Morro Bay

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1st April - 2nd Aril 2006

This trip was as instantaneous as it could get. We decided it on Friday eve 6:00 pm and we left on Saturday morning. :-) And probably it was our first camping trip on a normal weekend.


Morro Bay is along the Central California coast. Some 200 miles from bay, the area involves 2 -3 hours of drive.
We wanted to reach early. So we took the less scenic hwy 101 down to Morro Bay. We knew instantly, it had to be Morro bay as we saw the larger than life Morro Rock. After finding our way to Morro Bay State Park, we found a campsite under the Eucalyptus trees. The park itself is one of a kind. I could see the bay from our tent. Just a 2-3 minute walk.
After having our lunch there, we were off to the nearby Oceano Dunes State Recreation Area. It was a different world in there. We could drive our car down into the beach. The Ranger informed that we could go that farther into the beach until we had to cross a river. Might be a little difficult for a 2wd. I remember driving into a beach in the state of Washington. Had no clue, however, that our own CA had one such beach. There were all sorts of people there. Kids we working on their kites with fathers helping them from flying away in the wind; there were of course, these guys on small surfboards-with-wheels and a parachute connected above and were going practically, here and there. It was difficult to feel bored there.


But we had to cover other places as well. So, we packed off and set into a beautiful town that we had passed before-Pismo beach. It’s no big deal. But a small, busy, (or happening, should I say?) and lively beach town. Typically, we saw a lot of crowd, eat-joints, fun places, and a local market. After walking through this town, we went right to the end, to the Pismo beach. I remember the beach being very windy and cold, but it had this quietness-which I loved. Just for that, we stayed longer, a lot longer than our sweatshirts could hold. :-) Ganesh is not a town person, but he really liked this town. So, we heaved a big sigh and moved on.
Montana de Oro State Park! Now, that’s a park neither of us have heard a lot about. But, it was in the area and so, we decided to go there. It might have been a big park, but wasn’t paved all the way. We took the more popular trail to a point that projects into the ocean. The cliffs are different from what either of us has seen. There were wildflowers everywhere. So typical of spring. Morro rock seemed like a small stone from here.


We wanted to catch on sunset at Morro Bay. Just a couple of miles driving brought us back there.
The beach has character. Its not always we come across a beach bordered by trees. We did catch a dramatic sunset, i.e. a day well ended.
It started getting cold just as the sun went down. We realized how hungry we were. After a short cook-n-eat, we hit our sleeping bags; but not before checking the stars above the Eucalyptus trees. Remember it being a beautiful silhouette. The stars were that bright. So many of ‘em!


Unlike most days, we got up a little late.
We packed and headed out for a closer look at the rock after a stop at the park’s Museum. They charge $2.00 per person, but there is wealthy information in there.
Morro rock projects 300 ft or more into the ocean. We could drive out there.
We saw so many squirrels and gulls near the Morro rock. A couple of guys were feeding them, which they should not be doing.

The other side of Morro rock was the Morro Strand State beach. It was very windy, surfers were all there. We also got a glimpse of deer mouse that hangs inside the rocks.
We thought we had time to hit CA scenic hwy 1 all the way back home. We stopped by at a lot of turnouts every now and then to smell the fresh air. It was good to be there. We could see rain clouds over the north. Soon enough, we encountered it.


We did not realize that it was the 1st Sunday of April- Daylight Savings time effective. It just does not seem good when we lose track of time. We were hungry when we reached Monterey. We hunted down the city for a burger king and ate like we hadn’t eaten in months.


Came back home very satisfied(& tired of course).
Happy, we had evaded rain for the weekend:-)
2 days very well spent!
Gosh! California is rich.

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Photos

Wildflowers
Montana de Oro