Morro Bay SP & Morro Strand SB

Wednesday: We took a nice look around the city of Morro Bay today but otherwise relaxed the rest relaxed the rest of the day. We did check out the various campsites and there are some really nice ones, very spacious, that would hold a couple of tents. 

Thursday: Time to pack up. We never did figure out how many quarters equal how much time but the showers here in the campground are nice enough and the water is hot. We didn't do a big cleaning/packing job because we are simply moving 12 miles north, up the coast, to Morro Strand. Since check out is 12p and check in is 2p our site at Morro Strand was still occupied. 

We know there is a decent place to park the trailer behind Duckie's in Cayucos so we headed up there for lunch. We tried a new (to us) place "Schooner's" and it was definitely delicious! The ocean views were limited but still very nice. By the time we got back our site was open and we got all set up. Deb, Sam, Spencer, Soren, and Julie arrived shortly thereafter. They have considerable more setup to do than we do, 1) It's a tent trailer. 2) There are 5 people with all their own things. 3) They bring grills and all sorts of nice things camping.

Today is Sam's BD. We had the plan to take them to Giovanni's for a BD dinner for him but since we found Schooner's the decision was made to go there. The kids stayed back in camp and we indulgently went and had a very nice dinner somewhat overlooking the ocean waves against the pier.   

This is the Cayookie --- Amazing!!!

I had just one bite and slipped into a food coma!

Morro Bay SP For The Day

Today we decided to stay around camp. We relaxed and had our coffee enjoying the refreshing morning air. It is sunny and nice. We talked about some upcoming travel we have planned and cleaned up files syncing with each other on our phones. (What did we do before Smart Phones?) I'm so thankful for my husband John in my life. He is one of my best friends. He is even pretty good at communication for a little while, when he begins to glaze over I know we are done chatting. He does his best, he is a man, which is why we women need women friends! Lunch was a filet, fresh squash, and tomatoes. I try to fix a filet when we camp, it's a nice treat and I have refined doing this in a frying pan and it comes out quite delicious. I tried crumbled bleu cheese on top today. I will add it sooner next time because it didn't melt. It was the desired taste however!  My photo is rather dark but trust me, it was not burnt!

During one of our walks we checked out the schedule for the Morro Bay Trolley. I didn't even know they had one! It is a nice little option, especially for people with motor homes or less mobile camping rigs. There are 3 routes and it looks like you could go basically anywhere in Morro Bay for a $3. day pass. Otherwise, a 1-way trip on any route is $1. I think Julie and the grandsons might like to try it out.  

Morro Bay SP - Pismo Beach

Today we took the 20 mile drive south to Pismo Beach. I know it is a touristy place but I love Pismo Beach. We got a parking place right on the main street when a young couple was leaving. They even gave us their parking slip, which had 2+ hours left of free time, how nice of them! We ate a nice lunch at Splash. John had fish and chips, which was okay but my bread bowl clam chowder with seafood topping was amazing! We shared - leaving the French fries and the most of the bread behind. The top of that buttery, toasted round was my reason for the bread bowl as apposed to a regular bowl.  

After that we walked around the boardwalk and just a little ways on the pier. I was surprised to see there is a Cool Cats Café here in Pismo! It looks a lot like the one in Maui we frequent but not as open air. They have been here 3.5 years so you know how long it has been since we walked downtown! We have several other stops we want to make so we were on our way before our parking time ran out.

We stopped at Pismo Coastal Village and they allowed us to drive through and check the accommodations. It is really not the type of place we choose to stay but it is getting so difficult to get into the State Campgrounds without a reservation at least 6 months in advance, it's an option. We drove through Pismo North Beach SP and circled sites on the map we liked best. We thought we would go check the improvements made to Pismo Oceano SP only to find it is still completely blocked off with a cyclone fence and more. Obviously the renovations will be extensive. It will be interesting to see what it looks like when finished. Our next stop was Avila Valley Barn. They had roasted corn today, though we were full from lunch and didn't try it. It looked delicious and people eating it raved! We each got a beautiful apricot but it looked better than it tasted. We are spoiled with out local produce at home. Onward to the Port of San Luis. This is a working port and I wanted to see if they had crab - they did. It is $8.95 live, $9.95 cooked. We may go back. They are a nice size running about 2 pounds each.  Heading back to camp about 5p. Surprising amount of traffic on Hwy 1. Time to relax with cards, reading, and a snack before bed.

Off To Morro Bay

We left home about noon for Morro Bay. It could have been earlier but we had a pretty nice show in the sky last night about 1:30a so we watched that for awhile. The thunder was louder than I think I have ever heard and the lightening went so far across the sky you couldn't see both sides! It was amazing, then it poured down rain. We aren't sure how long that lasted because we finally went back to bed once the thunder and lightening moved on and we closed the skylight!

We had an uneventful trip over. We stopped and got a snack out of the trailer around 1:30p at Kettleman City. There was a ton of traffic going east but not much going our direction. Temps were up to 85* on our way but once we hit the coast the gauge in the Jeep said 65* though my phone app showed 68* - regardless, it was fantastic! Clear skies with just a hint of the fog that we will see in the morning. The ocean was very calm as well.

We checked into Morro Beach State Park and I have to say the staff here is very nice and attentive. As we sat in our vehicle they actively met our needs, they even came out of the booth to write down our license plate. No one has done that in years! Typically you are told to park to the side and come back for a form to fill out. It was a nice touch. We have not stayed in this particular park before. You cannot walk to the beach from here but apparently there is a shuttle into town. I will find out details of that tomorrow, not that we will use it. There is a marina and a museum nearby. We'll check that out one of the days we are here. Not being right on the beach doesn't stop the popularity of the place, since it is full on a Sunday night! Of course, school is out in most places so families are vacationing. After setting up we relaxed, played cards, ate a dinner of leftovers from home, walked Tony, and read before heading to bed. This is the life! We are very spoiled!!! 

The Central Coast

We are really looking forward to getting over to the coast and out of this heat. It doesn't take long to grow weary of these triple digits and long for your day of departure. Maybe we will even have a little fog and feel a bit chilly!

Sunday/Monday/Tuesday

Sunday: After everyone left but Deb, Sam, and us it was pretty quiet. I was craving a burger because those were so good last night. We went up to the Food Court, that was a mistake. There were a ton of people and total disorganization with orders and service, to say nothing of finding a place to park. We got the burgers and such to our great disappointment. Oh well, live and learn. The day was fun anyway. We came back and played Yahtzee until almost midnight. Deb was the big winner this time with THREE Yahtzee's in one game!!!

Monday: Today Deb and Sam took off too. After packing up they had a bowl of chili with us and headed down the hill. It is really warm today without a cloud in sight!

We spent the rest of the day playing cards, doing a little house keeping, and enjoying the quiet of the campground since it is almost empty now. Our generator completely stopped working. It was running rough before, it obviously needs a good tuneup! 

Tuesday: Headed home after packing up. It was so hot in  the valley it nearly did us in cleaning up and  storing the Casita. We just can't deal with the heat too well anymore. Sure glad we got away for a few days but we need to find an alternative for the summer months here in the valley. 

Saturday

Steven and Saira arrived this morning. They got all set up and then we all had a delicious breakfast that Deb and Sam made (pancakes, tortillas, eggs, bacon, sausage, chorizo, fruit, potatoes). We all sort of lounged around and rested after that because we were so full! During the afternoon we played cards, darts, gathered wood, chopped wood, etc. In no time at all it was time for another delicious meal of burgers. We spent a long and enjoyable evening around the campfire before turning in for the evening.