Listen up– wanna know the BESTEST and most romantic campground on Hwy 1? Definitely Limekiln State Park.
To back up, we actually didn’t even get a reservation! When we checked online, the park was booked. Our Plan B was to try two different “first come, first serve” campgrounds about 20 minutes away.
But….with Jesse’s first day of teaching orientation, getting packed and getting the kids out the door to the grandparents, we left later than we wanted (remember what I said about Jesse only being late when it’s the family’s fault?). By the time we drove the 90 minutes and arrived at the two different campgrounds, every site was taken.
But we weren’t about to let something this small get in the way of our awesome anniversary trip! We decided that Plan C was to drive back the way we came and find a room in Cambria or San Simeon.
Before we turned around, however, we decided to go park at Limekiln and take a quick hike up to see the falls.
We pulled up at the rangers window at Limekiln, and she asked if we had reservations. No….<sheepish look>. Then she asked if we wanted the Overflow Site.
What the WHAT? we both asked?
The Overflow Site, she explained. We’d have to park about 30 yards away, but we could park the car on it just to unload our stuff.
Oh, she added. It’s an oceanfront site. Hope that’s okay.
GET OUT! I screamed. No, I actually did. What was most awkward was the fact that she was 60+ years old, and didn’t understand. She just looked taken aback.
So, the long and short of it was…..
WE GOT THIS BEACH FRONT SITE FOR $35!!!
Let’s see that again, shall we?
We immediately set up our stuff and went to enjoy a sunset on the beach together 🙂
Jesse’s gonna kill me, but I LOVE this picture. What can I say, he’s totally buff.
We then went out to dinner. Our lovely park ranger who gave us the site also told us about Santa Lucia Restaurant 2 miles north.
I’ve been driving back and forth from Big Sur for over 20 years, but somehow I don’t ever remember seeing this little place! It was so quaint, and so cute, with a PERFECT JAWDROPPING ocean view.
Our food was so yummy.
It was dark by the time we arrived back at our campsite, but Jesse quickly got a fire started and we broke open a bottle of wine. By the fireside. Imagine a totally romantic evening, and then triple it. It was an absolutely perfect evening, 65 degrees with a tiny breeze (not “beach” windy at all, probably because Limekiln is in its own little cove).
Once we had finished our wine, we walked hand in hand on the beach under the stars. We found a perfect place on the sand and watched shooting stars, reminiscing about the last 10 years of our life together.
The next morning, we drank our coffee by the crashing waves. It was almost too much awesome to handle!
After a tiny breakfast (we decided that a restaurant brunch was the way to go), we quickly packed up our site and went hiking! Limekiln has two awesome trails– the Falls, and the Kilns.
Then, there were the kilns where they used to purify the rocks over 100 years ago.
Once we were done hiking, we drove 30 minutes back down the mountain to Ragged Point, the famous spot where Jesse proposed 8 years ago. We had an amazing brunch/lunch, while sitting in the gorgeous Restaurant Garden.
Before getting back in the car, we decided to visit the actual spot where Jesse proposed.
It was an absolutely fabulous trip that we were able to do for under $150, even with 2 fancy meals and staying overnight! I highly recommend it, and this will go down as my favorite anniversary yet!
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