Morro Strand State Beach - 6 Nights

November 8: Today we moved to Morro Strand. We did some housekeeping and then used the new shower facility at North Beach before leaving. It is nice because each shower and toilet are private, no men or women, just one person per room. So "politically correct" for CA and the various gender issues. For me, it makes me feel safer anyway. I have never felt threatened in a campground but who knows these days. It's about a 30 minute drive north to Morro Bay/Morro Strand. Before arriving we stopped at Chapala this little Mexican restaurant where we purchased take-out food in the past. It is anything but fancy but the food is authentic and good. I think you will only find locals here on most day. After our fill up we headed to the campground and our space was open. We were in and set up before 1p in campsite #5. We have had various weather today. Mist - clouds - hot sun - then cool, layers of clothing are definitely needed! Tonight my charging cord stopped working for my laptop. I am so disappointed, my album work is done. Maybe I can find a cord in town or order one on Amazon to be delivered here. Darn. 

Mexican Food For Lunch

Arriving at Morro Strand State  Beach

Our Camp

November 9: Just to prove my theory that the weather changes quickly here - it rained last night. Too bad we left our chairs out! We tried to find a solution for my PC but at least we know it is the power cord. I ordered a new one from Amazon. I hope it is actually delivered tomorrow as promised. After checking on that we went  to the grocery store, returned our items to camp and went for lunch at Schooner's in Cayucos. Delicious as always. Back to camp, it is so warm I switched to the Hawaii dress I brought with me. Shortly thereafter, we had rain! If you don't like  the weather, just wait, it will change! Deb and Sam arrived in the dark, it wasn't too bad for them to set up, they are efficient! We were all tired after that and we went to the House of JuJu for dinner. It has more seafood than the Clovis location and loaded potatoes - WOW, not sure if Clovis has that or not?

November 10: Today was the day for other De La Peña arrivals. I think 25 more showed up, but I lost count. Everyone seemed to be getting along and except for one unruly child it was a great group. Anyway, we took Deb & Sam up to Pismo to see the various camp sites by Avila Beach and a short  visit to Avila Valley Barn to get our pie/crisp fix for this trip. We also could not resist stopping at Splash Cafe for more chowder! Our little group of 6 went out to dinner at The Dutchman's Seafood House. 

John's Crab Cakes (he had garlic fries too)

 My Steamers - Delicious!

November 11: Steven and Saira arrived at 8am! He said they would but I figured it would be later. By the time I was dressed  their tent was all set up and they were enjoying coffee by the fire! 

Tonight was the shrimp boil. We got expensive crabs from Giovanni's as well. Not sure why we do that because we have so much food leftover! In the evening we had the grilled oysters - the best ever! I made garlic butter for them with a little green onion chopped up too. The smaller oysters had a better flavor - We all agreed on that. 

November 12: The extended DLP family left this morning. Deb and Sam didn't fix breakfast but we took everyone to Chapala for an early lunch. Another favorite is the ceviche in the form of a tostada - SO GOOD! It is Saira's BD. BUT we will take the two of them to a nice place next weekend in town. After lunch Steven and Saira headed home. He has to work tomorrow. 

November 13: Deb and Sam packed up and left today. We went to lunch at Schooner's and spent the rest of the day relaxing. We did a few things to prep for departure tomorrow, but  not much. 

November 14: All packed up and departed the campsite at 9:30a. My power cord never came - so disappointed. I took it up with Amazon and it will all work out. We got home at 12:30 even after a stop for lunch. We cleaned the trailer really well and had it all done, back in storage, and the gas tank full again by 4:30p - Exhausted but THANKFUL for another trip. 

North Beach Pismo State Beach - 3 Nights

November 5: Happy to be here at Pismo Beach. NB18 is our campsite for 3 days. Our drive over was uneventful. We had In N' Out for lunch. It was sunny and cool when we arrived. After the sun went down it was chilly but actually seemed warmer in the night, even though our heater clicked on at one point. We ate leftovers, played cards, and I fell asleep watching NCIS DVDs. John turned everything out and was sound asleep when I next woke at 2:30a.

Just Backed in 3p

November 6: What a lovely morning. It says it is says it is only 60 degrees but with the bright sun shining on us it almost feels hot! No sweatshirt needed when I took Tony for his morning walk over the dunes, that's for sure. It is SO beautiful here. After we were back from the walk I set up my "work station" as I plan to do a good bit of digital scrapbooking while here for three day. We gave our first Casita tour before 10a. For lunch we went to one of our favorite places, Old Juan's Cantina in Oceano. It was delicious as always. We ate so much it feels like we need a nap now!  

Our Morning View

November 7: Today was another lovely day. After we were up and around we decided to walk over to the Monarch Butterfly Grove. You can access this grove from the campground, though most people park on Hwy 1 and enter that way. The parking is premium so it is nice to just walk into the back section from the campground. After all the years we have come over here, we have never gone to see this. Maybe we never came to Pismo from Nov-Feb, but I think we have. Anyway, we are seeing it now. Once was just a path and a brochure has been expanded to an entrance with a lovely sign, a gift shop, tons of brochures and various reading materials, informational signs, and a fenced walkway with at least 6 telescopes trained on the pretty little insects. Volunteers man the telescopes, answer questions, and give little lectures a few times a day. 

By now we worked up an appetite so we drove into town to go to Splash Cafe. To our astonishment, there was no line! For a split second I was concerned they were closed or worse yet, went out of business. Nope, we hit it just right I guess. We had a delicious bread bowl of chowder with seafood topping (crab and shrimp). To walk off that lunch we headed to the pier only to find it was closed for repairs. It was a minor disappointment but we are happy to see the city of Pismo Beach takes pride in their pier and they are making these upgrades to be sure it is nice for future generations. 

The rest of our day was spent playing cards, reading, and relaxing. I have gotten a LOT done on my albums. As of today I am caught up on the 2017 Eash Family album!