Day 7, 8 and 9: West Coast

With creaking bones and squeaky joints, we rose from the moderately comfortable car seats. Then we went straight to a diner, which provided us with abundant food. Freshened up, dressed up, and with full stomachs, our first stop was Monterey Beach.
This sandbank not only impresses with its finest sand but also with beautiful trees and a stunning environment. During our walk, we even witnessed a sea lion burial, which was not pleasant but still interesting. Driven by the parking meter, we then made our way to Carmel-by-the-Sea. This small idyllic village has a beautiful beach, charming beach houses, and appealing culinary highlights. From wine tasting to olive oil pressing, we saw it all.

We spent the rest of the day in a restaurant, enjoying a smoothie and working on our blog. In the evening, we treated ourselves to a motel to recharge our batteries a little.

Day 8 started with shocking news for Manfred - his beloved café was broken into during the night. But knowing that Stefan has everything under control, we started breakfast.
Meanwhile, we were able to contact our family again (thanks to good wifi), which was very nice and important for our mental health.
After check-out, we hit the road for the next few hours. We crossed the famous Bixby Bridge, a very stylish bridge, and also passed by an elephant seal beach, which brought a smile to both of our faces as these animals are very funny to look at.
We spent the evening in Morro Bay, where we found a Chuck 'n Cheese (arcade) and were able to let out our inner child once again. After gaming hard and winning big, we happily headed back to our Nissan Versa to get some sleep.

Day 9 started at a Starbucks that provided us with wifi, coffee, and bathrooms. We had our breakfast surrounded by some wild geese and ducks in a beautiful park in the middle of Morro Bay. Then it was time to spend a few more hours in the car. We made stops in Solvang, a Danish town near Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara, here to eat and catch the California vibe. In the evening, we wanted to relax in our Nissan again, but it threw a wrench into our plans when it suddenly didn't recognize the key and turned off completely. Thank goodness we had taken out road assistance insurance in advance. After a long 3-hour wait and some expensive phone calls, someone finally managed to start the car for us. After this adventure, we looked for a car rental branch to exchange the car the next day, but unfortunately, without success :(. However, we were overcome by tiredness (it was already 1:00 am by then), and we prepared ourselves for the next night in the car at a larger parking lot.