soaking in south of san francisco

So I really didn’t intend for our California trip to take up 3 whole blog posts… but I guess I took more photos than I realized.  There are just so many cool places to see!  I guess it’s no surprise that we managed to put on a mere 1,100 miles on the rental car during our stay. So now we head south of San Fran…

So before you think all I do is peruse cool shops & restaurants (which is mostly true), I laced up my tennies for some light hiking action in Big Sur.

The scenery along the Pacific Coast Highway is absolutely STUNNING!  The top photo is from a easy-peasy hike right off the road on the McWay Waterfall Trail just south of the official Big Sur State Park.

For some serious Redwood action, we headed to the state park and hiked the slightly more challenging Pfeiffer Falls Trail.

And how about this spectacular view for a lovely lunch?!  Nepenthe is another spot in Big Sur that I need to thank my friend, Leigh for recommending.  There really is no place like it.  Plus did I mention they have an amazing shop there too?  I know… I know ~ back to food and shopping.  I can’t help it :-)

Next we headed to the cute town of Carmel.  I can’t say I found any shops I loved here, but the city scape is quite enchanting.  Lots of gingerbread-esque shops with gorgeous gardens and courtyards everywhere… and art galleries TONS of art galleries.

I am so happy that gluten and carbohydrates are still my friends because this European styled restaurant/bakery was oh such a wonderful dining experience.  La Bicyclette  of Carmel was oozing with charm and not a detail was missed.

On another day we headed to Santa Cruz… a hip city with a lotta soul.  The shop Stripe definitely stood out for super stylish goods and oh-so-slick presentation.  I also enjoyed the throwback displays scattered through out Old School Shoes.  Just a couple more stores to add to my dream main street.

One of the shop owners suggested we get a cool treat at The Penny Ice Creamery and it did not disappoint.  Love how they write the day’s flavors on an old window.  I should have taken a photo of our ice cream but we enjoyed it too quickly.

After the city tour, we checked out the beach scene.  The boardwalk was definitely a festive environment, but I’m still partial to the ones on Jersey Shore we visited last year.

It was a sunny day in Santa Cruz but still a little cool for bathing suit weather.  One fun surprise we found while walking on the pier were boisterous sea lions catching some rays.  They actually have cut outs of the middle of the pier where you can watch them do what they do.

All of our mini adventures could have been full vacations, but we had fun discovering someplace new everyday.  It would be hard to choose just one place to stay.  I guess that’s one of the reasons why a trip to the bay area is so great.  I’d definitely recommend putting it on your vacation list.

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