By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea!

I took a brief hiatus from my job last week and spent 4 days visiting the central coastal area of California.  I flew in and out of San Francisco and meandered down Highway 1 from Half Moon Bay to Big Sur over the course of my stay.  My home for three of the five nights was in Pacific Grove at the Old St. Angela Inn. 

The time was far too brief but I got enough of a taste to wonder why I waited so long to visit.  I had never seen this part of California before.  I've long been interested in seeing the Steinbeck Center in Salinas, for instance, and who isn't curious about Carmel-by-the-Sea, Big Sur, and Pebble Beach.  I remember first reading about Carmel in the book "The Parent Trap" and of course the movie with Hayley Mills...  it sounded so glamourous (by-the-sea...  sigh...)

Below are a few photo highlights from the first day of my trip.  They are all handheld - no room for the tripod this trip.  I visited some beaches, and stopped briefly in Pescadero for lunch at Duarte's Tavern.  Duarte's Tavern was awarded the James Beard Foundation's America's Classics award in 2003.  It has been in the family for three, going on four generations.  Just this little stretch of Hwy 1 held so much interest and it's a shame I swept through in a matter of hours.  I could have spent days meandering through the small towns, hiking, taking photos.  This is what happens when you can only spare a few days off work. 

I spent the most time at Pigeon Point Lighthouse, which are the bottom six photos.  There is actually a hostel there, which is apparently quite a nice place to stay.  It has the location down, for sure!  The name comes from the wreck of the ship named Carrier Pigeon in the 19th century.  It holds a tie for the tallest lighthouse on the west coast of the US.