Big Sur, CA

I had long dreamed about driving along the iconic US Hwy 1 and enjoying the views of the California coastline. My husband and I decided to visit Big Sur to celebrate our 2 year anniversary and it did not disappoint! If you are looking to “get away from it all” this would be the trip for you. There is no cell phone service in Big Sur and our hotel did not have wifi or television! We spent our time soaking in views of nature, doing small hikes, and enjoying some of the best wine.

We landed in San Francisco on a Thursday evening and made the 2.5 hour drive down to Big Sur the next morning. We stayed at Big Sur Lodge. There are not very many places to stay in Big Sur and accommodations are quite expensive so make sure to book well in advance! Booking with our hotel gave us free entry into a few of the national parks, and was in fact in the same location as Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. We were surprised to see quite a few turkeys running around the property!

After checking into our hotel our first stop was to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to see McWay Falls. After this we made our way to Nepenthe and enjoyed dinner and some of the best Chardonnay I’ve ever tasted - the brand was Lucia, from a local winery. I’m definitely going to keep an eye out to purchase some bottles of this whenever I can. Nepenthe offered outdoor patio seating and awesome views of the ocean.

The next day we visited Pfeiffer beach which is famous for it’s purple sand. It was quite cold so we didn’t spend as much time as we would have liked but it was nice to have the beach almost to ourselves :) Afterwards we took a few photos with the famous Bixby Bridge which is a bridge featured in the HBO show “Big Little Lies” during the theme song. I am thrilled I was able to check this beautiful place off of my bucket list and hope to visit again someday.