Along the Coast

Sunday, June 23, 2012

We had a beautiful day to drive down CA Route 1 which runs down the rocky coast of California. Our first stop, recommended by Christy, was berry picking in Swanton. We thought we would be picking strawberries, but found out it was olallieberry season (2/3 blackberry and 1/3 European red raspberry). We picked about a gallon of these big, juicy black berries and have been enjoying them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Another stop recommended by Christy was Moss Landing where we spotted a few otters swimming in the little bay as well as some seals roosting on a dock. We were fortunate to stop in at the Sea Harvest fish market and restaurant where we bought part of that night's dinner, red snapper. The rest of our dinner came from one of the farmer's markets we passed by. Oh, the fresh fruits here are soooo good! The vine riped strawberries were the best I've ever tasted. Can't even describe how delicious. We bought fresh artichokes...saw them growing by the road side and 10 avocados for $1! Oh my, you can eat well in California.

At another stop we witnessed the molting of very large elephant seals.

Then there were the views as we drove along. We landed for the next two nights at San Simeon State Park, a large but quiet park near Hearst Castle and within walking distance of the ocean. Ready to see the Castle in the morning. Here are a few views of the coastline.