California - Big Sur

We left Monterey and headed south down Highway 1 a short distance of only a few miles to the resort town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. This is a lovely little town set on hills next to the beach with many specialty shops, restaurants, art gallerys and cafe's that are very chic and up-market. Tracee was drooling at the shops while I was having heart palpitations at the prices. Our relationship is very balanced like that. She is the accelerator - I am the brake, so between us there is moderation when it comes to spending!

Carmel has a famous resident. Clint Eastwood was mayor here for a couple of years and has a home in Carmel Valley. He also owns a local restaurant - and according to a local I chatted to, plays the piano there most Tuesday nights (he is a jazz enthusiast). Unfortunately we were passing through on a Monday - otherwise it would have been cool to check the place out.

We walked up and down the shops, bought a coffee and purchased some decorations from a specialty Christmas shop, then hopped back on the bike and started out on the coastal part of Highway 1 that is known as 'Big Sur' (abbreviated from the name given by Spanish colonists - 'El Pais Grande del Sur' which means 'Big Country to the South').

This stretch of coastline is 160km's of great riding on winding roads with views of mountains, cliffs and rocky coves. It is very comparable to the coastal highway between Westport and Greymouth. On a fine sunny day, in terms of scenery, I would rate the Westport/Greymouth route close to 10 out of 10. The Big Sur would be around 8 to 9. What it has over the New Zealand West Coast equivalent is that it is longer and the roads are higher above the coastline, with some impressive bridges. The day was perfect to ride this route - sunny, without a cloud in the sky and a nice sea breeze to keep you cool. We also met a neat Scottish couple at one of the lookouts and chatted to them for about half an hour.

We stopped for lunch at the town of Big Sur and then continued down the coastline for about 2 hours to our stop for the day - the community of Morro Bay.

We walked down the hill from the motel to a nice seafood restaurant on the waterfront. Had a table overlooking the water where we could watch seals swimming past and pelicans dive bombing for fish.