Okay, so I should be too old to be referencing lyrics from Mayday Parade, but I spent too many years taking Chrissy to concerts to not know a lot of songs from that time period. We headed out the next morning down the Pacific Coast Highway, CA Hwy 1, and this time, we planned to take it all the way down into LA, when we needed to turn left. We were going to make some stops I hadn't made before, but there MUST be a stop at the Bixby Bridge.
About 2 miles down this one lane, narrow, winding road that doesn't appear to be well maintained, we finally reached the ranger station where we paid. Federal passes don't work even though this is supposedly US Forest Service land. It's not the Pfeiffer State Park (either one), but the State of California collects the entry fee of $12 per car.
We parked and took the short walk down to the beach, and it really does have a purplish tint to the sand! This is because of the manganese garnet that washes down from the cliffs and hills above the beach.
Across the backwater, there are multiple blowholes in the cliffs that front the Pacific Ocean.
This one is known as Keyhole Rock.
We spent a little time on the beach, walking down to where it started getting rocky, but it was cold and windy, so we headed back fairly quickly. We headed on down and stopped at the Burns North Vista Point which has the historical information about gray whales and a pretty relief in the concrete. One day, I'm going to come down here, bring a cooler, and spend the day watching for whales on their migration.
Going on down the road, we had to turn around to make sure we saw what we thought we saw. I think there's more than rocks that are falling in this spot!
We were running low on gas, so we passed the elephant seal rookery and headed to San Simeon for gas. The wind surfers and kite surfers were having fun just south of the rookery.
After getting gas in Cambria because there apparently isn't a gas station in San Simeon, we doubled back to the elephant seals, always a must-see for me at the south end of Big Sur. There's always something different here because they change out for the seasons. The first time we saw them, it was pupping season and there were babies everywhere. This time, it was female molting season. Not nearly as crowded as when females, babies, juveniles, and males who want to mate are all on the beach.
This is one of the most vulnerable times for them because they can't escape predators. The elephant seal can't regrow skin while in the ocean because the blood vessels that are necessary don't go to the surface while they're in the cold ocean. Also, once they begin molting, going into the water risks hypothermia because the blood vessels are so close to the surface, aiding the growth of new skin and fur. Because they can't escape into the water, they also can't feed, so they lose about 30% of their body weight during this month of molting, which is done in large patches.
Again, it was cold and windy. We had trouble even opening and closing the car doors. No wonder the kite and wind surfers were having such fun. We got a few shots, talked to the docent from the Friends of the Elephant Seals, always a font of information, and headed back to the car before sand got into my camera. I still had more things to see! Off we headed to Morro Bay. Morro Rock is easily visible as you start pulling into town.
Once we made it to the T pier, we decided to eat at a restaurant on the pier. I chatted with the hostess and showed her my pictures of the elephant seals and asked her if we were at the right place to see the sea otters. She said the people at the best table for seeing them were getting ready to leave if we wanted to wait for that table. Of course we wanted to wait! I didn't wait to check with Bruce before accepting that offer! She did, indeed, put us at an amazing table for watching the otters while waiting for our food. The restaurant was pretty spendy, but it was delicious, and you just couldn't beat the view! These were taken through the window, right beside our table!
He's using his rock to open whatever he picked up off the bottom!
And after eating, we walked out to the pier and saw even more!
I could have stayed for hours, but we had already been there for a couple of hours and it was starting to get late. So, we headed on down the road. I think I'll be back, though. I mean, I still need to do the Channel Islands, Solvang, and a variety of other things in and around LA. Staying overnight in Morro Bay doesn't seem like a bad plan. I might even take in the Morro Bay Maritime Museum the next time.
The next morning, we continued down CA Hwy 1 through Malibu. When we got to the ritzy section, Bruce turned around and stopped so I could get an elevated picture. I didn't take out the big lens, so I didn't zoom in to see if I could find anybody recognizable down there.
We drove down through Broad Beach Road to see if we could find any beach access, but we couldn't find anyplace to get down. Everything was fenced up between houses, and goodness, those houses are close together!
We couldn't find beach access, but Google says there are places where the public can access the beach here. I was kinda hoping to see if I could recognize any Malibu beach houses from TV shows. Next time we go down this way, I'm gonna have a list of "used on TV shows I watched" and go house hunting. I already mentioned that idea to Bruce. He rolled his eyes, but agreed. We saw a lot of these sandstone crevice cliffs on the other side of the street in Malibu. These actually came up on the beach side of the PCH while we were on Broad Beach Road. There is, apparently an erosion problem on the beach. Who woulda thunk it? Beautiful, though.
We came back up onto the PCH, having such disappointment at not having found Barbie's Malibu Beach House (or any of the real locations that have been used for TV) because we couldn't access the beach to get an actual look at them instead of just the garages (which are upstairs instead of downstairs here) and stopped for a shot of the Malibu sign.
We also found the public beach. We couldn't figure out how to get in the parking lot for there, either, though there is obviously a way.
Past this, Malibu along the PCH is pretty much like any other city. There is a lot of construction going on, which makes it actually appear a bit shabby. I think I was expecting something along the lines of a more affluent Carmel, but it's not even close. Other than the affluent sections, like Broad Beach, it's really kind of dirty and tacky. I still want to go back and hunt down the houses that were used on TV, though.
There are other streets that go off the PCH, but we didn't take them. And at the south end of Malibu, I took over driving, so there are no pictures of anything else, including the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area. I drove through LA while Bruce napped. When we finally got to Los Algodones, we checked into the hotel. I wouldn't get into the pool because it was filthy. I brought two bathing suits!! I was so disappointed.
Los Algodones has the nickname of Molar City because you can't take two steps without finding a dental office here. Sometimes, there would be an optometrist, but mostly dentists. I took a walk around town to check things out. It's only a few blocks other than the residential area. We could see the border from Bruce's dentist's office.
We were very happy with the results. When they started to do the procedure, they told me I could wait in the waiting room, and Bruce told them they couldn't do it if I wasn't in the room. We decided I was his emotional support spouse. I was impressed with them, especially the anesthesiologist. Instead of putting a tongue guard, the anesthesiologist watched him and at certain times would go over to his head, stand between the dentist and his assistant, and just move Bruce's jaw to support his O2 sats. We highly recommend them. It's Dental Del Rio in Los Algodones.
This is the dentist, Dr. Barragan, Bruce, and the PR guy, Ceasar.
We drove straight back, so nothing really to share on the drive back. I knew he wouldn't feel like stopping anywhere on the way back, so I didn't plan for any stops, with overnights just north of LA and in Redding before making it to Puyallup. Back home for processing photos and catching up on writing and planning the next escapades.
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