The coastal road is fantastic around Big Sur. The views from the cliffs to the today quiet ocean are magnificent. It is the time of the grey whales. Mothers with their calves slowly return from their birthing grounds back to the north, during other late pregnant cows are still on their way south. There is very often a spout to see few hundred metres off the coast, sometimes entire groups.
Pfeiffer Beach shall be one of the most attractive beaches in the area. It is accessible via a narrow winding road thats not permissible for motorhomes. We may, because we ask in advance; they only care for the vehicle size. The entrance fee is 5 $. The extensive protected bay with arches and brooks flowing into the sea is worth visiting. Not far from Pfeiffer Beach Henry Miller Library is situated to the east. Wanting to be more than a library it offers complimentary coffee, tea, and Wi-Fi. The famous nevertheless controversial author Henry Miller made the area known only with his work Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch.
Ten miles south at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, a perfect bay is located: fine sand, turquoise-coloured water, protecting rocks, a waterfall that initially splashes onto the beach and then flows into the sea, green trees, and colourful flowers. At the southern end of Big Sur coast, right before San Simeon, hundreds of elephant seals lay at the beach in the so-called Elephant Seal Rookery. The numerous parking lots are connected with boardwalks and separated from the beach just with a fence. Her we can watch without entrance fee, but without ranger interpretation the barking, crying, slobbering, howling, whining, hissing, copulating, burping, sneezing, and farting bustle of the sea elephants.