big sur.

Since we were staying in Pacific Grove, it made our bucket list plan of seeing Big Sur so much more manageable. We could spend the day in all it's beauty, but head home when the sun went down. Right now, with a toddler, I felt like it was the perfect way to get a taste.

We hiked two of the trails at Limekiln State Park. The first led us out to the the old, abandoned limekilns- massive, yet dwarfed by the surrounding trees. The second led us to the Limekiln Falls. Our entire day in Big Sur was overcast and beautifully moody. The forest seemed eternally damp and quiet, with those soft needles underfoot. 

We also walked the Waterfall Trail. Get a load of that waterfall- the one that is cascading into a Caribbean blue cove, like something out of Neverland. You can't make this stuff up. This was the view from Waterfall House, the mansion built by heiress Julia Pfeiffer Burns, which sadly doesn't exist anymore. But, at least we can still see that view!

Eliza had so much fun on the hikes. She loves stopping to walk around a bit, and loves her pack. We hung out on the beach at Limekiln so that Sam and Eliza could chase the seagulls. We would wait until they were settled on the sand, and then run out at them. They would raise up in a cloud of wings, and then circle gracefully back down to the beach. 

And then, of course, the drive just makes it all worth it. Highway 1 is literally carved out of the hill, so the fog rolls up and over the road. It was perfectly wonderful.