I can't believe our good luck with the weather! This morning we opened our eyes to beautiful sunny skies and it was already 16C! By the time we set off at 9:30 AM the mercury was pushing 22C and it remained that way all day as we continued our trek south along the coast.

The drive was as winding and twisting as any we have been on and the scenery was incredible. As we proceeded south of San Francisco we drove through some areas that were evidently favourite surfing destinations. Whenever we encountered pockets of parked cars with roof racks or small pick-up trucks on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, we knew that just over the dune would be a beach with an ideal surf. As we approached Monterey, we were in farmland with huge artichoke farms on both sides of the highway. We saw pickers with large baskets strapped to their backs harvesting them and there were several roadside farm-markets offering them for sale.

As we climbed through the Santa Lucia Range bordering the ocean we were met with a series of "S" bends with some really sheer drop-offs making for some "hairy" moments. The approach to Big Sur offered the occasional glimpse of some whales breaching in the distance. Enormous elephant seals, some weighing in at 5000lbs, populated the beaches near San Simeon while the Hearst Castle could be seen on a hill in the distance. All along our drive there were several areas where the road has recently been rebuilt after the washouts experienced this past winter.  Between the twists and turns and the highway conditions, the 244 miles we drove today to Pismo Beach took us 8 hours, making it a very long day. 

After we set up I briefly spoke with Karley and I could hear Makai cooing in the background. In just one week, she tells me he has started grabbing for things with his hands and is smiling and laughing all the time. Look on our Flickr site (link on the left) for pictures. We miss our little sweetie!