We ended the summer with a trip to Big Sur (bucket list item crossed off!), SLO and some other Central Coast sights… Warning: mega post — combed through so many photos, finding it difficult to pick and choose. :)

We thought OstrichLand would be a bit gimmicky but it’s definitely worth a stop if you’re in the area. These creatures are peculiarly interesting!

E really enjoyed feeding them though their eating habits were pretty wacky and abrupt.

What’s up? Ostrich butt. :D

Hey, good lookin’.

We then drove into the Danish town of Solvang to walk around… The boys wanted Danishes of course and Elias tried on clogs. :)

Spent the night in San Simeon right by the ocean. It was dark by the time we got in but we took a stroll by the waves in the morn. Where’s E?

As we made our way into the Big Sur area, we couldn’t miss the Elephant Seal Rookery… by sound and smell, lol.

They were some sunbathing and we also spotted many of them in the ocean, swimming, dancing, playing.

E loved this stop and just marveling at these mammals, despite the stinkiness.

The young man and the sea. :)

So many beautiful pullout spots along Highway 1 + Big Sur.

Camera angles here, we promise!

Doing the floss amid a lovely backdrop because why not?

Daddy loves living life on the edge!

A hike down to a little beach.

Have rock, will climb… for E. Always!

Have little rocks, will throw. Always!

The black dots on the rocks are birds and all their poop!

Skipping you know what!

Some bush whacking to get close to the water.

Where the boys at? E doing his billy goat thang!

The iconic Bixby!

We spent the night at Carmel-by-the-Sea — strolled by the water and shops. Then the next day, we drove the other direction back for stops that we missed driving up…

Pfeiffer Beach had like an hours long line via the single dirt road down the day before so we came back when it was less crowded.

The water was cooooold.

But he loved chasing the tides, nonetheless.

McWay Falls!

And through the tunnel to get to the vista point…

When you think of you’ve already seen the prettiest sunsets…

Big Sur, you did not disappoint. Seriously just a slice of heaven!

Made our way to SLO. The most delish superfood lattes and vegan, GF donuts the next morn…

Walked around the Avila area for a bit… considered kayaking but in the end didn’t feel like getting wet that day.

Hiked down to a little cove.

Stopped by Avila Barn for some snacks, souvenirs and fed the animals.

Hey donkey, need a trip to the dentist? :p

Went to Avila Beach for a meal and this huge flower sno-cone that he delicately tried to eat in the car before it melted…

ATV’ing at Oceano Dunes! Found out later that they are likely ending this soon so glad we got the opportunity to try it.

E was a bit fearful at first but caught on pretty quickly…

Got stuck in the drops quite a few times and Daddy had to bail Mama and son out.

Daddy blazed off and did his own thing for awhile while Mommy and E tried to stay on flatter ground.

It really was super fun and quite an experience!

Fun little animated gif. :)

First time riding a bus by the ocean! We had to take it to get the starting point for the dunes which is a ways away and then again back to the parking lot.

On our last day, we went to check out Morro Rock and the bay around it.

Spotted lots of sea otters!

They are playfully swimming just beyond…

A huge rock cairn garden!

Most impressive volcanic plug…

‘Til next time, Morro!

Did the usual get awesome Chinese food in LA on the way back… Gotta love the {Chinese} name of this resto! Hopefully you won’t get called out on animal abuse, lol. J/K.

Pai goo fan in the car… ‘cuz we fancy schmancy like that. :))

And then Mommy’s favorite – hot grass jelly at Health Station!

Look at those taro chunks. ;-)

Just a bit left of summer break and then it’s back to (in-person!) school…