Big Sur Whale Watching

Back into Californian road trip mode today as we drove south down the west coast along an area of coastline called Bug Sur. There was a slight misty haze as we set off from Monteray, but the skies continue to remain blue.

Our first stop (of many) was at the Piffer State Park, where we'd hoped to see some giant Redwood trees. 

There were quite a few big ones around, but after a realising a slight mix up in terminology, it seems that 'old' trees doesn't necessarily mean 'big' trees.

But still, it was great to be up early enough for a quite walk through the woods.

And down to the coast, where a waterfall fell into a secluded bay. 

The coastline continues along the cliff tops, with sea stacks and coves around every corner. Unfortunately, there are not many place where you can actually get down to the beach, just numerous busy lay-bys to pull into and get a photo. Worried that we were missing too much of the view by just driving by, we pulled over at Lucia Lodge and found the perfect place to soak it all up over a cup of coffee.

And not only was there coffee, while sitting and staring out to sea, Clare saw some migrating Grey Whales splashing about in the bay right in front of us! Amazing! Complete with puffing sprays of water as they surfaced!

After the coffee stop, we continued along the coast until we found a good place for a spot of lunch. My sun hat is looking a little worse for wear these day...

Once a good picnic had been assembled, we sat back to see what we could see. No Grey Whales this time; just loads of Killer Whales instead! Unbelieveable! We saw a whole pod of them playing, chasing, flipping and surfing the waves near the beach, right below us. They were huge! 

Further along the coast, we found a beach, called Dollar beach that we could walk down to. We dipped our toes in the water and it felt freezing! 

There were also loads of wierd jelly fish type things along the beach. The surf was pretty big but messy, and with the combination of frigid water, unknown jellyfish and an abundance of Killer Whales in the bay, we decided to play it safe and stay dry today!

There were still more surprises in store, later in the afternoon, when we came across a beach full of Elephant Seals!

They were not bothered by spectators and seemed very happy just wobbling around and flicking sand at each other!

We finished the scenic tour at a cool little sea side town called Morro Bay (although sadly just too late to get into the world Skateboard Museum). We did however find coffee and cake that was enjoyed in comfy leather armchairs with this view for sun set, before finding some pizza to keep us going along the final drive to Santa Maria.