From Piedras Blancas to Santa Barbara

July 13, 2011: The Piedras Blancas Lighthouse is just before San Simeon.

This time we saw the elephant seal colony by daylight!

We did not even pause for San Simeon:
Nor for Morro Rock:

We stopped, albeit briefly, at Mission Santa Inés (1804) on the outskirts of Solvang. The second mission church was dedicated in 1817 and was mostly collapsed by 1894. Reconstruction began in 1904 and was mostly completed in 1947. The 19th of the 22 arches is on the left:

This chapel, adjacent to the sanctuary, has an 18th-century Mexican carved Mater Dolorosa:

These 17th century Spanish Colonial paintings are a madonna and child (left) and the Black Madonna of Guadalupe, Spain with St. Luke and St. Mark (right):

We took a brief side tour to see the miniature horses at Quicksilver Ranch.

We returned to Solvang for dinner. Solvang is a "Danish" town founded in 1911 by Danish immigrants fleeing the winters of the American Midwest. It has become a tourist shopping destination amidst the wineries of the Santa Ynez Valley.
A wall plaque in the Bit o' Denmark represents Thor in his goat-driven chariot:

BIG SUR

California Central Coast, July 13, 2011: The most scenic drive in the United States, if not the world, is California Highway 1 between Carmel and San Carpoforo Creek. The highway was constructed between 1919 and 1937. In the summer of 1938, Edna drove her mother, father and two sisters down Big Sur. The road clings to the cliff as it winds its way along, and above, the Pacific Ocean. It's like the Amalfi Drive on steroids, though much less populated.

Edna (left) views the harbor seals (below):






























The Rock Creek Bridge (1932) is almost hidden in the center of the view on the left (open photo in another tab or window).










The Bixby Bridge (1932) is among the most photographed structures on the planet. It was the linchpin for opening Big Sur to the motoring public.
Monterey Indian paintbrush (left); bull thistle (right):













Point Sur Lighthouse (1889) (right) sits on Point Sur (left) which is tied to the mainland by a tombolo:






















Big Sur is remote and sparsely populated, but the views must be terrific!

Bill was enjoying the view when, all of a sudden, a huge bird was flying right below him. It was a California condor, one of only 181 known to be in the wild!













The double-arched Big Creek Bridge:













At some point going south, the mountains and the sea become separated by foothills; then the foothills and the sea become separated by a coastal plain; and Big Sur is left behind.