California Central Coast

Many people consider California Central Coast the most scenic drive
in the world. We often drove, as most people did, much of the Pacific
Coast Highway (California Hwy 1) one way as part of a trip between
San Francisco and Los Angeles for the good reason.

During this Christmas Holidays, we made a trip to Piedras Blancas and
San Simeon with our children, and grandchildren who their parents
thought would be amused in watching those big-nose bull Elephant
Seals and their newborn pups. For us, our first tour to Hearst Castle
was more than 30 years ago, and for our children, they had yet to see
this national historic landmark mansion.

While Hearst built the great American show off in San Simeon, a
prehistoric legacy, the elephant seals, once considered extinct, have
made an epic reappearance and claimed the beaches in Piedras
Blancas, making the rookery a rival attraction in the neighborhood.
December to March is the birthing and breeding time for the Elephant
Seals. Beginning in mid-December the pregnant females arrive to give
birth. Researchers estimated the total population for Piedras Blancas
rookery at the turn of the 21st century to be around 8000.

On the way driving down the coast from Monterey Bay, we were lucky
to spot a California condor, the largest flying land bird in North
America, soaring on the Big Sur coastline. According to U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, population of California condors today has grown to
more than 381. Of those, about 125 live in the wild at Big Sur.


Yeh Tze