Adventure 177: Morro Bay State Park/Post A

Akimbo Stumpy, Queen of the Campground

Good bye Paso Robles, Hello Morro Bay. We decided to take Highway 46 to the coast, which wound up up and down down, first through plush wine country and then through emerald green ranch land to the coast. When we reached the summit of 1762 feet, the Pacific Ocean twinkled in the distance. This week is a week of what they call the King Tides. Tomorrow is supposed to flow in at its highest in decades. Our trip was as uneventful as it was easy. We managed the twisting six mile six percent descent without difficulty, even if we did cause quite a line up behind us. We stopped at the Sea Shanty for lunch in Cayucos, which will end our trip through memory lane. Ten years ago, on Deb and Judy's inaugural bicycle tour, the end point was Cayucos. It is a lovely little beach community (One of many sprinkled down the Central Coast), and today it fairly glowed in the seventy degree sunshine. I managed to find a parking spot just four blocks from the Shanty, which was manageable for Stumpy. We shared a delicious order of fresh snapper tacos with a side of skinny fries. From there we covered a quick ten miles or so to the simply fabulous state park at Morro Bay. The park was built by the CCC during the depression, and as such, it is filled with artisan styled stone buildings, wooden walkways, and it's located on prime land bordering the estuary of Morro Bay. We are snuggled up into site #3, which is on the outside ring of a campground of seventy sites or so. Across the street, the masts of sailboats point to the sky along with the flying bridges of a few fishing boats. Beyond the marina is the protected estuary. Last weekend, Morro Bay hosted a bird watching festival. Most of the watchers have left, but the birds haven't. As I explored the trail, I was greeted with so many chirps and whistles, I thought for a moment I was a sizzling hot boy toy. I came to my senses immediately (It is I have a dream day after all). Driving from Cayucos, I was afraid that Morro Bay wouldn't live up to my inflated expectations, but so far, I needn't have worried. Even better, we seemed to have timed our stay with a high pressure system that promises temperatures in the seventies. As you can tell, life is good, especially today.

 Last night's sunset taken from our living room.

 A very well run establishment.

 Two inches of clear resin, imbedding shells and sea stuff. Every table is different.

 Fresh snapper tacos and skinny fries.

 The rock at Morro Bay. Gotta love the clouds.

 One of the many things to love about California: lovingly restored automobiles.

 Blooming flowers in January. Wow!

 Sailboats, all tugging at their moorings, eager to set sail.

 One lucky lady loosed her mooring for an afternoon romp on the bay.

 The beginning of a crescent shaped beach just north of the Morro Rock.

 Frac is parked not fifty yards to the right of the first sailboat.

 At least one of the bird watchers was left behind.

This wooden trail is raised about three feet off of the soft marshland  of the estuary. I think Stumpy will be able to walk the .7 mile loop tomorrow.