CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
Morro Bay
The following is a sonnet to Morro Bay. The original intention of our RV travels in the winter of '05-'06 was to go to Arizona via California. Rod had told Sandra about the pleasure of his visit at Morro Bay in the winter of '01-'02 (Sandra had not heard of it before), and so it was put on the itinerary. Then we arrived and we both were so enthralled by this gentle town and area that we stayed the whole winter here.
Don't know if we can convey any of our delight in the following pictures, but we'll take you on a tour. We start at the north end of town at what we came to call the "Buddy Beach". It's an off-leash area for dogs and a great place for walking and socializing -- both people & dogs.
The bluff here on the way in to the beach is covered with ice plant, a species that grows profusely in this part of California. It has sweet pink and cream blossoms.
This is the beach looking north toward Cayucos, a few miles from Morro Bay.
And here's Rod & Buddy enjoying the beach.
Looking south from the Buddy Beach, we see Morro Rock, which crouches at the entrance to the bay and can be seen from far away in many directions.
An onshore breeze was blowing when we took this photo of the spray from the waves and Morro Rock in the background.
Driving down to get up close to the rock, we see this sign.
This is about what Rod saw from his sailboat when he came past the sometimes dangerous sand bar and into Morro Bay - the skyline and hills, fish boats and cruisers, sea birds flying overhead, gentle bay waters - and wait, what's that in the foreground?
Why it's a couple of little otters - a common sight in this area.
Morro Bay has been a fishing port for a very long time, but the industry is struggling at the moment, we understand.
Hopefully tourism will take over as income for the locals. The main street that parallels the bay is called Embarcadero and is lined with many shops & galleries.
Here's another spot on Embacadero with the bay and Morro Rock in the background.
Leaving the shoreline, we venture into the "downtown" area, with many interesting shops. The town has a population of approximately 10,000, with limits on building so it will not quickly increase in size.
Back at the harbor we see the dinghy dock where boaters come for supplies and entertainment.
Here the walk continues ….
… with little parks and places to sit and watch the world go by.
Rod's favorite photo of Morro Bay.
We roll down the windows of the car when we near eucalyptus trees as the smell delights us. Fortunately there are many of these fragrant trees in this area.
When Rod was here for the winter of '01-'02, he berthed his sailboat at this state park marina, the only one in California. It lies between the bay and estuary.
Following a path around from the marina, we come onto the huge estuary. It's a haven for thousands of sea birds.
From the estuary we drive around to Los Osos and up a steep hill. From this vantage point we can see all of the bay.
Traveling further, we come to the end of the spit of land in the foreground above. It extends 4 miles toward Morro Rock.
Driving down the road we come to Montana de Oro state park.
The drama of waves crashing on rocks - love it!
Now we'll head back to the RV park in Morro Bay. We go past this "rock" that hasn't the notoriety of Morro Rock but is very pleasing to the eye with its varied contours. Because she likes it so much we call it "Sandra's rock", and we can see it from our motorhome in the RV park.
And here we are coming into the RV park.
Sandra's gone for a swim in the pool ….
…. followed by a soak in the whirlpool behind her & a brief stretch-out in the sun.
Buddy & Rod are relaxing at our site.
This colorful sunset from the Buddy Beach showing Morro Rock makes a fitting close to our tour. We hope it's given you a glimpse of this special place.
