Summer tales II – Highway 1 to Ventura

I am recapping the wonderful times that I had with my family here in the States this summer.
See all related posts under the category:  summer tales.

We started off our morning in Monterey (6/30) with some exercise! I found a running buddy in my BIL who accompanied me on my (one and only) run (during our trip – sadly). I wish I could say that I kept up the running more during my vacation, but it just didn’t happen. Nevertheless, we tried…. we ran 4 miles down to Fisherman’s Wharf and back that morning. It was nice and I wish I could run near the water (unfortunately, running along the river in Sacramento as a woman by myself is not really a smart idea).

We had breakfast at the hotel and then embarked on our journey south on Highway 1.

We took our time and made multiple stops on the way because the Californian coast is just breathtakingly beautiful. The morning started off a little hazy, but soon enough the sun had worked her way through the clouds and it was a beautiful day. We were lucky enough to see dolphins – again!

Travel buddies

At San Simeon beach, we stopped to pay a visit to the sea elephants that always populate that part of the coast. They were lazily hanging out, covering themselves with sand and some of the males were were involved in some power games in the water.

Greta and Tom loved watching them, but they were almost just as entertained by the squirrels that were hiding between the bushes.

My sister was joking that our German chancelor, Angela Merkel, was present, too. Haha. It’s true, that’s her posture!

On our way to Morro Bay, we saw a bunch of cows on the pastures next to the highway… and then we took a second look and realized that they were sharing their space with a herd of zebras. So cool. Tom thought – since a lot of California is pretty dried out because of the drought – that that was only fitting since we were driving through the savanna. He’s a very smart and insightful 5-year old that’s for sure!

We stopped in Morro Bay to get some lunch at a supermarket and had a little picnic at a nearby park. The kids had been so patient in the car all day and really needed to get some extra energy out on the playground.

We arrived in Ventura around 6:30 p.m. and checked into our hotel, the Comfort Inn Ventura Beach. We had to hurry because we were almost late for a dinner date with J’s parents at the Rhumb Line Restaurant at Ventura Harbor. We had delicious sea food, pleasant conversation and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.