Athena Plichta Photography

does anyone know what the flower below is called?

Road trips with friends are special, especially when you're with an old friend you haven't seen in a while; time in the car is spent catching up on lives and happenings (including a fair amount of gossip), cracking jokes, and snacking on chocolate chip cookies made just for the occasion. When said road trip takes place on U.S. 1 through Big Sur, there's no doubt a shared sense of awe and reverence at the beauty of the surroundings. 

We drove the meandering two-lane highway from Monterey to San Simeon, hugging the Pacific on one side, the edges of the Los Padres National Forest on the other. I took mental notes of interesting landmarks and campsites, vista points and small towns we passed, making a promise to come back again and pause a little longer the next time.

Our destination was the Hearst Castle (north of San Luis Obispo) but we made a planned pit stop to Big Sur Bakery on the way as I'd heard so much about it. I ordered a mocha, and we bought a lemon curd-filled donut and apple strudel to go. Flanking the bakery and restaurant we discovered the colorful and delightful Big Sur Spirit Garden as well as the one-room schoolhouse you see above. Just a cool little spot all around. Luckily I live only an hour away so I could easily see this area becoming a day retreat. Will share some photos of Hearst Castle soon; it deserves its own post.