The coastal pattern of overcast skies in the morning continued today. The clouds didn’t break until I was south of Big Sur. Temperatures along my route ranged from the mid-50’s to the mid-60’s.

Day’s distance: 173 miles
Total trip distance: 1382 miles

I left the house about 9am this morning. I rode down Hwy 1 through Watsonville, Monterey, and was well into Big Sur before stopping to take a photo.

As is my way, I like to stop for a latte in the late morning. This time, I stopped at Cafe Kevah for a single-shot latte and a muffin. This cafe has tables set up outside on a large patio with a pretty scenic overlook.

While there, I met a young couple. He rode and asked me what I was riding and where I was heading. I’ve said this before, it seems everyone has a motorcycle story. Since I don’t carry a selfie stick, I asked if they could take a photo for me.

You can just see the sun to the south breaking out from the cloud cover.

Here are some Big Sur coastline photos I took last year, when the sun was shining.

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This year, I stopped at Point Piedras Blancas, where the Elephant Seal Colony resides. I had been following a Ural motorcycle with sidecar for a few miles and wanted to ask the riders some questions. It turned out they were staying in Morro Beach State Park, my destination, and we arranged to share a beer later in the evening. The owner, Mike, and his wife travel by RV and tow the Ural with them.

I arrived at the campground about 2pm, hoping they had some first-come, first-served parking spots. They were full over the weekend (according to Mike), but there were plenty of spaces now that most folks go back to work or school.

I set up camp quickly.

I took a hike up to the top of Black Hill. It overlooks Morro Bay. Here are some photos from the hike.

The wild turkey in the last photo was close to me when it jumped onto the trail. It startled me and I about dropped the camera. I followed it for a few minutes until I could get another chance to photograph it.

A selfie, taken at the top of Black Hill.

For dinner, I made Noodles and Chicken, one of my favorite Mountain House dehydrated meals. I was using a new gas cannister and had a difficult time getting it to ‘unseal’. Eventually, with some patience, it started supplying fuel to the stove.

I visited Mike, and we shared a beer and talked motorcycles. I crashed pretty early and slept well, for camping anyway. All in all, another great day 🙂