The lodge was no disappointment

The view from the lodge

All of the worrying was for naught - we pulled up to the lodge, which appeared suddenly and was basically dangling off a cliff on the ocean side of the road. There's nothing around for miles - except beaches and a few state parks - so the woman checking us in told us our nearby dining options (their restaurant, which closed at 9 p.m. and their general store that closed at 8).

Closing times were still a couple of hours away so we headed to a beach. I don't know if this happens to everyone, but when I see an ocean or a sea or a waterfall (or really a creek) I have this urge to just jump in the water - no matter how harsh the conditions may be.

So despite the fact that it was barely 60 degrees, we slipped into swim suits and went searching for a beach. What we found was really not suitable for swimming (or sun bathing for that matter) but it was a beach. We walked around, found a spot on the rocks and listened to and watched the waves crashing all around us. The sun was setting over the Pacific and the warm dusk light made for beautiful photographs.

Once we confirmed that the nearest restaurant was indeed 20 miles away in Big Sur, we decided to grab a spot on the balcony of the lodge's restaurant and attempt to dine al fresco until it was just too cold to be enjoyable and our waiter helped us move inside to a table next to a space heater where we finished our meal while watching the sun dip below the horizon.

It all made for a memorable meal.