One of the most unforgettable
experiences I’ve had is the drive from San Simeon to San
Jose in California.
We cross Monterey bay, the Big Sur, Bixby Creek
Bridge before entering
the 101. This stretch is by far the longest and the most breathtaking drives along
a coast line I’ve been on. The Monterey
bay alone runs for around 94 miles. Imagine a long road sandwiched between the blue
Pacific Ocean on the one side and green hills
on the other dotted with brown rocks and boulders. The cold moist breeze and
the warm sun rays come together to form spectacular rainbows tempting one to
reach out and grab them.
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| A hazy shot of a rainbow |
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| Pacific Ocean to the left & hills to the right |
One of the highlights on this
drive is the vista points interspersed along the road, of which one in
particular is fascinating. The Elephant seal vista point attracts many people.
This is a long patch on the beach where Elephant seals come once every few
months to mate. At first they appear as huge elongated mounds of the sand on
the beach, but upon closer examination, random movements of flapping and scratching
can be seen. The male elephant seal is almost twice as big as the female. The
beach plays home to many males, females and pups and it is a joy to watch these
huge ocean pachyderms basking in the sun.
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| Elephant seal vista point |
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| Female seal with pups |
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| More elephant seals |
Another highlight on this stretch
is a massive arched structure called the Bixby Creek
Bridge. Built in 1931 and
is located in the Big Sur. It is one of the tallest and biggest concrete bridges
in the world. It is also one of the most photographed bridges along the Pacific
coast due to its impressive architecture.
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| Bixby Creek Bridge |
For all nature-lovers and for those
looking for a quite and relaxing drive, this stretch is the one. You will not
be disappointed.
