Big Sur
We woke up Saturday morning at 08:40, since the Crackhouse (yeah, that's their new name) was supposed to come over at 09:30. Peachy showed up on MSN around 09:15 warning us that they'd be late. I expected 10:00 late, but it ended up being more like 11:00. I should have made breakfast while we were waiting, but I think I ended up being too impatient for that to occur to me.

We took the 101 down to Gilroy, a town famous for its garlic. Even as we pulled up to Burger King for the other guys to grab breakfast, we could catch a hint of the smell in the air. We proceeded down Hwy 152, which proved to be an incredibly curvy drive through mountain forests, with beams of sunlight breaking through the branches as drove through the groves of trees that caressed the sky on both sides of the single-laned road. It's the stereotypical car commercial scenery, the only thing we were missing was the Porsche, but the Camry was good enough since we could fit Billy in the backseat.

As we drove over the mountains, the 152 merged onto the famous seaside Highway 1, and the ominous clouds on the east broke into a clear sky west of the mountains. After about an hour and a half of driving, I caught the 'Garrapta State Park' sign. According to my research this was supposed to be a bunch of turnouts from the highway. But rather than a turnout into a park, it was simply spots on the side of the road. Our first stop was hence rather fruitless, a two minute trail took us to a viewpoint of the sea, but little else.



What started rather disappointingly ended up on a brighter note, as a few miles down the river we found a much larger turnout with trails down to a large and empty sandy beach, with five-foot waves crashing against the shore. Not quite the ideal family beach, since the waves made the water much too rough for swimming, but the huge ten foot tall rocks that jutted out from the ocean made it a beautiful sight regardless.







We had lunch there at around 13:00, and though I would have liked to spend more time playing in the sand (and I think Billy too), the other guys seemed rather impatient, and we took off to find some wilder hiking trails.





A half hour drive later brought us to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park (PDF link). It was full of redwoods, with a good number that were fallen in the form of unofficial bridges, and the forest floor was rather dark compared to the brightness of the beach. We decided to hike to the waterfall, along the soft forest path, padded with old leaves.







The 'hike' proved extremely unsatisfying, since the 10 minute hike brought us to a waterfall that was unimpressive to say the least. I didn't even remember to take a picture. As a respite, we took the 'Valley View' trail, which was a little bit longer, and ended atop a hill in between two higher mountains, with a view of the Big Sur valley, where the the sea and Hwy 1 were visible in the distance.



At that point Billy was feeling unwell from stuffing himself with regular Lay's, and instead of hiking further, we headed back to the cars. Being 16:30, it was far too early for our 18:00 reservation, but we didn't have anything left on the itinerary. We decided to drive on down Hwy 1, past the Post Ranch Inn where we had dinner reservations, and past the Nepenthe restaurant as well.



We spotted two people headed down a gate off the side of the road, and pulled over to explore, while Xun slept in the car. There we found another trail that went down a few hundred vertical feet to the ocean, again the rocky shore with waves crashing in. It was a nice quiet spot, though the trail was well kept. I have no idea what 'state park' it was, or how you're normally supposed to find it, but it was a nice spot. If we ever make the trip again, I think I'd like to spend more time exploring these nooks. We spent a while there enjoying the view before climbing back up to the cars to head for dinner.





We got to the Post Ranch Inn around 17:30. It resembled a high class summer camp. The area was left wild and undeveloped, but luxuries, like the lights along the road and the art noveau sculptures along the side of the ponds, were quite apparent. After finding parking in their crowded little lot, and changing into something a little more decent in the car (while the girls went inside to change), we ended up at the restaurant on time for our reservation.



Sierra Mar
Unfortunately, we were a tad late for the sunset, as the pink hue on the horizon showed. The dining room had glass walls facing the ocean, and the view of the sea from the cliff a few hundred feet above the surf was incredibly serene. The four course prix fixe was $73, somewhat higher than expected.

I found this place on the Zagat restaurant guide. It was listed as a 'sleeper', rated higher than both La Folie and French Laundry, so expectations were high. Billy ordered the least expensive bottle from the menu, a 1997 red Languedoc from Chateau de Negly, but I haven't tasted enough wines to critique with any order of accuracy.

The meal started with a salmon amuse-bouche, served with caviar atop a potato blini. The appetizers came together pretty well. The ahi tuna tartare was well dressed, served with fancy potato chips on the side. I took in half the order before I traded it with Billy's pistachio crusted foie gras, since the Lay's sickness he lost in the crisp sea air seemed to be coming back with the melt-in-your-mouth fat. The duck liver was well prepared, lightly seared and buttery. I was surprised that Billy had ordered it, since he was just saying how he disliked it, but I think he would have enjoyed it if he wasn't feeling sick. The fresh Malpeque oysters were served with a well balanced ginger sauce.

Second courses were less appealing, green globules of oil floated atop the crab bisque served in asymmetric bowls. The Waldorff salad was clean but not spectacular. The entrees were also mixed, the roast duck breast with grilled apple steak and green papaya in ginger jus was fantastic, far more appealing than the ordinary New York steak banally served atop a sloppy joe.

Choices for dessert included a chocolate mouse cake that Johnny ordered, served with three candles to commemorate his upcoming birthday, while most of us went with the aromatic oak tree ice cream with ginger cake in apple sauce. Amy ordered a remarkable marshmallow-like poached meringue with kumquat sorbet. The sweetmeats that finished off the meal included dark chocolate truffles, soft chocolate cookies, and small cuplets of custard.

Service was clean, but the included gratuity at 19% seemed steep. However, a step outside the glass doors to the patio at the back of the restaurant, with its telescope, astronomer, and clear night sky made up for it. Stars were clearly visible, and we were shown Jupiter and Saturn, with rings and moons visible, through the telescope. Food and service were not spectacular for the price, but the view, of the ocean and night sky, made the dining experience enjoyable. 4/5

Epilogue
The night air was chill, and we hurried back to our cars after stopping to say goodbye to the grey furball of a cat in the reception area. It was 20:50 as we left the restaurant, but the drive back to San Jose only took an hour and a half. It was the end my best week in recent memory, one of my best weeks ever. It's unfortunate that fleeting moments like these last forever only in your mind. Maybe I should be feeling a longing for more, but my only sense now is that, over the last twenty-some years, I've already had more happiness than any single person should deserve, probably more than most people could imagine. This might sound like it's coming out of nowhere, but if you stripped it all away, the food, the mountains, the sea, the empty beaches, the luxury, the beauty, the pleasure, I realize that this kind of happiness still isn't that which makes life worth living.