We met in the Crossroads behind the Starbucks for a 10:00 start under clear blue skies. Steve Ponsi took the lead since Mark did it for the September tour. It took us a while to all get together, since after we stopped to consolidate, we took off into traffic.
Heading south to Big Sur and beyond, we enjoyed blue skies on the road, but the marine layer increasingly covered the ocean. When we reached Point Sur, the road was in bright sunshine but the Point was so covered in coastal fog that it could not be seen.
We continued south past Andrew Molera Park, the River Inn, Pfeiffer Big Sur Park, Julia Pfeiffer Burns Park, Ripplewood, Fernwood, across Bixby Bridge to Rocky Creek Bridge, where we were stopped by the stoplight allowing one lane at a time to pass through the washed-out area. The delay was not very long, and we continued south past Ventana, Nepenthe, the Henry Miller Library, the Coast Gallery, and reached the Big Sur Taphouse, which opens at noon.
Since it was not noon yet, we visited the Shell station next door for a rest break. From there, we continued south past Esalen to the end of the road – literally, since the highway remains closed until it can be repaired.
We stopped for a photo shoot, then returned to the Big Sur Taphouse, which was now open and where we ordered delicious lunches, which we enjoyed on their upstairs patio.
The road home was beautiful as always, even with the persistent coastal fog.
Click on any image to view the Photo Gallery. Thanks to Tom Carrato, Steve Darmawan, Steve Fields, Steve Rouland and 06fast Car Guy.
