Morro Bay en route to San Jose

Tuesday 26th November

We checked out of the very pleasant Day's Inn at Buellton and headed north up the 101 towards San Luis Obispo where we stopped for a break and coffee.  We had planned to pick up some food for lunch but we'd both got such good value out of the free breakfast at the motel that we decided we really didn't need anything else for a few hours.  After all this American over indulgence it's going to be really hard getting back to "normal" food.

Next stop was Morro Bay where we parked up north of the bay and walked out onto the beach.  And what an amazing beach it is!  This is a place that has been added to our ever growing list of places that we need to re-visit when we have more time. It wouldn't be your first choice for a relaxing day at the beach, it's far too big and windswept but for a run it would be absolutely perfect - miles and miles of firm sand stretching as far as the eye could see.  We walked south towards Morro Rock where the beach was more populated (due to it's proximity to the main car park) and where there were a lot of surfers and kayak surfers - all snugly encased in wet suits.  We felt not the slightest temptation to brave the surf today!

We strolled round the rock as far as we could go and climbed onto the rocks - past the sign which said "Danger - do not climb on the rocks".  The rock is connected to mainland by a causeway and stands sentinel at the mouth of the bay itself.  This is a really strange place - the town is clearly visible from this point sitting on the edge of what is effectively a lagoon separated from the sea by a large spit and really very attractive.  However, in the foreground is a huge industrial building with three gigantic towers which totally dominates and spoils the landscape. Why?  I just don't understand how or why it is there. The town's website describes it as being the "picture perfect getaway" - all photos carefully angled to avoid showing this monstrosity.

Our walk was about 4 miles out and back - I think it was probably as far again to the south end of the beach.  We have to come back here when we need to do a fast, flat training run.  There is also a state park at the south side of the bay which it would be good to explore.  We decided that, as we had no time restrictions, we would take the scenic route up Highway 1 and made a brief stop at San Simeon where Martin strung the slack line up for a while.  I wasn't feeling energetic enough to have a go and it wasn't a very good location so we soon moved on.

Last time we drove up this route was exactly 6 weeks ago to the day and we were too stressed to enjoy it as we raced to get to the Big Sur campsite before it got dark.  This time we were able to relax, take our time and enjoy the stunning scenery.  Consequently we made a lot of stops at vista points including one place just past San Simeon where we were rewarded with the sight of a beach-full of elephant seals basking in the afternoon sunshine. These were young males - apparently the adult males and breeding females don't arrive until December/January.  It would be interesting to see them because even the youngsters were massive!

Despite our gargantuan breakfast we were starting to feel a bit hungry by now so once we got to Big Sur we stopped at the deli to pick up some coffee and a snack.  Big Sur is definitely another area that we need to visit again, so many hiking opportunities and state beaches which need to be explored. A little further up the coast we stopped at a pull off and found a path which led down to the rocky shore where we sat in total solitude and watched the sun go down.  Even though there was a fair amount of cloud the sunset was absolutely amazing and we were also rewarded with the sight of a whale cutting through the surf.

Unfortunately our lingering along the coast meant that we hit the rush hour traffic at Monterrey and it took us quite a while to get back to San Jose.  As it was getting late we stopped off at the Almaden Whole Foods to pick up some salad for supper.  When we got back to Erica Court both Sherry and Rich were out so we were able to sort out all our rubbish and eat before they got back and then spend some time catching up.

It really feels like our adventure is coming to an end now, no more travelling, we will be spending the rest of our stay with Sherry and Rich and experiencing (for me) a first American Thanksgiving before heading for home.