Hiking and home

Hiking through Big Sur was also on my bucket list so today was the day I crossed that off. There was a lot of mist around which made for a cool morning. After the heat of the desert it was a shock to the system to feel cold again. 

 I decided to try a walk on one of the gentler trails first to make sure my knee was warmed up and ready for something more strenuous. 

 The walk to Valley View and Pfeiffer Falls was very nice though crowded with lots of people. That also took some adjusting to after the isolation of the last few days. 

 The waterfall was quite beautiful and I stood looking at it for a few minutes before heading back. 

The next trail was to Buzzards Roost. This was much harder than the first one with lots of steep inclines to navigate. 

I was shattered by the time I got to the top but the view was well worth it. 

It dawned on me that I'd changed realities quite drastically in the last 24 hours. I'd gone from the barren lifelessness of the desert and into a forest teeming with life. 

I walked back down a gentler trail to allows knee to recover and got back to my car. I decided to head north and find a beach as that's where I felt I needed to be. 

 A brief stop in Carmel for lunch, which is clearly a very wealthy town, and then onto a beach just north of Santa Cruz. 

 I stayed at the beach for a good hour or so. I find listening to the water of the ocean to be very relaxing and puts one in a pensive mood which was just what I needed. 

I had travelled far enough. I was ready for home. And that's where I headed next. 

 I was glad to get back and see my kitties because I had missed them a lot. They seemed to had missed me too and were meowing and running around me as soon as I stepped through the door. 

I fed them and sat down to watch them as they ate.  

Sometimes everything you need is right where you left it.