Saket Vora

10:45am

Naman and I woke up in time, and got ready. The girls slept in late. The two of us and Ruchi made a quick trip to a grocery store. By the time we got back, the girls were ready. Ruchi made sandwiches and chai for us, which we were all quite grateful for. We were soon on the road, making our way out of Los Angeles on Highway 101 to Route 1, also called the Pacific Coast Highway.

2:45pm

Cayucos, Route 1, right by the coast. We sit on the porch out back, looking at the beach, enjoying the sun and the coastal breeze. Lunch is veggie burgers, fries, and iced tea that Naman and I sweeten by dumping five sugar packets into our glasses. After eight years in North Carolina, it’s strange to see the simple request of ‘sweet tea’ fall on deaf ears. Sapana has to be different and gets a grilled cheese sandwich. I give Naman a break and take the helm. During the drive up 101, we start seeing the first wineries and the symmetrical rows and rows and rows of fruit trees. Real wine country will come later.

6:30pm

The Californian coast is striking. We stopped along many vista points, surveying the rocky coast with cerulean blue waters. Naman, Sachi, and I navigated our way to one of the rocks jutting out into the sea, surviving blow after blow of water. Later, elephant seals! Around of the beaches, there were thirty of them lying in the sun without a care in the world. A few swam around in the water, some waddling their way onto shore, stumbling over the ones already napping. It brought smiles to our faces.

We made it to the Big Sur area before deciding to stop for the night. State park campgrounds were full and local motel rates weren’t palatable at $150 a night. One of the hoteliers pointed us to a private campground which, at $40 more expensive than we’ve seen on this trip, was expensive but the best of our possible options.

8:00pm

The campground location was better than expected, situated in a grove of what appeared to be sequoia trees. A wide creek flowed nearby, and a steep climb up wooden stairs led to a tiny general store and a bar. As I walked to our tent site, I spotted a small animal with a white strip along its back – a skunk! It ambled around the hills directly above our campsite, probing our site with some small advances. Sapana was genuinely worried while Naman schemed ways of making it attack our neighboring campsites. Eventually it meandered its way out of sight and we went on with dinner preparations.

10:30pm

After several rounds of Poison, a card game learned in Vegas, we tucked in for the night. A group next us had two carfulls of people show up, and from the sounds of it was rearing up for dinner this late. Oh well.