May 21, 2026
Today we drove from San Simeon, CA up the Pacific Coast Highway 1 to Monterey to boondock on Oceanview Blvd (Pacific Grove). While driving the windy road we had hopes of seeing great views. Unfortunately, there was a fog bank or heavy marine layer over the coastal water most of the drive. Luckily, one of the best views was as we approached the Bixby Bridge in the Big Sur area! This was one of the views Barry wanted to see.
In January 2023, a huge landslide closed 90-miles of Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast. After three long years the entire 90-mile section opened about four months ago on January 14, 2026. (The Bixby Bridge was not damaged during any of the landslides that closed the entire 90-mile stretch.)
What a traffic jam as people desperately jockeyed for a parking spot at the Bixby Bridge! Being patient and allowing someone to pull out of a “spot” even though we knew we couldn’t fit in the spot paid off. The car in front of him also wanted to pull out onto the road. Of course we let him go, too because now it was enough room for us! Drivers were insane and impatient in both directions.
For some reason there was then a lull in the traffic and spots opened up, so Barry took advantage of this time to send up his drone for a couple of shots. It was rather windy, so he was limited.
We continued our journey north.
The wildflowers bordering the highway were beautiful!
Having previously visited the quaint town of Carmel, and completed the 17-mile scenic drive, we didn’t stop. Onward to Monterey. Barry discovered we could overnight in Pacific Grove (borders Monterey) via the app “Park4Night”. ANOTHER ocean view for us!
Views from inside Sadie…
We had to take up more than one parking spot, but it wasn’t a problem.
There was a great walking/biking path right next to the road.
After dinner we took a walk down to the left. We saw signs for Harbor seals here! Wow…otters in Morro Bay, elephant seals in San Simeon and now harbor seals in Monterey! Will it be a trifecta?
The harbor seals that we saw were too far out in the water, but at least we saw them.
It was nice to have a section that went closer to the coastal edge. Maybe there will be an area of beach where a couple seals may be resting…
None on that beach area, but it will soon be high tide, so I checked out a little park area between the trail and the street. I noticed this unique house and of course I noticed this statue!
I never get tired of watching ocean waves!
Going a little further down I saw more harbor seals that were a bit closer than the earlier ones.
I finally got a short clip where the little faces show nicely considering they were still out further than I hoped.
Realizing this was going to be all we would see tonight, we decided to check again in the morning to see if any were on the beach before we head further north.
Heading over to the trail I saw a mural, so of course I had to check it out.
When we went out the next morning we started up the same direction we went last night. Luckily, I asked a local about the seals, and she told me to walk down the other direction. The beach there is more protected from the weather, so they are almost always there.
We found quite a few on their protected beach. This beach area was towards the Monterey Aquarium. Unfortunately, they were quite a ways away from the walking path. Pretty amazing how well they blend in with the rocks.
You can see how this far area of the beach is more protected for the seals as the coast and bank curve up and around that section.
This video clip shows how the harbor seals are beginning to stir. A pup and mom head partway towards the beach. They stop and appear to pose looking towards us even though we are pretty far away.
It’s time to get back to Sadie and head up to the San Francisco Thousand Trails for the Memorial Weekend.
Check out a previous blog at the Monterey Aquarium and our whale watching adventure when we were here a couple years ago.