Spring break at Point Lobos

We spent our spring break at Point Lobos State Reserve!

Ok. Little Z's spring break. But the aunties were equally excited about going on an excursion down south. Ever since I saw the photos on my friend's Facebook, I knew we had to make a trip there, never mind the 2-hour drive.

As advised by the reviewers on Yelp (5 stars!), we reached there early to secure a lot within the park. It's a $10 parking fee + $2 for the map, but totally worth the money since we had a kid with us. Once parked, we had a simple picnic brunch at one of the benches before exploring the place.

Happy mommy!

Happy Z!

Since we parked at Weston Beach, we decided to do the lower half of the South Shore Trail. This stunning stretch of the Pacific coast is lined with coves of varying rock formations. Each cove is different from the next, and we went at a really slow pace because there were just too many pretty sights to 'wow' and 'wah' about.



A family having fun at one of the coves



Reminds one of a washing machine

A joystick to control the twirling speed?

I named this 'The Napping Puppy'

What I found most intriguing was actually the shape and texture of the rocks. Along the way, we saw a pockmarked rock, rocks that look like cardboard stacks, rocks that resemble tree trunks...



Beautiful pockmarks



Layers and layers of rocks atop one another




Looks like a giant bone from a mammal



Tree trunks, they are not. They are rocks!



Awesome pastel colours

I later discovered that Point Lobos has an amazing geological story that began 100 million years ago, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Forces of nature has brought these rocks all the way here from Northern Mexico, a thousand miles away. How mind-blowing!

(Shout out) "Hey, you are standing on Mexico!"

At the end of the road, we crossed a small car park and continued uphill on the Bird Island Trail. The trail would give us spectacular views of China Cove, where the famous blue-green seawater lies.

At this point, little Z was tired and hungry, and he wanted his fresh milk which we left in the car. But after a 'mini discussion' with his mom, he decided to soldier on with us.

For enduring hunger and jelly legs, he was rewarded with sights of cute baby seals lying in the sun. For the first time in his life, he also saw a real snakey-snake slithering off the trail.



China Cove... Makes you want to dive right in.

Hello, anyone in the cave?

To a place far and beyond

Birds and seals. Spot them?

Awwww... too cute...

Before leaving we decided to loop to Whalers Cove by car. The road was pretty narrow and it almost could not contain two-way traffic.

At Whalers Cove, we saw more seals and an otter with her baby! At first, we thought it was only one otter and we couldn't make out where the head was. After looking closer, we saw that it was actually a mother (or father?) with a baby otter lying on her tummy.

How adorable!



Spot the baby otter

Whalers Cove

We left the park before 4pm, so that we could beat the afternoon traffic and return home by dinner time. There's still so much more to explore. In my opinion, Point Lobos is way better than 17-miles and Pacific Grove. 

If anyone is planning to go to Monterey, I highly recommend a visit to Point Lobos. 

This is a must-go, must-see place for locals and tourists alike.