Having a desk job means for a majority of the day I’m inside without access to natural light. During my lunch hour I usually spend it walking outside, listening to a podcast, and finding a park bench to read a few chapters of the book I’m currently reading (this one if you’re interested!). On the days where I‘m not able to take my lunch walk, I feel drained, like my body physically depends on the sun for its energy. For a stretch, those lunch walk days were happening far and few in between. Luckily, it was my boyfriend’s birthday last month, and I had planned a trip for us to get away to Big Sur.
Hearst Ranch
The six hour drive can be a long one to do in one shot. To break up our trip we stopped at Hearst Winery. Located right on the beach, we got a flight of wines, a lobster roll and some fish tacos. My boyfriend is from New England and keeps a high standard for lobster rolls. Apparently the one we had was legit!
After our wine stop, we went to Hearst Castle for the Grand Rooms tours. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend checking it out. Everything from the pools to the dining room to the guest house are exquisitely decorated. It’s hard to imagine that it used to be someone’s home! Besides the castle itself, I didn’t know much about Hearst as a publishing company. The tour gave a really good rundown of the history of the property as well as who William Randolph Hearst was. Shout out to our tour guide Rosie for being so lively and knowledgeable!
Big Sur
From there we made a straight shot up highway five to our glampsite at La Ventana. By the time we arrived to our site, we had built up our appetites again, so we went to The Sur House for dinner. When I had made dinner reservations for this place, I had no idea it was a prix fixed menu. Needless to say, I balked at the price for our dinner. It was delicious, don’t get me wrong, but that was the first and last time going to that place!
We spent the rest of the weekend, going to sleep with the sound of water flowing through the streams, listening to birds chirping, and looking up to see the canopy of trees cover the sky.
Big Sur Hikes
Our first hike was through Partington Cove. It’s an out-and-back trail that’s about a mile long. There’s a little parking lot right off the side of the road, making it easy to access. The foliage was so beautifully lush and green, I can’t describe how rejuvenating it felt being in that space. At the end of the walk you come to a rocky point that leads into the ocean. There were people having a picnic, sun bathing, or like us, just enjoying the view.
Our next hiking spot was to McWay Falls. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a hike, it’s more of a leisure walk with a fantastic view.
The last hike of our trip was in Andrew Molera Park on a path parallel to the Big Sur River Trail. Through twists and turns through dense trees and clearings, you come to a rushing river. The weather was perfect when we went. Being in the sun was t-shirt weather, but the shadow of the trees brought the temperate down enough to need a jacket. Not too warm or too cold – just right!
Big Sur Food
We cooked most of our meals at the campsite, but there were a few times we did go out.
Big Sur Tap House – solid beer selection, and fantastic nachos! We sat outside in their upstairs balcony area that had a perfect view of the mountains. When the temperature started to drop, we went inside, which had a very quaint and cozy vibe.
The Sur House – as I mentioned earlier, this is a nicer dinner. The view is fantastic and so is the food. Reservations are strongly suggested as they get busy for dinner.
