We have always loved San Luis Obispo (SLO) County towns. We have seen the central coast, and specifically Pismo Beach, turn from sleepy little towns into very cosmopolitan resorts. But some things never change: And that’s the spectacular beauty of the ocean, cliffs, and beaches.
We were excited to share our favorite spots with our traveling companions from Iowa, so we tried to fit in as many points of interest as possible. One sure stop was a hike at Montana de Oro. The weather was sunny, the wildflowers spectacular, and the wildlife was cooperative as Tom captured shots with the Nikon.
That hike was followed up with a trip to the iconic Harry’s bar in downtown Pismo.
After our fourteen day limit was reached at the Oceano Elk’s, we moved up Highway 101 all the way to the Elk’s at San Luis Obispo – a whole fourteen miles away! We no longer had beach access, but we were closer to beaches like Morro Bay, Cambria, and San Simeon.
So we took the drive to Morro Bay where we enjoyed the shops, the food, and the boats in the bay.
A walk along Morro Strand Beach gave us some nice views of the sun setting off of Morro Rock.
Another outing took us to Cambria to visit moonstone beach and see Nit Wit Ridge :
Followed by a stops at the glass works in Harmony and a walk on the pier at Cayucos.
Back at camp, we decided to walk into downtown for the Thursday night SLO farmers market where we sampled food and watched the street performances. We also showed our friends the infamous gum wall and had to check out a bar named The Mark. What a day!
We enjoyed some downtime in the sunny days at the lodge and I turned Tom’s Christmas tree into a Bonsai.
As I’ve mentioned before, we have a lot of friends with properties in SLO County, so we were able to meet up with Alvin and Robyn at their beach house in Cayucos. Great times catching up.
Tom and I revisited moonstone beach, so I could get some more ‘fairy rocks’. We walked along the boardwalk enjoying the wildflowers and the love locks.
While I beach combed, Tom spent the time putting balance back into the universe.
We topped the day off with a leisurely drive back along Old Creek Road with beautiful vistas of rolling green hills and colorful wildflowers.
Now our time at the ocean is over and we’re heading inland to see friends and family. We have plans to stay at the Elk’s in Visalia and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at a pub crawl downtown. Then we will be splitting up with our wonderful travel companions until we meet up with them again in Wyoming this summer. Before that we have a college graduation to attend back in Tuscon.
I hope they enjoyed visiting the Central Coast as much as we did.
Tom and I make it habit to NOT watch the news, but it’s been hard to avoid news of a possible pandemic that started in China. With cruise ships stranded and some international borders closed, we are hoping that our travels here in the US do not get restricted. When I hear of ‘exposed’ people being confined and isolated, I am fearful of losing our freedoms.
Happy (hopefully) travels!
Peace & Love, Joy
