We had a great time Monday touring a bit of the central California coastline north of Pismo Beach. It was a perfect day for it too, as it was clear blue skies with the temperature at one point reaching 76F – definitely t-shirt and shorts weather now. Paulette was thrilled too as she also got to spend some time shopping in a few of the small town Quilt Shops.
The Morro Rock dominates both the harbour and town of Morro Bay, CA
We left Pismo Beach at 9am and traveled up Hwy 101 until we arrived at Paso Robles where we veered off onto Hwy 1 until we got to Morro Bay – about a 1 hour drive. For me, the big attraction there was Morro Rock; for Paulette it was The Cotton Ball Quilt Shop. We each had an hour to explore.
This is the view from the back of the rock looking straight up!
The word “morro” in Spanish means “domed rock” and as you can see from the picture of Morro Rock, a dome is exactly what it looks like. The rock dominates both the harbour and the town of Morro Bay – it is just huge! When explorer Juan Cabrillo sailed into Estero Bay in the year 1542, he gave the dramatic Morro Rock its apt name.
That’s Hearst Castle way up there on top of the hill – this is as close as we got!
I saw all of Morrow Rock I needed to see in 30 minutes, so I drove back to the quilt shop to wait for Paulette. It was a perfect time to test my Apple iTouch to see how it worked in a remote location. I plugged my Verizon USB760 into my Cradlepoint router, started everything up and presto! I had a perfect, strong Internet connection and using the iTouch, I was able to read blogs, send emails and do almost everything I could do with my laptop. This iTouch is a great substitute for hauling a laptop around on days like this. Paulette came out of the quilt shop right on time, arms full, and told me it was one of the best shops she had ever been in.
A lone bird sitting on the rocks in the bay at W.R. Hearst State Beach
After Morro Bay, we headed up the coast to San Simeon and the Hearst Castle. This was a very beautiful drive right along the ocean for the most part, the rugged coastline reminded us a lot of the west coast of our own Vancouver Island. The Castle is clearly visible from the highway as it sits way atop a hill overlooking the whole valley and the Pacific. Arriving at the Hearst Castle, you have to park your vehicle, and the only way you can see the grounds and Castle itself is to sign up for a tour. Then, you are loaded onto buses which take you up the hill to the mansion where you are escorted around on a 2 hour visit.
The ocean colors were beautiful looking down from the long pier
I detest these kinds of tours where everyone is herded along like cattle. It doesn’t appeal to me in the least – and luckily, Paulette feels the same way. The fee is $24 each which would be ok if one were allowed to walk around, take your time, and not be subjected to the ‘tour guides’ constant talking. So, the closest look we got to the Hearst Castle was from the cheap seats – I mean really cheap seats – the parking lot!!
Another view of the Hearst Castle taken from the end of the curving pier
What was nice, was the W.R. Hearst State Beach which is located directly across Hwy. 1 from the Castle. The park has a very nice wooden pier that juts out into the bay and provides a great view of both the castle and the coastline to the north and south. That was worth the drive all by itself.
After walking out on the pier, and spending some time at the beach, we hopped back in the truck and headed south on Hwy. 1 until we got to Hwy. 46 just south of Cambria, there we turned left and drove the 30 miles to Paso Robles to have a quick look around.
This is the pier, looking back towards the W.R. Hearst State Park
Next up on our tour, was the little town of Atascadero, just 15 minutes south of Paso Robles on Hwy. 101. There was another quilt shop Paulette wanted to check out and it gave me a chance to start up iTouch again and see what was happening out in the big wide world – nothing had changed since 11am – that’s good I suppose!
A typical view of the California coastline near San Simeon
By the time we left Atascadero, it was 1:30 and time to head back to our RV Park in Pismo Beach. We pulled into the park at 2:00 and it was just beautiful – nice and hot! We decided to just relax for the rest of the day and take it easy.
Thanks to a tip from Laurie and Odel, we didn’t have to worry about making dinner either. Laurie was kind enough to suggest we try Brad’s Outdoor BBQ in Pismo Beach. It is just a few blocks from our park, so Paulette and I walked up there and bought a couple of BBQ’d Pulled Pork sandwiches to bring back to our RV. They were terrific – so, thanks Laurie and Odell.
Some of the incredibly lush countryside along Hwy. 46
Tuesday morning we are planning to do a similar tour of the area only this time we’re heading south down to the town of Solvang. We’ve heard wonderful things about Solvang, so we’re really looking forward to spending the morning there.
Have a great Tuesday, and thanks again for visiting.
0 comments:
Post a Comment