After our day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium we headed to Plaskett Creek Campground for some California Coast time. Unfortunately, due to a winter-storm landslide earlier in the year, most of Highway 1 was closed, so what originally was meant to be a 30 minute drive along the coast turned into a 2.5 hour drive on a very narrow, very winding road. We finally made it to our campsite that night, tired and ready for bed. The next morning we woke up ready to head to the beach!

A very short walk took us to Sand Dollar Beach and its stunning vistas, cold water, big waves and soft sand.

Only a few steps separated us from the beach, so down we went…

We had fun playing with the sand and running from the waves.

We took a break after our 4 year-old got taken down by a wave when he was looking at other kids playing. He’s a pro at falling in the water at this point, it seems, as he kept his sunglasses on and his head above the water, but the ocean was cold and the experience was jolting, so he was ready to leave the beach for a bit, with crazy amounts of sand in his vest’s pockets, by the way!

After lunch and an afternoon nap, we were ready to head back to Sand Dollar Beach. We walked along the beach and enjoyed watching the birds and sea life.

The sunset was breathtaking…

We watched the end of it from the trail, a wonderful farewell to this beautiful coast.