Team Rode: Coastal Highway 1, part 1

After leaving Napa we drove well into the night, we were looking to get south of San Fran and onto the Pacific Coast Highway 1. Finding a place to camp that night proved to be more difficult then we had planned. We ended up staying in Half Moon Bay in the Pillar Point RV park which was really just a parking lot near the ocean that people pay a ton of money to stay in. Our little spot cost us $30 and it was literally just a parking spot, but it did the job and we woke up the next morning to the sounds of the ocean and a bunch of people looking at us like we were half crazy for sleeping in the back of the 4Runner. We are used to this behavior by now so we jumped out of the back of the truck and down the road we went. We tracked down a gym, which took about an hour longer than it needed to, got all showered and cleaned up and started our trek down the coast.
The drive down the coast was everything people say it is and more. Sheer cliffs that drop straight into the ocean, the surf breaking on the rugged rocks below and the narrowest, windiest stretch of road you have ever seen. It was awesome. We had read about the boardwalk in Santa Cruz so we pulled over for a while, walked along the beach, rode a roller coaster, played a few arcade games and strolled around the boardwalk.
Back on the road we had our sights set on Monterey, home of Pebble Beach golf course and our stop for the night. We got a spot in the city park for the night and headed for fisherman's wharf. It was great, every restaurant was giving out samples of their clam chowder and there were plenty of tourist shops to peak in and out of. We sat down for dinner right on the water and we were entertained by a colony of seals and an otter while we ate.
The next morning we paid a visit to the old Cannery Row section of town, yet another fine place where a tourist and their money part ways. There were more tourist shops than even Ginger could explore, it was amazing. We saw even more seals lounging in the sun and a few more otters playing in the ocean. Our time and money were both starting to run short so we moved on down the coast. Along the way we saw the Big Sur area, the purple sand beach of Pfieffer beach, the McWay Falls which fall 50 feet straight into the ocean and a colony of elephant seals. Even though it was foggy and cold we enjoyed seeing everything and the coastal views were worth the drive.