San Simeon Cove is sweet, it’s warm, it’s off-the-beaten-path. It has hikes, a long sandy beach, a little creek and a killer pier. You can fish, you can sail, you can swim. I wish I knew more about its history, but you can imagine it played an important role when the Hearsts were both building and entertaining at the castle.

There is also a cute little market/post office/wine tasting bar and a way too cute little old school house. Both have the castle as their backdrop (see: photo above).

Today’s trip was with Kristin (aka KB) and her cute-as-a-button son, Ryder. There would be pictures of them here, but I made a camera-setting mistake and lost the photos I took of them on the pier. Dumb camera. (Thanks for coming with, KB and Ryder! I’ll make up for the lost photos in the next post.)

A grove of old eucs borders the beach, adding a foresty feel.

This pier is a good one. I’ve seen at least one national commercial (for Carl’s Junior?) shot here.

Looking south from the pier, towards Cambria.

Nice long walk along the cliff above the beach.

Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas (just up the road a bit)

We also stopped at the Elephant Seal rookery at Piedras Blancas, just north of San Simeon. The beach was packed with females and juvenile males, all molting. The big bulls are still out to sea (won’t be back till August), so no fighting. Just lazing in the sun and sloughing off old fur. And making farting sounds seal noises.