Road tripping

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Okay, so I'm not coming home! I'm moving to Carmel! After a morning in Monterey riding a swan (Lily's choice), we set off on the 17 mile drive at Pebble Beach, home of the world famous golf course and it's equally famous Lone Cypress tree, and arrived in the picturesque town of Carmel in time for lunch. The Carmel I read about in trashy Danielle Steel novels when I was younger was far from the charming little town with pretty shops and cute houses that I saw today. A town loved by celebrities and home to former mayor, Clint Eastwood, I expected a certain snob value and a touch of bling. This was certainly not the case. It has everything I love - beautiful country cottages, stunning beaches and awesome cycling routes (the hills would be a killer though!) After lunch at The Tree House Cafe we set off down the coast road towards Bixby Bridge for a photo opportunity. The bridge is said to be one of the most photographed bridges and it certainly seemed so today with the hoards of crowds trying to get their selfies. Lily had a bit of a sulk because I wouldn't let her get too close to the edge of the 280 ft cliff. I have no idea why protecting her from certain death would cause her to be offended - after all, she does belong to the clumsy family which includes my aunty, myself and my niece and there's no telling what would happen to any one of us when placed next to a cliff edge! Built in 1932 the Bixby Bridge is one of the tallest single span concrete bridges in the world and was built to provide access for the residents who often got cut off during the winter by the impassable old coast road.

Following the winding road further south through Big Sur, the views are breathtaking. The road hugs the redwood forested cliffs most of the way, dipping down towards the Pacific Ocean in places before rising back up towards the low lying clouds. With our eyes peeled for a Big Sur sign so Lily and Izzy could recreate a photo starring Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss, we soon found it and spent the next 20 minutes trying to climb on top of it! Mission accomplished, we continued south enjoying the scenery until the road flattened out along the ocean edge and we came upon an elephant seal colony. The Piedras Blancas rookery is just north of Cambria and is home to thousands of elephant seals who come ashore to form colonies in which to give birth, breed and moult. It was an amazing sight to see hundreds of the huge mammals all huddled together on the beach.

Our hotel for the evening is at Moonstone Beach, a beautiful stretch of coastline with a mile long boardwalk which meanders alongside the beach. This hotel was the one I was concerned about when I booked it online - I thought it might be a bit dodgy! It turns out it's absolutely beautiful and is probably the nicest hotel we've stayed in! We took a short walk along the boardwalk at sunset to grab a quick dinner and I was complimented on my gorgeous new cowboy boots! I've had a thing for cowboy boots ever since 1988 when the video for George Michael's Faith was released. Our discussion soon turned to cowboys and rodeos and I ended up teaching Izzy the 'Cowboy Billy' song which she is now desperate to get home and teach to Georga (sorry Jo!)

Izzy regaled us all over dinner with impressions of her teachers (which we have seen many times but are still amused by!) Lily's carnivorous side came in to play when she ordered steak and that was literally all that arrived on her plate! No salad, no chips, nothing!

The Pacific coast is a beautiful part of the world and the scenery is similar in places to Western Australia. It's an early start tomorrow, we have several stops to fit in before arriving in Los Angeles for our final destination of the trip. ( I'm not saying that out loud because we don't want it to end).

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