At some point the girls started holding hands. I don't know what prompted it, whether Em was scared or they just needed to hold someone's hand, but regardless, it was adorable! They actually hiked this way for quite some time, carrying on some conversation all their own, and just being little girls on a hike to the beach.
When we got to the beach, it was all rocks. So much so that there wasn't actually any sand there at all and the waves made the crackling sound made famous by Pebble Beach (the sound of rocks banging as they roll over each other while the wave moves back out to sea). Then when the beach ended at a rock cliff, we decided the hike was over for the girls. It took a while to get them into the water so I asked the girls what they thought the rock cliff felt like. Once they were in, they were good. :-)
The creek is the river behind them finally making it into the ocean.
M went on and hiked the cliffs and took a few pics while he was up there. We are the teeny tiny people in the picture at the bottom left. The river is the area that looks like a lagoon and the Pacific Ocean is the body of water at the bottom of the picture. We hiked in from the brown to the green and across the 'beach' created by the land between them.
M even found a pink sand beach. The girls would have loved it but he said he didn't mention it because all he could see was sure-footed Em falling off the side of a cliff to get there. Oh well. It really is beautiful up there, but it's a rustic, rough beauty and you have to appreciate it for what it is and the raw power it expresses. On the one hand, the waves relentlessly pound on the cliffs, seemingly turning them into pebbles. Yet in many areas, the cliffs remain, standing firm against the onslaught day after day. I love it.
Just looking down the coast. I guess we missed the beach by one cove.
Since we couldn't play in the sand or the waves, I taught the girls how to build 'rock castles' as we called them. Em is just starting one and there is a semi-completed one next to her.
Then Em tore apart her rock castle so she could make swords out of all the sticks and fight Dad.
K made her own fire with a castle entrance.
Did I mention sword fighting?
After lunch, we hiked back out and went into an area full of redwoods. This is the beauty of Big Sur - in a couple miles (so within the same hike if you do not have small children) you can move from giant redwoods to the ocean, forest to the beach, all right at your fingertips. We camped in the redwoods and hiked to the beaches.
We decided to throw the girls in the packs and do one more hike...a hike which I did not research and well, one Dad would not appreciate. It turned out that it went straight up the side of a hill and straight down into the river gorge on the other side. It was steep. K thought it was great.
I knew they said the falls were more of a trickle this time of year ("sadly underwhelming" was how they put it) and since I am from SoCal where most falls completely dry up every year, I know what that means, but I pushed us anyway. So, after all that work, well, this was our reward. AND since it was an up and down, we got to look forward to doing all the same amount of work headed back. This is why I normally do so much research before we go places. :-)
After showers, the girls sat by the fire while we cooked dinner...wood fired steaks, potatoes and carrots, with grapes on the side. The girls decided to share a chair and a coloring board and not fight about it. It was as if all the stars aligned!
On this night, we got to fall asleep to a church group across the river singing praise and worship songs. When I saw all the cars collecting, I cringed inside. When I heard the familiar tunes, I rejoiced and fell asleep worshipping with them!
God Bless!
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