High's to Low's

We've had such a lovely time in Big sur that we really don't want it to end. Thus after breakfast and packing our bags we decide to go on the midday hike. This is a paid excursion that lasts about 2-3 hours that visits one of the many hiking areas around big sur with a guide. In essence its much like yesterdays walk only longer and off property. Deciding what to do today was a toss up between the hike and heading to Monterey early, as we're only there for one night, so we cross fingers and hope we've made the right decision.

The hike is wonderful. We head about 10 miles south from the spa in our cars and then head inland on foot. The track quickly defends into the redwood forest and then heads uphill following a river that we're told forms further up from a natural spring (we ask if its drinkable but are told that while its pure further up its probably a little risky this low down as theres properties further up).

After following the, sometimes narrow, path for about 35 mins we get to a 15 foot waterfall. Its very picturesque (the whole trip has been really) and I take off my shoes and wade over to it. Isabella has slightly better shoes than me and is able to navigate the rocks in the river like stepping stones and we stand together just in front of the fall as the guide takes our picture.

After the waterfall we head back to the cars to collect a packed lunch and then head down the road opposite towards the sea. At the bottom is a little rocky cove with a few pebble towers made by previous hikers. Its quite a lovely place but we're not eating here. We head through a small tunnel and find ourselves standing up on a cliff overlooking the sea. Ignoring a stop/warning sign we walk out to the edge and sit down for lunch. Bliss.

Unfortunately thats it for Big Sur and we begin the drive to Monterey crossing our fingers its not a big let down after the wonderful time we've just had. It really couldn't have been more different. The hotel isn't great despite being labelled as a luxury hotel. The room, while decent sized, has odd pillars in it that make it claustrophobic. It also has just one small window and a tiny balcony that has a 10 foot wall on 3 sides. 

We head into town and find a nice place for a crepe but most of the main street is tourist fair and such. We head inland and find an ok BBQ joint and decide to eat and get an early night. The food is decent and our good spirits from earlier carry us through. In fact we think that somehow despite the big let down we've still had a decent time and in the end fall asleep watching big bang theory.

Tomorrow we head to Napa to begin our wine odyssey. We're in a B&B so we've no idea what to expect in terms of quality. It can't be as bad as this surely?