After leaving Paso Robles (to read that post click here) and driving west back to the Pacific Coast Highway, we drove north towards the quaint little community of Cambria, California. We decided to stop and stay for the night in a motel that was located right across the road from a section of Moonstone Beach. After checking into the motel my husband and I decided to take a sunset stroll along the beach, even though the sky was partially overcast like a woolly blanket stretched along the shoreline.
As the sun dipped below the horizon it struggled to send it's last glowing rays through the cloud bank and the unusual lighting made the ocean and beach appear like a shimmering mirror! It was truly a spectacular sight, and I could see that this area could be a photographer's paradise.
The beach held giant boulders and many smooth black stones that I collected as we walked along the shore. We stopped in our tracks when we came across large mounds of kelp that had washed ashore in a prior storm. When we first approached the long tangles of the brown cords (above photo lower right corner) I was reminded of legends of Medusa and other serpent haired monsters. The kelp looked like a living and breathing reptile ready to slither away, but in fact it was specimens of a beneficial brown algae plant called Macrocystis pyrifera that grows along the Pacific coast in large underwater forests. To learn some fascinating facts about the giant kelp forests along the Pacific Coast go to this page: Natural Marine Sanctuaries.
We saw a surfer leaving the beach as the light was slowly disappearing. Moonstone is a world class surfing destination as waves can be as high as 7.5 to 8 feet, and higher, at times.
Our twilight walk along Moonstone Beach left us with many very magical memories.
Back on the road the next morning we headed north along the Pacific Coast Highway to our next planned stop of San Simeon, where we wanted to visit the world famous Hearst Castle.
Can you see the castle high upon the mountain? On my next post about our California trip along the coast from San Diego to San Francisco I'll take you there! Meanwhile, come back to my blog on Wednesday for some more "Christmas in New York" city scenes!
I'm linking this post to "Mosaic Monday," "Blue Monday" and "Our World Tuesday" blog events. Many thanks to all the blog hosts!
