we left santa cruz really early in the morning to beat traffic and drive along the coast to newbury park. and i think i can safely say it was the prettiest drive i have ever been on. there was hardly a car on the road as we drove along rocky beaches and massive trees and fields of flowers. i don't know what was prettier - all the fog blanketing the mountains, with sunshine spilling through some parts or when the fog lifted and you could see everything clearly. the whole thing was a dream.

we went through big sur, which is somewhere that's been on my traveling bucket list for a long time, and it did not disappoint. i was wide-eyed and open-jawed the entire time. i felt a bit torn between stopping every five minutes to take the prettiest photos in the world or to just soak it all in. i went with the latter. mostly because i didn't want it to take 6 weeks to get to newbury park :) haha and i'm glad i did, because it was another one of those perfect moments of windows down, music up, holding hands with mah boo thang, while being surrounded by some of the best mother nature has to offer.

the one time we did stop for more than 30 seconds to look around was at a beach FULL of elephant seals. i have never seen them so close before and i honestly couldn't even handle myself in a proper adult manner. i turned into a squealy five-year-old just about dying over how blubbery and lazy and floppy and adorable they are. it was still super early in the morning and the only other onlookers were 85+ year-old tourists, some of whom got a kick out of my excitement and some of whom just thought i was a weirdo. haha but i couldn't have cared less and i could have stayed there all day watching their cuteness/hilariousness. after a good 30 minutes nicolaus and his hungry stomach had to pull me away from what i am convinced are my animal soul mates (anyone who knows me well enough, knows how much i love to laze and cuddle). 

once nicolaus successfully pried me away from the seals, we went to a little cafe and enjoyed some delicious eggs benedict before making the last stretch to newbury park.