We take the most beautiful road in California – highway 1, which runs along the Pacific ocean. This “Scenic highway” was built in 1937.
The first stop in the town of Morro Bay, where we accidentally got a year ago, were fascinated by him and decided to come back here. It is located on the shore of the Bay, in the center of which stands the picturesque mountain Morro rock. It is a small, cozy, quiet resort town with fish restaurants, souvenir shops and art galleries.
After spending two days in Morro Bay, we go further north to Monterey. Highway 1 is so beautiful, you want to stop every hundred meters and take pictures again and again….,
Beyond the town of San Simeon is the Shore of sea elephants and lions. Sea elephants come to this beach in winter, and in January-February babies are born. Parents grow them for a few months, and then all of them swim together to the ocean to come back next winter. Near the elephants peacefully coexist California sea lions, as we understand, this kind of eared seals lies on the beach all year round. For people who come to see these screaming and smelly “handsome guys”.
Going further: on the left the ocean with picturesque bays, on the right the mountains, sometimes the road dives into the shady eucalyptus groves, here again, we must stop. The lungs are filled with a cocktail consisting of the ocean breeze and the healing aroma of these trees. It is too bad that the photos do not convey the smell of eucalyptus .
Next must-see destination is Big Sur. Actually, Big Sur is not a point on the map, it is an area of the Californian coast, it has no clear boundaries. Big Sur is a romantic place where the “Great meeting of land and sea” takes place.
Here on highway one in 1932 was built a unique Bixby Creek Bridge, which is considered a miracle of engineering genius. It is well inscribed in a picturesque area and offers a wonderful view of the coast.
In 1940, the writer Henry Miller settled in Big Sur, now his house-museum is located here.
For us, Big Sur is associated with another author – Jack Kerouac and his novel of the same name. The landscapes of Big Sur are inspiring and beautiful and they absolutely can not be associated with that disappointment of life and madness described by Kerouac in his “Big Sur”. I read the novel in brilliant translation by Anna Gerasimova (Umka), whom we will meet in San Francisco in a day.
