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Published: June 22nd 2010
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To the Beach
Hello Everybody!
We got back from Europe, picked up the RV and headed straight for the beach. We found a beautiful RV park that overlooked the ocean. The RV park didn't take reservations though, so we thought we'd have to dry camp without water, electricity or sewer for a night to get into a spot. To our surprise, there was only one RV in the 10 spots. To our utter dismay, the one RV spot that was parallel to the ocean was open and had our name all over it. We backed in and couldn't believe our eyes!
We were staying for the maximum time of 14 nights and we enjoyed every minute of it. Check out some of the shots!
We not only had views, we had sound as well. The waves softly crashed on the beach around the clock. From my office window, I looked down the beach at dogs and kids playing in the surf. I got used to watching the tide go in and out based on how submerged the rocks were and where the waves crashed. From the front door and bedroom window, we watched seals swim, pelicans dive
and seagulls fly. Now I know why people are so fond of ocean views - lots of action.
Another great aspect about Port San Luis is that it hides behind a mountain. In Oceano where we stayed the previous month, a steady breeze or wind keeps the place about 62 degrees. The ocean water on central coast is always about 55-60 degrees, so it has a huge effect on the climate. When the wind blows over the ocean and onto me, I need a jacket or T-shirt except in the hottest part of the day. In Port San Luis, the wind comes over the mountains and is nice and warm. We barely used our heater in Port San Luis. Once we got kicked out after 14 days, the heater came on multiple times thoughout the night when we stayed in Pismo Beach. Bicycle riding was chilly as well outside of the wind shadow.
Fog often rolls in and keeps large parts of the coast in a deep chill. The mountain that stops the wind from Port San Luis also keeps the fog away. A big fog bank would roll up about 1 mile out to sea but leave
us in a nice pocket of sunshine.
I mean, how many more things could this place have going for it?
How about a beautiful trail with lots of wildlife?
How about a Farmer's market every Friday night with live music?
How about friendly people?
We've met loads of people in the area and felt like locals right away. Richard is the retired coffee shop owner that always has something to talk about. Kevin is a retired border patrol guard that is waiting on his liquor license to open his bar. Trent rents out jetskis and leads people on tours. Then there's the Seaweed Express.
We were walking on the beach one night and saw a guy looking out to sea with some binoculars. He said hi and then "I'm not a pervert, I'm looking for my partner." Lee went on to explain that his co-worker Michael was leading a tour in their inflatable boat that you can see in the video. We talked to Lee a while and kept seeing him and Michael around the Port.
We mentioned this to Trent (who lived in the RV park with us) that we were talking
to the competition and he gave us two tickets to the Seaweed Express tour.
We waited for the right day and went out and saw some great scenery and had a good time. Lee has a well practiced shtick for the tour and keeps the boat rocking with Lady Ga Ga, Toto and any other band he feels like playing on his iPod. He a master at maneuvering the boat around through caves and over the waves. He got some serious air by going out into the sea enough to ride some sweet swells. He scared the shit out of us by taking us right down the middle of a pier that you can see on the video. They remind me a lot of my brother Eric's hiking yoga tours but they have the boat do all the work. I highly recommend their tour if you're in the area - it's only $20!
The Lighthouse Tour
You might know that one of my favorite things to do is hike. One problem with the Port San Luis area is that Pacific Gas and Electric (PG & E) has thousands of acres surrounding Diablo Nuclear Power Plant right
to the west of the Port. They don't like people wandering on their land, but they do let some tours out to the Port San Luis Light House every Wednesday and Saturday.
We walked a hundred yards to the trailhead one Saturday morning and joined the docents leading the tour. The docents told us all about how Port San Luis used to be the biggest whaling harbor on the Pacific coast in the late 1800s. They needed a light house to avoid the rocks in the fog, so they built one in 1890. The light house fell into disrepair and multiple volunteers have been reinnovating it for 14 years. The volunteers have done an outstanding job as well. They've gotten antiques from the time and decorated the rooms in excellent style.
What impressed me the most was that it was almost all done by volunteers. We saw one of the volunteers digging up ice plants because they weren't native. You can see the huge pile of ice plants that she's collected over a few weeks in one of the shots. She had been one of the main paint strippers from the house and has worked on it for
14 years. The energy of the place was great and Grace started jumping up and down from excitement. She even got me to jump for one of the pictures.
Bonfire Beach Party
What else could we do right outside of our door? How about a bonfire on the beach? We decided to invite a few friends over for a jam and Shawn and friends came running. Several members of the Mother Corn Shuckers came over and Kurt, Mark and I played some frisbee on the beach as well. We had a great jam session and burnt the candle at both ends that night.
We'd also had a jam session at Rich's the night before. These guys love their music and play all they can. I took some video of the Mother Corn Shuckers most danceable song. The lyrics go: Corn liquor - it's a whole lot quicker....
I think they should sing - Corn Hole Licker - It's a whole lot sicker!
Enjoy the blog!
Scott
PS. I took some pictures on a flight from LA that I thought were worthy of a view. There was also a catastrophic volcano that you should check
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
I went onto Google maps and identified this as the Glenn Canyon NRA. I've flown over this many times and want to go there. out in the videos.
PSS. Thanks to Shawn and Jennifer for having us over for dinner as well in See Canyon!
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