Our Yurt at Treebones was so close to the ocean that we could hear the sea lions barking all night long.  At home in our Yurt in NC we often hear the coyotes barking so we felt right at home listening to the sounds of nature.  Before heading on up the Highway we stopped by the restaurant at Treebones for a breakfast with a view.

At breakfast we also inquired about the sea lions.  We wanted to know where we could see them.  The staff told us that the sea lions stayed at the beach just below our Yurt and that the sound bounced off the big rock in the ocean.

We had to stop and see if we could get a glimpse of them but to our dismay we could not.

Our second stop this morning was at McWay Falls, an 80-foot-tall waterfall on the coast of Big Sur in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park that falls directly into the ocean.  There was plenty of parking available and the hike to the viewing area was super easy.

After that we started looking for Bixby Bridge which is one of the most photographed bridges in California due to its aesthetic design, “graceful architecture and magnificent setting”.  At first we thought this was Bixby but quickly realized that Bixby has a single arch and must be further up on Highway 1.

I was so excited once we did make it to the Bridge but unfortunately I was not able to stop due to construction on both sides of the bridge.  I don’t ever get too disappointed about things like this when we travel though and once we made it up to Carmel by the Sea I found this mural of the Bixby Bridge where we “posed” for our pic.  Notice that it has the single arch.

We walked around Carmel noticing the fairytale like cottages and cute little shops but then decided to just take the 17 Mile Drive tour of Pebble Beach which neighbors Carmel by the Sea.  We stopped for a picnic lunch on Spanish Bay Beach and loved listening to the sound of the waves crashing onto the rock shore.

The birds didn’t seem to care that we shared their beach and almost posed for us to take their pictures.

We made several more stops along the drive but the one spot that really caught my interest was at The Lone Cypress.  For over 250 years this lone cypress has braved the elements atop the rock pedestal overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

William loved seeing all the golf courses and even remarked that he recognized the greens from the computer golf games that he plays.

After touring Pebble Beach we continued up Highway 1 to Monterey.  William loves the ocean and sea life so a must stop for us was the Monterey Bay Aquarium located right on the edge of the ocean.

Here, filtered seawater from Monterey Bay is pumped into the Kelp Forest and other exhibits at 2,000 US gallons per minute.

One of my favorite exhibits was the sea otters.  It was so fun to watch them at feeding time.  They would take their “catch” and swim on their back while eating.

I also liked seeing the sardines that Monterey Bay is so famous for.

After leaving the Aquarium we drove on to our Airbnb for the evening which was located just south of San Francisco near Stanford University.  We relaxed in the hot tub while we talked about all the beautiful sites we had seen along the West Coast this day.  Although this was only our second day on Highway 1, the views certainly have proved to make this the adventure we were hoping for.