In November Wade, Luna, and I spent American Thanksgiving with family. That was a lot of fun, with his dad’s special Turkey and my first time visiting the Central Coast, somewhere between San Francisco and Los Angeles. We also saw more of the area when his parents invited us to Monterey to celebrate his mom’s birthday.
There are a couple of routes north to Monterey, once the “Sardine Capital of the World” and we took Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur, a place I’ve always wanted to visit. So we packed up the car with a surf board, a boogie board, camera gear, Luna, and all we needed for the next few days for the three of us.
Central Coast California
Central Coast in California is the coastal area from Monterey County to Ventura County. It’s known for the beautiful coastline that can be enjoyed driving down the Pacific Coast Highway. Highway 1. The dramatic cliffs, sandy beaches, famous surf breaks, and rich marine life call to visitors.
Here you find California’s first capital, Monterey, mystical Big Sur, and the “American Riviera” or Santa Barbara. The small coastal towns are also popular tourist and local destinations – Carmel-by-the-Sea, Cambria, and Avila Beach, to name a few. It’s become especially popular because of the vineyards here that produce chardonnay and pinot noir. When I was hosting a quiz night, I met a prospective student. He was excited about Cal Poly’s well-known wine program.
Prohibition Pismo Beach to Dunites
The history of Central Coast is also quite interesting. And colourful. Pismo Beach, for instance, was known in the prohibition era for its brothels and saloons. Booze was floated to the shore, to the many coves which made good hiding places. According to historian Effie McDermott, Oscar Thomason Buck used the basement of his Shell Beach road house to store bootleg whiskey. Another spot was “under the hay in Machado’s barn, close to The Cliffs. He ran liquor to to William Randolph Hearst.
The Hearst Castle in San Simeon wasn’t too far off. William Randolph Hearst threw lavish soirées and costume parties at his hillside estate, which included a wine cellar for 10,000 bottles and the world’s largest private zoo. Many guests arrived at the 250,000 acres by car from Hollywood, which also made Pismo Beach a popular stop.
In Oceano, we have the Dunites. The Dunites were a group of free thinkers, mystics, and creatives. Extolling living liberally, this group of about thirty people started to show up in the 1910s. A refuge from the Great War, the Great Depression… In the 1930s, Gavin Arthur, the grandson of American President Chester Alan Arthur, started the commune, Moy Mell, which means “Meadow of Honey” in Gaelic. Guests included John Steinbeck and Ansel Adams. This SLO Tribune article shared more details about this interesting group. Elwood Decker and Bert Schievink were among the last Dunites. Now, if you visit Oceano Dunes, there’d be no trace.
Visit Avila Beach and Cambria in Central Coast.
Road trip to Monterey
From Pismo Beach, there are two ways to get to Pacific Grove and Monterey. You can go directly on the 101 and it’d take around three hours and another half an hour to Monterey. The most scenic route is on Highway 1 which hugs the coast and goes through Big Sur.
We set out on our easy schedule, which included enticing a suspicious Luna into her carrier. Wade’s parents had already headed up earlier that day. Luna was the last to board, after all the gear and food.
November is like summer in Central Coast. The skies are clear and so blue and the sun was warm. So we had good views the whole way, including out of the sunroof which I love, especially for launching the drone from the car.
Those windy roads, the colours, the ocean on one side and the bluffs on the other. Even Luna was alert and keen through this part of the trip.
About Pacific Coast Highway at Big Sur
The West Coast has active faults, with San Andreas Fault being the most well-known. You’ve probably seen movies featuring it. At Big Sur Bend, between Monterey and Cambria lies part of the San Andreas Fault where incredible pressures build as the tectonic plates are unable to move past one another. Soil erosion and wildfires have also contributed to the instability. There are consistent areas of Big Sur Highway 1 that require continuous repair work. Will parts of this road simply just fall off to the ocean?
Landslides and washouts are common and have led to road closures quite a number of times since it opened in 1937. Early 2024, two storms caused a landslide (Regent’s Slide) about 45 miles south of Carmel and then the Rocky Creek Bridge Collapse.
As of August 27, 2025 (when this travel entry was updated), Highway 1 is still closed between Esalen Institute and Lucia Lodge, which are north and south of the closure, respectively. From Pismo Beach, you can drive north through Morro Bay, Cambria, San Simeon, all the way to Lucia Lodge. To reach Easlen and the businesses in that area, drive south from Monterey. There are still repairs underway so parts of the highway close overnight. Keep updated on Highway 1 information.
Building the Highway
As you can imagine, the building of the Pacific Coast Highway through Big Sur was quite an undertaking. This took from 1921 to 1937. The terrain was steep and remote. Landslides and accidents were common. Labourers included convicts from San Quentin Prison. Cambria Historical Society provides additional information.
On this stretch you also have the famous Bixby Rainbow Bridge. One of thirty-three bridges on Highway 1, the 716-feet bridge was the most challenging to build and was once the largest arched highway in western US. It used 300,000 board feet of Douglas fir for its original arch and required 6,600 cubic yards of concrete and 600,000 pounds of reinforcing steel, according to the US Department of Transport website. In the same article California’s Pacific Coast Highway-Highway One, writer Rickie Longfellow shared that “seventy thousand pounds of dynamite blasted through the granite, marble and sandstone of the rugged terrain and lime was smelted for making concrete. The heaviest construction was in the 65-mile section between Spruce Creek and the area north of San Simeon. More than 10 million cubic yards of rock was blown away.”
From Big Sur, it’s only another hour or less to Pacific Grove. So if you have time, stop along the way. We stopped to take some photos and grab some lunch to go. I look forward to spending more time in Big Sur the next time.
Big Sur
The Pacific Coast Highway, or Highway 1, as it names suggests, goes along the coast. Big Sur is about a 2.5-hour drive from the San Luis Obispo area. It was a beautiful drive. Since Wade drove, I took pictures and videos along the way. Luna mostly sat on my lap as we were driving slowly around the bends along Big Sur. She also found a nice perch on the surf board. At times, she returned to her secure spot in the back, beneath the surf boards. It was fun watching her watch the road and the scenery.
The face of the earth as the Creator intended it to look.
Henry Miller, who called Big Sur home from 1944 to 1962 (There is also a Henry Miller Memorial Library)
Big Sur is historically referred to the coastal wilderness south of Monterey. The Big South Country or el país grande del sur. Now, when we refer to Big Sur, it is the 90-mile area between San Simeon, where Hearst Castle is located, and Carmel. Highway One here winds along the Pacific Ocean, with Santa Lucia Mountains on the other side.
There’s something about its isolated wildness. Many people are called to Big Sur.
Wade took us to a spot near San Simeon to see the elephant seals, which are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. We drove past the usual spot, where it’s more crowded, for a another vantage point.
Surfing at Big Sur
Further on our drive, we also stopped at Willow Creek, a spot for experienced surfers.
From Surfline:
Big Sur’s handful of spots are brutally fickle and are almost impossible to figure out unless you reside in the Big Sur region. Often that dreamy, long-interval pulse arrives with a roaring NW gale attached to it. There are days, however, when it’s possible to snatch a whiff of good waves at a few of the more consistent nooks, the first being Willow Creek, Big Sur’s southernmost surf arena and a formal recreation unit of the Los Padres National Forest.
Upon first inspection, you might think that the waves that break in front of the kelp-covered, tortoise-sized boulders of Willow Creek are too close to shore for a safe go-out. The truth is, it’s not as hazardous as it looks. The lefthander just north of the parking lot is usually best, although a wedging south peak can also turn on.
With its majestic backdrop, frigid water and huge kelp bulbs dotting the lineup, Willow is a good place to tap into Big Sur’s raw energy. Power is the name of the game here, which means that the frequent cleanup sets should be avoided whenever possible. Hollow sections exist, but you’re more apt to be surfing thunderous, carvable lefthand walls.
Willow can be the best break on the coast when the elements quit bickering and actually agree with each other, which means that it’s the staple diet for a small cadre of Big Sur waveriders. If there’s already a dense pack at the north peak, you can move into the overflow area to the south.
Dark Watchers, Ghost Plane & Bells
Being remote, Big Sur also has its share of paranormal and local lores. The Dark Watchers, black figures seen on peaks, are known to the Esalen Tribe which has lived there for 6,000 years. Spanish settlers called them Los Vigilantes Oscuros. John Steinbeck mentioned them in “Flight”, part of The Long Valley. His son, Thomas, shared that he saw the Dark Watchers.
Among the collection of books by Randall A Reinstedt, Incredible Ghosts of the Big Sur Coast is one you may be interested in. I found his California Ghost Notes fascinating. He first began with Monterey. Quite a number of first-hand accounts. One of the most famous sites is the Robert Louis Stevenson House. It was the French Hotel when the writer stayed in 1879 and today is part of a state park in Old Monterey.
There is also stories about hearing bells. As a road for coaches, accidents have happened and bells attached to the lead horse and wagons continue to ring.
And as far as lighthouses go – and aren’t they all haunted anyway – Point Sur Lighthouse may be the most haunted in the country! About twenty miles south of Carmel, the lighthouse includes other buildings and many accounts refer to the lightkeeper dwellings.
Pacific Grove
We stayed in Pacific Grove, in Monterey Bay. Just a couple of hours away from the Bay area, this town is a great weekend getaway or short trip year-round.
Monarch Grove Sanctuary
In Pacific Grove, dubbed “Butterly Town, USA, Monarch butterflies are serious business and any “molestation of butterflies” incurs a fine of $1,000. A few years ago, Wade’s parents visited the grove. The docents shared that it was a bad year. Only one Monarch Butterfly was recorded, and only two people saw it.
We also have a Monarch butterfly grove in Pismo Beach, and if you want to see the Monarch butterflies, go between October and February. These sanctuaries are important as the Monarch butterfly migration populations are under threat. Both the Pacific Grove and Pismo Beach groves are free to visit.
Dinner at Fiswife
Birthday celebrations were at Fishwife, named after the first fishwife of Monterey, Mercedes Graham, née Ho’ridge. On the restaurant website, you can read about the love story of Mercedes and Nicholas and how their forbidden love led them to leave their home in Boston and find a new home in Monterey in the 1830s. Monterey was then the capital of Mexican California and it was quite a different time. According to the Fishwife website, they continue to serve the Boston Clam Chowder as Mercedes made it, her recipe passed down the generations.
The restaurant served meals outside in the tents, abiding by the restrictions at the time. It was windy and cold! Still, we had drinks like Fishwife’s Mule in copper cups. We started with crab cakes and calamari and we had fish for the main course. Fish was the reason Bill takes Cheri here and so this is why we were here celebrating her birthday. As a surprise, Wade ordered a couple of desserts – key lime pie and molten chocolate cake – and everyone sang “Happy Birthday.”
Where to Stay in Pacific Grove
We were travelling with our cat Luna and our parents booked us a pet-friendly room. I mostly likely would not have booked something that was right by a cemetery. It turned out to be an unexpected opportunity to experience something unique together. Lighthouse Lodge & Cottages is pet-friendly, has a great location, and was very comfortable. It continues to have great reviews.
Wade’s parents stayed at Gosby House Inn on Lighthouse Boulevard, downtown Pacific Grove. It was a very cute set-up. One night we went over and play a couple games of cribs.
Their room was one of the two rooms above the carriage house on the side street. Not that Pacific Grove is busy at night, not being on Lighthouse Boulevard also added to their privacy and sanctuary feeling.
Opened in 1887, Gosby House Inn is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2023 the inn underwent a complete renovation. A stay still includes both breakfast and parking.
John Steinbeck & Pacific Grove
We have made our mark on the world, but we have really done nothing that the trees and creeping plants, ice and erosion, cannot remove in a fairly short time. – John Steinbeck, The Log from the Sea of Cortez
John Ernst Steinbeck (1902-1968) called a small cottage and garden in Pacific Grove home in the 1940s. Its original architecture dates back to the 1920s. This was not the first time the novelist spent time in Pacific Grove. The Steinbeck family had a summer vacation home here that John Ernst Steinbeck, Sr built in 1903. A small cottage at 147 Eleventh Street. He also stayed here at times between 1930 and 1936.
A Nobel Prize for Literature (1962) winner, John Steinbeck’s most well-known works include East of Eden and Of Mice and Men.
Published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath won the Pulitzer Prize and was made into a movie with the same name in 1940, directed by John Ford. It was later adapted for the stage in 199.
After his separation from his first wife, Carol, John Steinbeck moved to Eardley Street in Pacific Grove. During the years here, John Steinbeck worked on Sea of Cortez and The Forgotten Village. This cottage is available for stay of 30 days minimum, bookable via AirBnB. In 1944, he and his family also lived briefly in Monterey.
He arrived in the world on February 27, 1902 at home in Salinas, California. John Steinbeck grew up in this house at the corner of Central Avenue and Stone Street. The Steinbeck House, his childhood home has passed through many people after his parents’ death and is now a restaurant. House tours are also available.
Tap Depot in Monterey
The next day we had lunch at Tap Depot with Wade’s parents and their friends. It’s part of the Dust Bowl Brewing Company, which has several locations in California. Its name is a tribute to the conditions in the 1930s that led the Tate family to move from Oklahoma to California. In 2009, a Tate descendant, Brett teamed up with Don Oliver, winner of the 2006 Samuel Adams Longshot Homebrew competition and launched their first beer, Hops of Wrath IPA. The first taproom, Downtown Taproom, opened a couple of years later.
The one we went to in Monterey, Tap Depot, opened in 2019. It’s about a 15-minute drive from where we were staying. The building was originally a train depot from the 1870s. Located at 290 Figueroa Street, close to Fisherman’s Wharf, the Tap Depot is an easy place to meet up for lunch.
Sitting outside at the picnic benches, we had a couple of tacos from the taco truck on the premises and drinks from Tap Depot. Then we walked over to the pier. Wade’s mom wanted to show us the jellyfish. There were so, so many jellyfish. Their orange colour really stood out against the blue of the ocean.
Dust Bowl Brewing Co. Tap Depot
Old Train Station
290 Figueroa Street
Monterey, California
831 641-7002
website
Monterey Attractions
While in Monterey, other attractions you may want to check out – Old Fisherman’s Wharf and Cannery Row, where Monterey Bay Aquarium is located. Cannery Row is a historic district on the waterfront of Monterey. Once where sardine canning factories were located in the 1920s and 1930s, it’s now a fashionable area with award-winning restaurants, galleries, and shops. The street Ocean Avenue was renamed Cannery Row in 1958 because of John Steinbeck’s 1945 book Cannery Row, which was set in Monterey and was based on real-life people, including his friend Ed Ricketts (1897-1948) as “Doc”. He was also portrayed in other books.
“Doc Ricketts” was owner of the Pacific Biological Laboratories, where John Steinbeck’s wife worked for a while and of which the author was a later silent partner. The lab appears in the book as “Western Biological Laboratories.” Ed Ricketts was a marine biologist and the author of the classic Between Pacific Tides (1939). He also collaborated on John Steinbeck’s Sea of Cortez. They had gone to Gulf of California to collect specimens and Ed Ricketts kept a daily journal which was transformed into the book’s narrative. A fatal accident near his lab cut short their plans for their expedition north. It’s said that “Doc Ricketts” remains at the lab. Occurrences of unexplained objects being moved and sounds have been noted.
If you’re visiting Monterey between Memorial Day and Labour Day, you can explore this area on the free MST Trolley.
For more John Steinbeck, The National Steinbeck Centre is located in Salinas, which is about 17 miles from Monterey. The museum has exhibitions, artifacts, and movies featuring his most well-known works.
Other Pacific Grove Sights
El Carmelo Cemetery
Later that afternoon we walked down to the beach. The hotel is next to the El Carmelo Cemetery. Our patio leads into it. And so we cut through the park-like cemetery.
We walked past Point Pinos Lighthouse, which was closed that day. Still with its original lenses, this is the oldest operating light station on the West Coast. It is also part of the National Register of Historic Places. Guided tours.
If you’re into the paranormal, this lighthouse may be of interest to you. The lightkeeper from 1893 to 1914, Emily Fish, is believed to haunt the lighthouse. She was the second of two female lightkeepers, something quite unusual then. Emily actually retired to Pacific Grove, where she passed away. Visitors and docents feel her presence and note her perfume. Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History turned back time to show the living quarters as how they were when Emily Fish lived and worked at Point Pinos Lighthouse. Her personal items, on display, have been known to move on their own accord. Another spirit that inhabits the lighthouse, which may explain Emily’s presence, is her teenage daughter. She died there from tuberculosis in 1900.
El Carmelo Cemetery has been part of Pacific Grove since the 1800s. While it’s operated by the city today, the cemetery was owned in the past by various organizations, including the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. While we were there, we watched the geese for a while. There were so many of them.
Opened from dawn to dusk, the cemetery sits like a park. Open. As the light was dropping, the trees were lit by a beautiful glow. Perhaps because it was a cemetery, we looked at the trees with different eyes. They looked like personalities, with faces and movement. Fascinating.
One night, we took a short stroll to the perimeter of the cemetery and took some interesting photographs.
Road trip with a Cat
Travelling with Luna was an adventure. We gave ourselves more time to check out as sometimes – often – she’d find a hiding place. This usually meant moving furniture to retrieve an unhappy cat. Still, it was a gift to be able to have her with us on these trips. Other spots – Mount Shasta, Lake Tahoe, Polihale…
After we checked out, we drove back to Asilomar. This time, with Luna in her carrier bag.
This area is the ancestral territory of the Esselen and Rumsen nations. Here sits the Asilomar State Beach. From Asilomar Natural Dune Preserve you can walk the boardwalk that is quarter of a mile long.
It was time to go, head south to Central Coast before going north, back to the Redwoods. With the warm weather – Wade was wearing shorts, it was a nice day for a long drive.