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Monday, April 24th
– Saturday, April 29th
Morro Strand RV Park,
Morro Bay, California
As we drove on the 101 north out of the Santa Ynez valley,
we passed through the cities of Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo, then on
highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) over to Morro Bay. What an amazing coastal
community! We stayed at an RV park that was a short walk down to the beach and
a 1 mile bicycle ride to town. This is one of the few remaining “beach towns”
that feels like it’s stuck in the 70’s. The town lies along the bay and the
harbor is filled with commercial fishing boats, restaurants and shops along the
harbor shore. What a quaint little town filled with friendly people. The first
evening we walked the dogs down to the beach and let them run off leash. Luca
went crazy and ran way down the beach, then turned around and ran back. He was
in doggie heaven! Kody (Kruzer) even went wild and ran around like crazy. The
wind was blowing about 30mph and got them all wound up, they had so much fun!
The premier landmark is the huge rock at the beach named Morro Rock, by Juan
Cabrillo. He was the same Portuguese explorer that first landed at San Diego. South
of the Rock is a long expanse of high sand dunes that create the bay and more
beaches. The beach with the Rock and the harbor town was such a wonderful
surprise!
The next day we drove south to the Montana de Oro State
Park, which lies along the coast. There were mountain bike trails there and a
great bike path along the shore. Our first stop was at Spooner Bay, where there
is a beautiful crescent beach with rocky cliffs. We rode our bikes along the
Bluff Trail for over 2 miles, then headed back. The wind was so strong, at some
points we felt like we would be blown over; but fortunately the wind was
blowing from the ocean to the shore. We stopped at several areas to view the
incredible cliffs, beaches, tide pools, and the mountains just to the east. It
was actually very chilly due to the cold wind, but very enjoyable.
One of our dreams for California was to drive north on the
Pacific Coast Highway 1 (PCH) up to Big Sur. We found out that some sections of
the road were closed due to the winter storms that caused mud and rockslides;
even the iconic Pfeiffer Big Sur Bridge was damaged so badly that it had to be
demolished and is in the process of being rebuilt. What a bummer. However, we
were able to drive up to Ragged Point, which is the most southerly part of the
Big Sur coastline. It was beautiful and gave us a good feel for what the Big
Sur looks like. Along the way we stopped in several areas; including Moonstone
Beach, with its black sand, the Piedras Lighthouse, and the Elephant Seal
Rookery. Some areas along the drive were covered in fog, so the views were
diminished.
We spent another day back at Montana de Oro SP to ride the
mountain bike trails. Boy, were we surprised at such well-designed trails that
made the ride so much more enjoyable. Even though the elevation gain was
several hundred feet, the ascents were not so difficult because of the
switchbacks. I rode further than I thought was possible and enjoyed the
incredible views back towards the ocean. While Kurt was still riding I headed
back to the trailhead and visited an historic ranch house on the property. The
Spooners were the original settlers there who were involved with gold mining
and cattle ranching. The stories were amazing of these brave people who came to
the California Coast to start a new life. Also, their property overlooked the
view of the bay. This property was eventually purchased by the state which now
manages the park.
Another bucket list item we were able to check off was a
visit to the Hearst Castle! This property is along the coast about 40 miles
north of Morro Bay, near a small historical fishing village of San Simeon.
Looking east up at the mountains, the Castle is visible from the highway. William
Randolph Hearst built this amazing home on the top of a hill where his family
had setup a camp when he was a child. He loved this part of the coast so much that
we decided to build something really grand for his family. The tour started
with a museum and some history of the family. Wow, to be that wealthy back then
to afford their lifestyle was amazing. The Hearst’s gained their riches in gold
mining and then cattle ranching, and eventually in the newspaper business. The
Castle is magnificent, with its European architecture, antiquities and designs.
The gardens on the property were extremely gorgeous and filled with amazing
statuary. There were three exquisite guest houses surrounding the Castle. He
was like many rich moguls at the time and loved to entertain guests, among them
many movie stars (he owned some movie studios and also the newspapers) and
friends from back east. He even built a landing strip down near the shore so he
could fly in his guests! He only lived there for about 13 years before he
passed away. After that, the estate donated the house and surrounding 128 square
miles to the state. It is now managed by the California State Parks. We truly
enjoyed the tour, learning the history and visiting San Simeon. If you are ever
in the central coast of California, do not miss this tour!
On our last day, we rode our bikes into Morro Bay for
breakfast and to explore the town. At the wharfs, we found a group of sea
otters hanging out in the warm waters, some with babies at their side. It was
fascinating to watch them sleeping, eating and playing with the pups. We could
have watched them for hours. As we rode
our bikes back toward the RV park, we noticed a huge gathering by Morro Rock
with kites flying everywhere. What a surprise, there was a Kite Festival going
on at the beach! Wow, we stopped by there and watched the kite flying
competition and all the attendees with their amazing kites. The competitors
flew their kites choreographed to music, some of the presentations were with
multiple kites in synchronization. We
rode back to the RV and walked the dogs down to the beach, viewing the event
from the north side. We had never seen anything like this, only in California!
So much fun, what a delightful day at the beach.
Our stay at Morro Bay was so enjoyable, one of our
favorites. We really loved the quaint little harbor town, a hidden gem. It was
not busy like so many other places in California. This is a place we would
definitely visit if we are ever in California again. Another destination that
we didn’t want to leave so soon.
Our California adventure continues as we head northeast to
Sequoia National Park.
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