The Pacific Coast Highway

I got up before dawn again on Tuesday morning to leave Redwood City because I wanted to photograph early morning light on the Carmel Mission chapel and get to Morro Bay in the morning so I could kayak before driving home. It was foggy in the Salinas Valley area as I drove in but cleared up along the coast. Carmel Mission doesn’t open until 9, but you can get photos of the chapel through the wooden fence. The walls are low over by the side street so you can also shoot over the top and get photos of the garden.

Photo: Bixby Bridge Overlook, Big Sur, California

After getting a few photos of Carmel Mission, I headed for the long drive through Big Sur. I stopped at the classic Bixby Bridge overlook to take photos. It was extremely windy there so I didn’t stay very long however. Not too long afterwards, I had to pull over and take a nap. Upon waking up, I ran into several construction delays that gave me a good chance to get out and stretch my legs. By late-morning I arrived at Point Piedras Blancas. I was hoping that the elephant seals would be close to the bluffs but they were near the water. A little out of optimal range for my 70-300mm lens. They were active however so it was entertaining nevertheless. I would have stayed longer but since I was still 250 miles away from home I drove to Morro Bay in time for lunch. It took longer than anticipated to get to Morro Bay so I had to skip kayaking on this trip unfortunately. The weather was about as good as it gets for scenic photography so I walked over to the best kayak store in Morro Bay to get some photos.

Picture: Kayaks, Morro Bay, California

After lunch I walked over to the pier on the far end of Embarcadero and took a few more photos before heading home. I contemplated stopping at Mission San Luis Obispo to photograph my 16th California Mission but knowing how bad traffic is in Southern California, I decided to save it for next time.

The trip exceeded my expectations despite a few bad weather days in San Francisco. I got about 80% of the pictures that I had wanted over the past several years and then some. I’ll probably be taking a break from coastal photography until the winter time but I will definitely continue seeking out the California historical subjects. I think the next subject that I want to focus on is the Hwy 49 Gold Rush mining towns and Yosemite Valley.