Today we headed to Big Sur driving as far south as is possible down the Pacific Coast Highway with the ocean to the right and the Redwood groves to the left. We took all day enjoying the stunning views. We explored the many tidepools, along the way finding crabs, sea urchins, anemones, and hermit crabs, Asher even swore he found a tarantula. Sebastian, who is a bit on the klutzy side, terrified me as he wandered feet away from the crashing waves. Every time I heard him shout out "OH CRAP!" my stomach flipped as I tried to locate him. But he was busy stacking a rock tower so that something of his could stay in Big Sur "forever, or as long as his construction lasted."
We drove up the mountainside, above the fog and crossed the iconic Bixby bridge. For lunch, we stopped to enjoy a relaxing meal beside a giant redwood tree while the kids splashed in the Big Sur River. We ended our drive where the road closed due to a landslide wiping out the only bridge to cross the canyon at Pfeiffer National Park. It was great to get out and stretch our legs with a hike along the river among the Pacific Redwood groves. Holden, who had learned all about Redwood trees at school taught us everything he knew about the towering trees, while Asher climbed anything he could find that looked dangerous.
We ended our evening back at our RV park in Moss landing. Last night we discovered an otter in the harbor diving down for clams and breaking them open with a rock he held in his hand while floating on his back. We stood just above him on the bridge and watched him eat his dinner until the sun set. This evening everyone was eager to go back and watch the whole spectacle again, and sure enough there he was for his meal of clams. Holden who had not been able to decide on his favorite animal previously has now definitely declared that sea otters are the cutest animals alive.
After the otter's dinner and our own, we settled into our RV for a few rounds of board games and sleep. Tomorrow we have to wake up earlier than we have all vacation to get out on the water for kayaking and hopefully an even closer look at our favorite...the sea otters.