). By the time we left, there were tons flying around in the trees.

The volunteers had set up telescopes focused on clumps of the little guys up in the trees. Sam was able to get a decent shot through the lens. There were tons!

The coloring of the butterflies was so beautiful, and the orange and yellows of their wings really stood out against the green leaves of the trees.

Speaking of colors, I didn't expect to see so many fall colors driving along the coast. Even though it makes perfect sense, I didn't really expect to see the grape vines changing colors. The orange, reds, and yellows were so breathtaking. I have missed the leaves changing since we don't get too much of that out here, and these fields definitely made up for it.

Our last stop before getting back to Berkeley was the iconic (and very busy) In 'N Out for lunch. The food was delicious, as always. Yum!

Even though it was a quick road trip, Sam and I really enjoyed seeing a bit more of California. The drive was super easy, and it was fun to be able to just stop wherever we felt like it without having to worry about getting some place "on time". We still want to explore Big Sur and Monterey, but we are saving that for a weekend trip this spring. I also want to check out the tide pools at Moss Beach near Half Moon Bay, but the timing just didn't work out for us. So many more places to explore! I have to say, this state is definitely growing on me (though not too much- don't worry, moms!).



Pacific Coast Hwy Day 1: Elephant Seals and Castles

Coming from a family of Italians, meals are kind of a big deal. I remember Thanksgiving as a child- helping my mom make desserts and sides for our family the night before, the turkey roasting in the oven all day, my aunt making the mashed potatoes, my uncle's delicious acorn squash, and my grandfather always choosing the turkey leg. It has been a long time since my whole family has come together for a holiday meal, and I miss it.

Being so far away, Sam and I knew there was no way we would be able to spend Thanksgiving with our families. So, instead of spending our short vacation at home doing chores or studying, we decided to take a little road trip down Hwy 1. (Not before seeing Cirque due Soleil's Totem and having a non-conventional Thanksgiving dinner with some friends- both of which were wonderful!)

Hwy 1, or the Pacific Coast Highway, is a beautiful little highway that curves along the California coast. Since my wonderful father-in-law gave us 2 free nights at a Marriott hotel for my birthday, we decided to use them on a drive down to Santa Barbara.

We started our drive Friday morning bright and early. Our only deadline was getting to Hearst Castle in time for the last tour of the day- around 3pm. Coffee's in hand, we set out across the Bay Bridge to make our way to the coast. As I've said before, California is just a beautiful state. Mountains, (big) trees, lakes, desert, the ocean- it has it all! If you have never been to a California beach, it might be different than you expect. They are nothing like the beaches in Florida. These beaches are edged by cliffs and large rocks that the waves crash against. And forget about swimming! The water up here is definitely too cold to be in without a wet suit.  The road was so windy, but I still made Sam stop at some pull offs to take pictures. You can see the road below is just cut into the side of the hills and cliffs.

In between stretches of windy roads and cliffs, there were fields of cows and grape vines. As my father-in-law said, "Happy cows come from California." I certainly wouldn't mind having an ocean view like these guys.

Along a lot of the coast, there was no beach, just a cliff leading down to the water. I really liked the bridge in the background of this pictures.

Since we left in plenty of time, we were able to stop at Point Piedras Blancas to visit the elephant seals. The sign read that biologists thought these animals were near extinction when a small group found the beach in 1992. Since then the population has exploded. In case you were unsure, this is not a petting zoo. 

I loved how these huge animals just sprawled along the beach in the sun- sort of like Daysie does in our apartment. They are also very loud, and apparently the males can also be very territorial. We saw two large ones fighting.

After our little detour, we were off to Hearst Castle. First though, we grabbed a little snack of yummy hummus and pita chips in the parking lot. So classy.

Hearst Castle is this amazing estate built over a 28 year period commissioned by William Randolph Hearst. The buildings are a hodge-podge of ancient and modern architecture all rolled into one. You might have Italian tapestries on the walls, a 500 year old ceiling from an old church, and then pool tables. It was very interesting.

The landscaping outside was so beautiful, but still had the same odd features: a beautiful hedge garden with roses and then an old sarcophagus. It was definitely the quirkiest estate I have ever seen.

The two pools on the property were absolutely amazing. The Neptune Pool is a magnificent outdoor pool surrounded by remnants of ancient roman temple, and the indoor Roman Pool is just as enchanting with its beautiful blue tiles and detail. Mr. Hearst also built himself his own movie theater and used a portion of his many acres as a personal zoo where he housed everything from zebras and camels to grizzly bears and lions. Most of the animals are gone now except for a few zebras and some other stray livestock.

After dinner at a local steakhouse, we finished up watching movies in the hotel room. Day 1 of the trip was a definite success! Hearst Castle was a sight to see, but I think my favorite part of the day was stopping along the highway to see the different views of the coast. It was so breathtaking.

Yosemite Part II:Waterfalls and Hikers and Bears, Oh My!

Finally, day two! 

After a refreshing night's sleep, we woke up bright and early to continue exploring beautiful Yosemite. We headed back over to Tunnel View Road and snapped this quick family photo with Half Dome in the background. Since it was still fairly chilly at this point, we decided to drive through the park before taking as easy 3 mile hike.

At this vista point, we had another good view of Half Dome and El Capitan.

These rocks were a perfect place to enjoy the view.

 Another Family Photo courtesy of our handy-dandy mini tripod bought in China Town. I promise we aren't photoshopped in there. The view was just so amazing, and all the leaves starting to change for fall added beautiful contrast with the clear blue sky.

We finally started our "easy" hike to Vernal Falls. When we originally started our trip at the Visitor Center in Mariposa, the sweet old lady there looked us up and down and informed us that we should be fine taking this easy 3 mile round-trip hike, and, if we were feeling ambitious, we could probably handle the 7 miles version to Nevada Falls too. Well, let me tell you, it was a much harder 1.5 miles to the top of the falls than we expected. But, it was well worth it! We took the Mist Trail, Yosemite's most popular hike, to the top of Vernal Fall.

The first mile of the hike wasn't too bad. The grade was steep, but the trail was nicely paved and wide. We stopped at this grouping of rocks to catch our breath.

The top of the waterfall below (it looks dwarfed by the trees) was our goal. It looked so far away from here!

After we crossed over the bridge (around the 1 mile mark), our nicely paved route turned into these uneven, slippery stone steps cut into the rock. The left side of the steps just sort of drop off to the creek below. A little scary, but wow, look at the waterfall! Apparently, during the spring and summer when water flow is at its peak, you can actually feel the spray from the fall as you are making this hike (hence the name).

After a little more stair climbing, we were getting closer. These pictures truly don't capture the magnificence of this piece of nature.

You can tell by the markings on the rock that during the spring, the water flowing over the fall is much greater. Even still, the water comes crashing down into the small pool below. It is difficult to tell from the pictures, but the water was so clear!

Finally, after A LOT of stair climbing (something like 500 slippery, uneven steps), we made it to the top! The rail we are standing next to is set about 2 feet in from the edge of the cliff. Sam kept telling Mama C and I to stop leaning against it. It was a little scary to be that high up, especially knowing it was such a long drop over the edge. Earlier this year, 3 hikers went over this fall after they went wading into Emerald Pool. From here, you could easily see how someone might think the shallow pool leading to the edge wouldn't be the least bit dangerous. Of course, during the spring and summer there is a lot more water flowing over the falls. Either way, we were surprised by the lack of warnings about wading into the water or crossing over the fence.

We were way too winded to take these pictures on the way up, so I'm glad Sam thought to take them on our way down. In the upper right corner of the picture below, you can sort of make out the ledge that you have to walk along to get to the top of the water fall. It's just this narrow little path  cut into the side of the cliff with this rickety metal rail for support. Oh ya, and there was water dripping down which made the rock slippery. I have a slight fear of heights, so if Sam and Mama C (mostly Mama C) hadn't been pushing forward, I probably would have turned back. I'm so glad we didn't though since the view was so amazing!

The stairs leading up to the top were more like conveniently laid rocks. There were definitely some narrow parts, but also some nice little landings like were we took the picture of Sam and I below. We were pretty much climbing straight up. There is something like a 1000 ft elevation change to get to the top of Vernal Fall. In some ways, coming down these steps was worse.

My legs were pretty shaky by the time we got back down to the paved part. I definitely couldn't have continue another 2 miles up to Nevada Fall, but I am definitely happy we made it to the top of Vernal. The view was amazing, and the water fall left me feeling a mixture of awe for its beautify and respect for its power. On our way back down, we had another encounter with the local deer. I just love how they could care less about all the tourists taking their picture like the paparazzi.

After our hike, we grabbed a quick lunch and then got back on the road to drive our four hours back to Berkeley. Even though it was a quick trip, it was most definitely worth it. These chunks of granite are just a little more exciting than good 'ole Stone Mountain :-)

And what a perfect way to end our trip- we saw a bear! The picture is a little blurry, but he was definitely there, right on the side of the road as we were driving out of the park around 2pm. So cool!