Sunday, February 24th, the day for the drive to and lunch at the Big Sur Taphouse, was a gorgeous day, with blue skies, cirrus clouds and temps in the mid-60’s. We gathered at the Carmel Crossroads center, had a drivers’ meeting, and set off. We had more people than had signed up, since once the signup list was full people hoped there would be room for them at the Taphouse. The first group was with Mark, and we were headed for the bumpy parking area near the Taphouse. The second group, with Steve Ponsi, was to park in front of the Taphouse where cars with less clearance would find easier going.
The route was simple; follow Highway 1 south to the Taphouse. Driving past iconic areas such as Monastery Beach and Point Lobos showed us that a lot of other people thought it was a beautiful day as well, since there were many cars parked alongside the road in both those areas as well as farther south at Garrapata Creek. When we reached the Rocky Creek bridge, we had to stop for the red light since the bridge is still one-lane since last year’s washout. Past there, it was smooth sailing, or driving, enjoying the ocean views, then the redwoods at Big Sur, until we passed Pfeiffer State Park and got to the Taphouse.
The Taphouse had plenty of room for everyone, so we all ordered and went upstairs to the outdoor patio. The sandwiches were huge, and quite a few people got takeout boxes for a half sandwich.
After we had eaten, Mark got us together for a few stories about Ed Havey, who was one of the originators of the Big Sur Breakfast (now lunch).
The road is still closed south of Esalen, so anyone who wanted could go to the road closed point. We were all on our own driving home, enjoying the views going the other way.
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