Our annual tour to Big Sur began on an overcast day, January 25th, at the Crossroads shopping center, where we parked near the Starbucks to organize and get driving instructions. Al Munoz-Flores led the group, which he broke into two groups, the first with 9 cars and the second with 10 cars.
Leaving the shopping center, we stopped briefly after the traffic light on Highway 1 to make sure everyone was there, then headed south. There were lots of cars parked at Point Lobos and at some of the beaches, but traffic was light. Once we reached the coast and continued south, the ocean views were superb. Once we passed Point Sur, we went into the tree-lined portion of the drive that includes the campgrounds and restaurants at Big Sur, then back to the coast as we passed Nepenthe restaurant, Ventana resort, the Post Ranch Inn, the Henry Miller Library, Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and the Coast Gallery, among others. The sun slowly came out of the haze as we went further south until we stopped at a wide spot on the road where a parking area had been established during the period the highway was closed to repair a landslide further south.
The 9 cars in Group 1 waited there, enjoying the views, until the ten cars in Group 2 joined us. Group 2 had taken a potty stop at the Big Sur Station, an information center about 13 miles north. Group 1 then headed for Big Sur Station for their own potty stop at the facility, which has limited parking. From there we all headed north back to Carmel, where we ended the tour in the parking lot for the Barnyard shopping center and gathered for lunch at Lugano Swiss Bistro.
Due to the demand for this tour, a second tour, with a lunch stop at the River Inn in Big Sur, is being planned in February for those unable to make it in January .
To view the PHOTO GALLERY click on either image above. Photos by Fred Brown, Tim Clark and Vega Roecker
