California coast road trip on Instagram

Time for another Instagram Travel Thursday! This time I want to take you with us down the California Coast, all the way from the foggy San Francisco to the sunny San Diego near the Mexican border. Welcome to the ride!

We started our trip about two weeks ago in San Francisco. We wandered around the town on the foggy mornings, almost all by ourselves, and enjoyed some sunny days on the Bay.

We got our rental car and drove down to the Surf City of Santa Cruz. We met some adorable sea lions and witnessed a spectacular sunset. The beach cliffs were a perfect spot for an afternoon stroll and some surfer watching.

Leaving Santa Cruz we stopped by at another beach for soaking in the view and getting some great pictures.

In Monterey the sea creatures of the Monterey Bay Aquarium mesmerized us for hours.

Driving down the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) through the wild Big Sur area, we found some fascinating State Parks with sea lions and empty beaches, and a magical sight of mist creeping in from the sea.

Our motel in San Simeon was aptly named the Seabreeze Inn. This is the view from our window! There was also a little path following the cliffs and a great spot for catching sunsets.

The Hearst Castle was an example of abundance, but weirdly homey at the same time.

Near the castle we found hundreds of sea elephants just hanging around.

We spent two nights in Morro Bay, famous for the Morro Rock, seen here on the background. A quaint, peaceful town.

In the fairytale town of Solvang we got bicycles from our hotel and visited some nearby vineyards for some wine tasting. Perfect activity for a sunny afternoon!

Solvang really seemed unreal. I was assured, that there are real people living their everyday lifes here.

Next stop, Los Angeles! Santa Monica beach welcomed us with the pastel colors of just before sunset.

At the Griffith Observatorium we watched the day turned first yellow and then red, and slowly into darkness with the city lights sparkling around.

Finally, our coast road trip took us to San Diego. From what I've seen so far, I want to come back here and spent a month or two!

This is where I'm writing this post. At the balcony of the house we are renting an Airbnb room from. Life is good.

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This post is part of Instagram Travel Thursday and all the pics are from our Instagram account. Instagram Travel Thursday is a monthly gathering of Instagram related blog posts. You can find a list of other participating posts, or add your own post, at House of Anais, Hines Sight or at many other hosts' sites.