Today was an awesome day. I started the day by seeing my first Northern Mockingbird – I was not able to get a picture as it mocked me and stayed just out of my phone’s camera range, but when I checked my bird app, I was able to confirm what it was.
After loading the car, we headed across town to From Scratch which was featured on DDD. Mum had a poached egg and biscuit, while I, of course, had Eggs Benny. It was quite delicious, and filling – my Benny had about half an inch of ham on it. It was also quite a popular place and there were several dozen people waiting for tables by the time we left – we had lucked out and got seated immediately.
We then headed south down CA SR-1 towards Big Sur. We had been informed by the people at the hotel’s front desk that the highway itself was fine; it was just the parks that were closed due to the Soberanes Fire.
Before too long, we reached the Bixby Creek Bridge. It doesn’t sound like much of a bridge, but it is quite famous and often featured in commercials that show the California coast. Although there is a pullout with parking for several cars, I was unable to find parking and had to block a few cars while I jumped out and took a few quick pictures. It was definitely worth it as I have been wanting to get a picture of this bridge since we first visited Carmel in 2011.
Continuing down the coast, we pulled off several times to take pictures. The traffic was quite reasonable for this time of year, but I believe that had quite a bit to do with the fire and park closures. I was able to take a ridiculous number of pictures – which I will cull and edit once I get back home, but I have a couple that I will post for you.
On one of my stops, I happened to notice a bird that was hovering near the pull-off where we had parked. I initially thought it may be a Turkey Vulture, but, on closer inspection, determined that it was larger and also had white patches on the underside of its wings. I took some pictures with my long lens, hoping that it might help with identification later. I wasn’t sure what else it could be as I knew how rare California Condors were, but something kept nagging at me that a Condor was the only viable option, since it was definitely not a Turkey Vulture. Since I wasn’t able to solve the mystery without further research, we continued down the highway.
The topography of the land changed as we neared San Simeon (home of Hearst Castle) and the road became much nicer to drive on. We stopped just south of Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, and I was able to not only get a picture of an Elephant Seal, but also pictures of American White Pelicans and California Ground Squirrels. The pictures of the pelicans and seal are on my main camera which I was unable to upload due to a lack of wi-fi at my hotel, but I was able to get a picture of the squirrel with my phone.
We stopped at William Randall Hearst State Park to use the facilities. While we were there, I decided to drop into the Interpretive Center to ask about the condor. I was informed that seven condors had been released into the wild in the same area as I had seen my mystery bird. After reviewing my pictures and other information, I am confident that I saw my first California Condor in the wild.
Before we left the park, I also snapped a couple of pictures of Hearst Castle, which is perched up on a hilltop, and got some pictures of smoke from the Chimney Fire.
Shortly after leaving San Simeon, we arrived in San Luis Obispo. While waiting for a red light to change, we saw three hawks circling not far from the road. As I was driving, I was unable to take a picture, but when we got back to the hotel, we determined that they were Ferruginous Hawks. Yet another new bird to add to my bird list.
We arrived at our hotel in Arroyo Grande and after a short rest, headed out to dinner. There are only a couple of Food Network restaurants in the area, so we chose F. McLintocks which was featured on Guilty Pleasures. It was not somewhere I would really write home about, although I did enjoy the Grilled Artichoke. Mum and I shared the Pepper New York Steak, and we had a “split plate” which means we both got all the sides, and we split the 10 oz, steak.
After dinner, we stopped by the Outlet Mall on the way back to hotel and Mum found the flat whisk that she was looking for. I was also able to find a 12-pack of beer at the local IGA before heading back to the hotel.
Tomorrow we are heading back north and will be staying in San José.
Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.
L