This past week two out of three of my younger siblings and I went on a road trip.
While it was sort of last minute and frantically planned, it ended up being a wonderful experience.
The timing of the road trip was influenced by our mother getting a knee replacement surgery on 7/23. She wanted us all to get out and do something fun before we had to be home to care for her for the next few weeks.
As the oldest of my siblings, I took it upon myself to plan the trip and map out an idea of what we wanted to do.
On Sunday 7/19 I sat down with my laptop, researched hotels, and booked the reservations.
We planned to leave the following morning, Monday 7/20.
We had a general idea of what we wanted to do on our road trip but ended up making a few spontaneous stops that ended up being my personal favorite parts of the trip!
Here is a breakdown of what we did on our 3 day, 2 night road trip to Monterey, CA & King’s Canyon/Sequoia National Park.
Saturday 7/20
Left our house at 630am
Stopped in Solvang, CA to stretch our legs and sightsee
Took Highway 1 up to Big Sur
Stopped in San Simeon, CA to see elephant seals (spontaneous but my favorite part of the trip)
Stopped to sightsee in Big Sur
Checked into our hotel in Monterey,CA
Got takeout from a local restaurant
Explored Pebble Beach around sunset (it was overcast but still beautiful)
Tuesday 7/21
Checked out of our hotel around 11am
Grabbed coffee to-go
Walked around Asilomar State Beach
Spontaneously pulled off of Highway 1 South at Garrapata State Park (because Point Lobos was crowded) to hike
Went on an incredible 2 hour hike in Garrapata State Park
Left to Fresno, CA to spend the night there before King’s Canyon/Sequoia National Park
Checked into our hotel in Fresno, CA
Wednesday 7/22
Woke early to try Dutch Bros coffee for the first time
Checked out of our hotel and left for King’s Canyon/Sequoia National Park at 645am
Filled up my car with gas at the Valero in Squaw Valley before entering the park (highly recommend since there aren’t any gas stations within the park)
Arrived at King’s Canyon/Sequoia National Park’s BIG STUMP ENTRANCE at 815am
Made it to the General Sherman Tree to see the world’s largest tree (by width and volume)
Drove to (and THROUGH) the Tunnel Log
Hiked up to Moro Rock to see some of the most beautiful views in the whole park
Stopped for a picnic before exiting the park through the ASH MOUNTAIN ENTRANCE around 230pm
Made it home by 6pm!
All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I am grateful we were able to squeeze in this socially-distanced road trip before we begin our new chapters this Fall.
